Texas Utility Workers Union Calls for Stop to Violence Against CenterPoint Energy Workers After Multiple Reports

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Calls are growing from officials, family members and union representatives for the public to leave CenterPoint Energy linemen alone as they continue to restore power to the Greater Houston area.

This information comes after the Houston Police Department received numerous reports of threats, harassment and violence against them over the past week in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

Ed Allen, who is the business manager for IBEW Local 66, spoke at a news conference Sunday about the hostile environment employees face in the field, calling the treatment they have received unacceptable.

“We’ve seen men pointing guns at them. Some have had rocks thrown at them. Some have had AK-47s brandished. This has to stop,” Allen said. “I’ve already had several companies tell me that if this doesn’t stop, they’re going to take their trucks and leave.”

RELATED: Harris County Leaders Condemn Violence Against Utility Workers During Post-Beryl Restoration Efforts

A week after Beryl’s strong winds devastated the Greater Houston area, about 134,000 customers are still without power. Those waiting the longest for power to be restored are expected to have it restored by Friday.

CenterPoint Energy confirmed that this widespread outage is the largest in the company’s history, affecting more than 2.2 million customers.

At least three people in the Houston area died from the heat. Others died from carbon monoxide poisoning or from failure of their oxygen machines. Federal and state authorities have called for an investigation into the power company’s preparedness and response to the Category 1 hurricane.

Long wait times for customers and pressure on CenterPoint created a tense environment for teams working in the field.

HPD said it has received five reports of incidents involving CenterPoint personnel in the past week:

• Wednesday, July 10: CenterPoint employee reportedly receives angry phone calls and emails
• Thursday, July 11: A security guard reportedly received information from third parties about a threat of a shooting at Barnett Stadium, used as a gathering place for CenterPoint teams.
• Friday, July 12: HPD found a series of messages on X in which someone threatened to shoot up CenterPoint headquarters
• Saturday, July 13: A utility worker was threatened with a gun and had rocks thrown at him near 1900 Wilcrest. The incident prompted CenterPoint to evacuate 100 linemen. The suspect was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
• Saturday, July 13: A man reportedly told crew working near Jay and Homestead that he would shoot them if they did not come work near his house.

Last Thursday, Fort Bend County officials said a Needville man was arrested and charged with pulling out a BB or airsoft gun at a CenterPoint employee who was talking to residents and assessing their area.

The suspect, Gilbert Becerra, has been charged with deadly conduct. He told ABC13 by phone that he denies the allegations and believes his arrest was due to mistaken identity.

READ MORE: Fort Bend County man charged with pointing gun at CenterPoint employee as tensions rise over power outage

A woman whose brother came from Florida to help restore power in Galveston spoke to ABC13 by phone about her concerns for his safety. She asked that her identity be withheld to protect her job.

“There have been cars that have come at them, stopped in front of them and made throat-slitting gestures as they’re driving down the road,” she said. “It’s extremely shocking. He’s worked all over the United States and he’s never expressed that kind of fear to me.”

She explained that contracted utility workers who come from other states often leave their families for an indefinite period of time. She explained that crews typically have no decision-making authority and must wait for orders from their superiors before they can do any type of work.

“I want everyone to know that these men and women work hard and their jobs are already inherently dangerous, without the added threats or violence,” the woman said. “If things don’t change, I can tell you that a lot of line workers will be very reluctant to come back to Houston if there’s another major outage.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told ABC13 that the legislature will propose legislation that would increase penalties for attacks on power line workers trying to restore power. If passed, the legal penalties would be harsher.

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