As days of sweltering heat persists, Houstonians have directed their frustration over the lack of electricity toward local utility company CenterPoint Energy, which is under increased scrutiny for a perceived slow response after Hurricane Beryl landed on the Gulf Coast of Texas earlier this week.
More than 800,000 customers remained without power and electricity as of Friday afternoon, more than four days after the hurricane flooded streets and left more than two million people without running air conditioning as temperatures soared into the nineties.
“It’s ridiculous, we’re sleeping in hot rooms,” said Houston resident Ruth Gonzalez, who’s been taking cold showers to sleep at night.
She blames the utility company and the storm for the upheaval this week.
“What in the world are you going to do for us, and how are we going to be reimbursed for everything that we’re losing?” she asked of CenterPoint, referring to the $600 worth of food they’ve thrown away since the storm.
Gonzalez, along with her 56-year-old fiancé, Guy Vasquez, pawned their diamond-cluster wedding bands this week just for gas money and food.
“You gotta do what you gotta do to keep the kids fat and full,” said Vasquez, referring to the three grandchildren they are helping to raise.
U.S. & World
The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths in the U.S. and nine in the Caribbean. At least three people were killed in metropolitan Houston, weather officials have said.
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Despite the public outrage, Darin Carroll, senior vice president of operations at CenterPoint, told NBC News this week that the utility company was prepared for the storm and had brought in crews from outside Houston to mobilize as soon as the storm passed.
“We acknowledge what it must be like to live in Texas in July and to not have electricity,” he said during the interview, adding that this is the fastest the company has ever restored power to about one million homes.
CenterPoint Energy said in a news release on Thursday that more than 80 percent of affected customers should have power and electricity by Sunday.
However, some areas with significant structural damage could experience prolonged outages while crews work to install thousands of new distribution poles and overhead conductors, which are required in order to transport electrical energy.
Carroll said the storm "caught the entire service territory with full force," with downed trees bringing down power lines across the city.
“In a lot of cases, it’s not just branches, these are entire trees that have to be cleaned up before we can do the restoration,” he said.
Deon J. Hampton / NBC News
The repairs can't come soon enough for Rosa M. Zelaya, 53, of Humble, Texas, a city just outside Houston, who has been without power since the storm landed Monday.
For the last few nights, she said she’s slept in her truck alongside her two children.
“It’s horrible because we don’t have anything. We need food and water,” said Zelaya, who on Friday morning was sweating through her blue dress. It was about 85 degrees outside at the time but she'd spent most of the morning indoors where the temperatures were hotter. “At least the truck has air.”
Ronald Thompson, 61, of northeast Houston, said he’s been staying at his church where the air conditioner and an inflatable mattress has kept him relaxed.
He, too, contends CenterPoint should share the blame for his living arrangements.
“There needs to be improvements because our bills are due at the end of the month,” Thompson said. “I can’t go home.”
Deon J. Hampton / NBC News
Tensions have been rising throughout the week. On Wednesday, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a man threatening to shoot CenterPoint employees.
“Hurry up and do your job or I’m going to shoot your truck,” the man said to the workers, according to deputies.
Sheriffs took the man into custody for making terroristic threats and deadly conduct.
And on a concrete wall along Interstate 10, someone spray painted “CenterPointless” graffiti, according to NBC affiliate KPRC-TV in Houston.
Acting Gov. Dan Patrick said at a press conference this week that Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for an investigation into CenterPoint's response to the storm, noting that consequences will be determined by the Public Utility Commission.
Hospitals overwhelmed and long lines for food
The dangerously hot temperatures this week have led to an increase in heat-related emergency calls and visits, with some local hospitals relying on generators.
The storm also exacerbated the health conditions of Vasquez, the man who sold his engagement ring. He lives with a pacemaker and has respiratory concerns.
“When I’m in the room in the house I can’t even breathe,” he said.
He was among the hundreds of people who queued up inside their vehicles on Friday for ice and food such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans at a Wal-Mart near downtown.
The hot meals were provided by Tyson Foods, which planned to offer 5,000 plates per day over the next few days.
However, the meal giveaway didn’t come without controversy.
Cleveland Jackson, who is wheelchair bound, said he was declined food because he wasn’t sitting in a vehicle when he requested a plate.
“They wouldn’t let me walk up and get any food,” said Jackson, 58, of southeast Houston. “It made me feel unwanted, like I didn’t mean anything.” A couple of others said they experienced the same.
Tyson Foods spokesman Kate Powell said she initially thought Jackson received a plate, but later realized he hadn't and subsequently offered him one.
'Waiting for the lights to come back on'
In some parts of Houston, life went on as usual. Many people went to work. Traffic plagued streets and grocery aisles were packed, albeit partly because of the storm.
But the impact the hurricane had on local residents can’t be understated. Those with the financial resources retreated to hotel rooms to wait out the aftermath. Those who didn't were left to sleep in cars or in sweltering homes.
Michael Stavinoha, a 40-year-old real-estate developer who lives in Houston part time, spent about $1,500 on hotel stays since the storm struck. He said he’s likely to continue shelling out for rentals because power to his home may not return until next week.
“Every hotel I’ve had to stay at on the low end has been $350 per night,” he said. “Finding a place to stay is crazy because everything is expensive and booked up.”
Northwest Houston resident Jessica Shaw, 35, wasn’t as fortunate.
After growing tired of sleeping in her apartment in “unbearable heat,” she reluctantly stayed Wednesday night in her car with her three children.
“I had the air conditioning on but I didn’t sleep much because it was pitch black outside and a safety hazard,” said Shaw, whose power briefly returned on Thursday only for it to go out again on Friday.
Vacationers passing through town also caught Beryl's wrath.
Martin Castro Munoc was traveling from Louisville, Kentucky, to Veracruz, Mexico on Sunday but missed his layover flight in Houston by three minutes. He rescheduled for Monday, but not before the hurricane hit.
He’s been paying $100 in cash per night to stay at a hotel which doesn’t have access to its computer system. “Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong,” said Munoc, 39. “It’s just very inconvenient.”
Robert Perez, who on Thursday evening was sitting on a milk crate under a large tree while trying to cool off, said he felt helpless and at the mercy of CenterPoint to restore power to his apartment.
Despite the hot outdoor temperatures outside, he said it beats the sweltering heat inside his apartment. “I don’t understand why people won’t fix this,” said Perez, a southwest Houston resident expressing his frustration with the power company.
And then there were those who can’t wait for the nightmare to end.
“I haven’t been doing anything except waiting for the lights to come back on,” said Zelaya, who is trying to find any way she can to dodge the heat.
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