AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas attorney general on Monday opened an investigation into Houston’s electric company over fraud and waste following Hurricane Beryl, adding to growing scrutiny after widespread blackouts left millions without power for days.
The latest investigation into CenterPoint Energy came after state regulators and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also demanded answers about storm preparations and response to Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that left nearly three million people without power around the nation’s fourth-largest city.
At least three dozen people died in the storm, including residents who died in the scorching heat of their homes without air conditioning after the storm passed through.
“My office is aware of the troubling allegations regarding CenterPoint and the impact of its conduct on operational readiness during Hurricane Beryl,” Ken Paxton, the state’s Republican attorney general, said in a statement. “If the investigation uncovers unlawful activity, those activities will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
The energy supplier promised to support the investigation.
“We look forward to working with the Texas Attorney General or any other agency and have made clear our commitment to upholding our company’s values,” said CenterPoint spokesman John Sousa.
Paxton did not mention specific allegations of waste or fraud in his statement, and his office did not respond to requests for comment.
Abbott demanded answers from CenterPoint about what he said were slow rebuilding efforts and poor communication with customers in the days before the storm. The state utility commission has launched its own investigation, and the company’s top executive was questioned by lawmakers about its failures at a hearing last month.
CenterPoint largely defended its storm preparations, saying it had deployed thousands of extra workers to restore power. The utility also launched a months-long plan to replace hundreds of wooden power poles and double its tree trimming efforts after the governor urged swift action.
When the storm made landfall in Texas on July 8, it damaged power lines and uprooted trees. It is the latest natural disaster to hit Houston, after a violent storm swept through the area in May, leaving nearly a million people without power.
Many residents fear that chronic power outages have become the norm after Texas’s power grid failed during a deadly winter storm in 2021.
CenterPoint has previously faced questions about the reliability of Houston’s power grid.
In 2008, Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm, knocked out power to more than 2 million people and it took 19 days for power to be fully restored. The city of Houston formed a task force to study the company’s response and concluded that parts of the grid needed to be automated to minimize outages.
CenterPoint received millions of dollars in federal funding years ago to implement this technology, but Executive Vice President Jason Ryan says the work isn’t finished yet.
Some energy experts and critics say the company has not adapted its technology quickly enough to accommodate the extreme weather conditions that Texas will continue to face.
Lathan is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on issues that aren’t as frequently covered.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
