CenterPoint CEO Addresses Botched Hurricane Beryl Preparation and Response

The powers that be appeared to be playing tricks on a Senate Select Committee hearing on Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparedness, Recovery and Power Monday, as the live broadcast was cut off before CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells was due to testify.

The committee convened by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took a recess until the technical problems were resolved. After the recess, Houston Mayor John Whitmire went on the attack against the power company.

“Enough is enough. It’s time to hold CenterPoint accountable,” Whitmire said. “I’m angry. I have no more patience. No more excuses. CenterPoint is making a great comeback, and they’re going to have to spend it on preparation, operations and recovery.”

Whitmire criticized the power company’s lack of preparation before Hurricane Beryl and its shoddy response after the storm knocked out power to more than two million of its customers, some of whom were without electricity for about two weeks.

Lawmakers questioned Wells, who testified after Whitmire, about what happened. They discussed the utility company’s failure to provide residents with an accurate way to check the status of power restorations and its spending. They also discussed whether it had the operational capacity to meet customer demand.

Sen. Louis Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) pointed out that the outage tracking system at beloved Texas fast-food chain Whataburger, which went viral on social media, provided real-time information that CenterPoint’s did not.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) refused to back down when asked about the tool by Wells. Bettencourt called CenterPoint’s manually updated version “the dumbest decision” he’s ever seen a utility make.

Bettencourt asked why, if the utility had had the technology for years to detect these outages in real time, it had not connected the tracker to them. Wells tried to defend his decision before bowing to the Houston-area senator, calling the choice “inexcusable.”

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Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) asked CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells if he had heard the expression that incorrect information is worse than no information.

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Wells confirmed that CenterPoint would have an updated outage tracker online by Thursday. He reiterated to lawmakers concerned about the utility’s lack of communication that it was hiring a communications director.

“I would take care of it,” Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) advised Wells.

Alvarado addressed concerns about costs raised by his fellow lawmakers throughout the hours-long hearing. Many senators criticized the multibillion-dollar company’s decision to purchase multimillion-dollar generators that did not operate during Beryl.

Alvarado said it was unacceptable that 1,000 of the 9,000 employees worked as linemen and 500 as vegetation specialists. Wells agreed with Alvarado that funds should be reallocated to employ in-house those working on downed trees and damaged power lines.

Wells added that the utility company is currently using subcontracted crews. He could not provide further information regarding reports reviewed by multiple media outlets and reported by Alvarado that crew members have waited hours in parking lots to be assigned work.

Bettencourt proposed drafting legislation that would allow CenterPoint customers to receive a portion of the $800 million the utility used to buy the generators. Bettencourt pointed out that buying the equipment provided a profit, while investing in cutting down more trees did not.

Wells reiterated his apologies to residents for CenterPoint’s failures, similar to those he offered at a meeting with the Texas Public Utilities Commission last week.

Despite the chorus of criticism at Monday’s hearing, when Bettencourt asked him how he would respond to calls for his resignation, Wells said such a move would cause the utility company to lose momentum in the changes it has planned for its operations.