AT&T subcontractor agrees to fix damaged electric lines to Katy home, homeowner says

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- A subcontractor has verbally agreed to pay to repair a damaged electric line at a Katy family's home that left them without power.

On Christmas Eve, Tony Self said he came home from work to find his elderly parents in the dark at the home they share.

"(My mom) is on oxygen, and she has little mobility," Self said. "They're both fall risks. Like that's an unfortunate reality, so when the power is off, they can't see anything."

That night, Self said a CenterPoint Energy technician came to their home and said the issue stemmed from work being done to install lines for AT&T in their backdoor neighbor's yard weeks prior.

"They had dug just deep enough that they had managed to cut the conduit or whatever they call it to our house, and then when that happened a couple of weeks ago, and then when it rained, the ground got wet and shorted everything out and fried it," Self said.

The family paid $487 to have a temporary bypass line installed at their home so they could have electricity. The line is run from their neighbor's home, over their fence, to the meter on the side of their home.

On Tuesday, Self filed a claim with AT&T to hopefully reach a resolution.

ABC13 also reached out to AT&T specifically asking about Self's home but has not received a response.

Hours later, Self said the subcontractor reached out and verbally agreed to pay for the damages.

Last week, ABC13 spoke to a woman in Seabrook who was having a similar problem with AT&T and a different subcontractor.

Debbie said a subcontractor badly damaged the lines running power to her home, while installing fiber lines, and knocked out her electricity. She was out of town at the time.

She also paid hundreds of dollars for a bypass line running through her yard to power her home while she tried to hold someone responsible.

In Debbie's case, the subcontractor told her in an email that an investigation they conducted cleared them of wrongdoing.

AT&T told Eyewitness News in a statement that the subcontractor conducted an investigation and determined their work did not cause the issue, which was communicated to the homeowner.

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