Despite intense heat, some Spring Branch neighbors say they had no AC due to CenterPoint upgrades

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- With temperatures near triple digits, some Spring Branch neighbors were shocked to learn their AC was cut off for hours during a scheduled upgrade.

On Friday, James Wilmoth sat in the dark and without AC for hours. A situation he said was unexpectedly brought on by a notice that showed up in the mail the day before.

"I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me.' It's the end of July, in Houston, Texas. It's not like we're in a cold climate right now," Wilmoth said. "I was just shocked they would be doing it in the heat of the summer."

The notice, from CenterPoint Energy, told Wilmoth he would be without power on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. as the company made improvements. Wilmoth said the shut-off left him stuck with his two dogs at home.

"I don't have a generator," Wilmoth explained. "I don't have the extra money to go buy one."

To run fans and a floor AC unit, Wilmoth's neighbor, who had power, strung an extension cord across the street.

"I went to Home Depot and bought another electrical line, and a fan so I could have enough fans to cool the house down," Wilmoth said.

Energy experts who spoke to ABC13 said they were a little surprised by the company's decision to do the work on Friday, given the heat.

Despite the heat, experts said the state's public utility commission allows power providers to do upgrades. They added that improvements don't require notice unless there are customers who use critical equipment.

Extreme weather is one reason that can block the work; however, documents show that's only when there's a heat advisory. On Friday, the temperature was just below the threshold for an advisory.

ABC13 contacted CenterPoint and asked why the work was done with the heat, and why more notice wasn't provided. While the company didn't address specific questions, they did provide a response:

As part of our continued focus on building the most resilient coastal grid in the country, we are making vital resiliency and reliability improvements across Greater Houston year-round, including installing stronger, storm-resilient poles to better withstand extreme weather. To keep our local customers informed and help them plan ahead, we are committed to providing them with advance notification ahead of any resiliency upgrades in their neighborhood, including if temporary planned outages are needed to safely complete work. We understand the impact that any outage has on our customers, no matter the reason, and we are determined to complete these necessary grid improvements as quickly and safely as possible for all our Greater Houston customers and communities we're privileged to serve.