HOUSTON – Trent Bailly and six of his closest neighbors went without power for about 42 hours this week amid a heat warning and triple-digit temperatures.
“They just sat in front of battery-powered fans and did what they could to try to stay cool,” Bailly said about his family.
Upstairs, the temperature inside Bailly’s Cypress-area home reached 95 degrees.
“We actually went to the movies, went and saw a movie we had already seen, we went and saw it again, just to enjoy some A/C,” he said. “Yesterday evening, we luckily have a friend that was willing to take us and our two dogs in.”
The power finally came back on around lunchtime Tuesday after crews from CenterPoint Energy worked for hours in the neighborhood.
Here’s why some power restoration efforts may be longer, according to a statement from a CenterPoint Energy spokesperson:
“Record-breaking hot weather across the country this summer, coupled with already stressed global supply chains, is challenging equipment availability, creating unprecedented challenges for electric systems, and in some cases impacting restoration times. CenterPoint Energy’s distribution system in the greater Houston area is no exception. The current and prolonged high temperatures, as well as record electricity demand, is causing CenterPoint Energy’s equipment to work harder and longer. These factors are creating additional stresses on our equipment, including the equipment that we use to safely manage the flow of electricity to area homes and businesses.
As a result, some of our customers are unfortunately experiencing extended outages while we work to address their service issues as safely and quickly as possible. We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences that the outages are causing. We are also continuing to work with our suppliers and vendors to expedite access to the necessary equipment. CenterPoint Energy is in the process of reaching out directly to customers who are experiencing extended outages by phone and Power Alert Service to update them on the steps we are taking to restore their service.
As always, we encourage all our customers to prepare now and have a back-up plan in place in the event they experience an unexpected extended outage. This is especially important for those customers who rely on electricity for life-sustaining equipment.”
Bailly called the interruption frustrating.
“It gets this hot in August, right, and so I don’t know that this was too extreme of heat, so it’s frustrating that the equipment seems to be failing,” he said.
While dealing with the outage, he bought a generator to make sure they’re prepared if anything like it happens again.
“We did purchase a generator, like I said, so we will be ready to at least run some more fans, and so, if we have another occurrence like this, I think we’ll be a little better prepared,” he said.
You can check the outage maps below: