When Franklin Allaire received a notice from CenterPoint that his power had come back on Monday evening, he remembers feeling relieved. While many in surrounding neighborhoods would be without power for the next couple of days, residents in Williamsburg Settlement had the good fortune of their power being repaired the very same day that Hurricane Beryl swept through the city. However, that relief didn’t last long.
Shortly after the power was restored, Allaire heard the all too familiar “popping” sound of a transformer blowing, leaving his neighborhood powerless once again. According to Allaire, CenterPoint workers left the neighborhood instead of fixing the issue immediately, kick-starting a frustrating back and forth as him and his neighbors have tried and failed to get the power back on after the last several days.
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“It’s becoming unbearable,” Allaire said. “People in this neighborhood have pets, babies, elderly adults, and folks with special needs to take care of. And as the power has continued to be out, it’s just gotten even more hot and humid.”
Allaire said that CenterPoint has made some efforts to fix the power, but he described them as “inconsistent.” According to him, repair crews came out to the neighborhood on Thursday to try to fix the problem, but left without saying anything after the transformer blew several more times during the repair process.
While CenterPoint has assured them that they’re working on the problem, Allaire said him and his neighbors feel abandoned, especially since they’ve had to call the company multiple times a day to make them aware of the problem.
“At one point, we weren’t even on CenterPoint’s radar anymore,” Allaire said. “CenterPoint puts out these outage maps, and according to the latest map they put out, our neighborhood is supposed to be fully energized. And we’re over here walking around in the dark, you tell me if that’s fully energized.”
While the ordeal has been frustrating for the neighborhood, the community has come together to help those still without power. Allaire was able to borrow a generator from one of his neighbors, and many residents in the area opened their homes up for people to stay in until the power comes back on.
Even though the situation as a whole was frustrating, Allaire said that the kindness of his neighbors was a unique inspiration, and he encouraged Houstonians to pull together even in the most difficult circumstances.
“This is a time for everybody to come together regardless of what you feel, or believe in. No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, we’re only going to make it if we work with each other.”