Critics questioned CenterPoint's preparedness in the weeks it took the utility company to get everyone's power back on. Their executives provided some answers on Thursday in front of the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
The meeting began on a poignant note with a public commenter who read the names of the victims who died during and after Hurricane Beryl. CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells followed with comments that agreed with the commission's previous statement that his company has to do better.
CenterPoint's initial assessment showed room for improvement in three main areas: resiliency, communication, and community partnerships.
Leaders went through some tangible actions CenterPoint will take to achieve those goals.
They said vegetation management, grid modernization, and hardening will help the lights come back on faster after an emergency.
CenterPoint plans to use technology to target areas where trees pose a threat to their lines. To improve communication, they are increasing the number of people working in call centers after a storm, and by Aug. 1, they will introduce a more advanced outage and restoration tracker. They also intend to create stronger ties with community agencies by hiring a new senior leader for their executive team.
Commissioners told CenterPoint leaders that this is a wake-up call.
Jimmy Glotfelty said, "The storms facing their systems, the challenges facing their systems, whether it's a wildfire or bug storm or derecho... I don't care what it is. You all know your system the best, but you have to do better. Your customers deserve better, and we are giving you a return that expects better."
Wells said, "I take personal accountability for the areas where we fell short of our customer's expectations. Most importantly, I want to apologize to our customers for the frustration we caused. We will do better. While we cannot erase the frustrations and difficulties so many of our customers endured. I and our entire leadership team will not make excuses. We will improve and act with a sense of urgency."
The PUC is investigating CenterPoint's response to the storm, and the company has also hired an independent company to analyze the problems and suggestions for improvement. CenterPoint promised to provide updates on their action plan every month.
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