Houston's Power Crisis in the Age of Extreme Weather: CenterPoint Energy's Rejected Grant and the Frustration of Residents

Houston, Texas United States of America
CenterPoint Energy requested $100 million from the DOE to strengthen electric infrastructure but was rejected.
Houston faced a power crisis during Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.
Old and outdated electrical infrastructure combined with extreme weather events left many residents frustrated and helpless.
Houston's Power Crisis in the Age of Extreme Weather: CenterPoint Energy's Rejected Grant and the Frustration of Residents

In the sweltering heat of July 2024, Houston, Texas faced yet another power crisis. This time it was not due to a winter freeze or an unexpected derecho but rather the early arrival of Hurricane Beryl. The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane and brought with it heavy rain and strong winds that caused widespread power outages.

The city's electrical infrastructure, which has been under scrutiny since the devastating winter storm in 2021, struggled to keep up with the demands of its residents. Many were left without electricity for days on end as temperatures soared above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the main utilities responsible for providing power to Houston and its surrounding areas is CenterPoint Energy. The utility had requested $100 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2023 to strengthen its electric poles and wires against hurricane winds and flooding. However, their application was rejected.

CenterPoint provides electricity to a critical area that includes major industrial ports, oil refineries, and one of the nation's largest petrochemical hubs. The rejection of this grant left many wondering about the reasoning behind the decision.

Meanwhile, Houston was still recovering from previous storms and flooding in the area. May 2022 saw severe flooding in Houston after a torrential downpour, which further strained the city's electrical infrastructure. The combination of old and outdated infrastructure and extreme weather events left many residents feeling frustrated and helpless.

The situation was not helped by the fact that some areas were restored to power before others, causing confusion and anger among affected residents. Lina Hidalgo, the highest-ranking elected official in Harris County, was also criticized for leaving town during the storm despite forecasts showing it was safe to do so.

As Houston continues to grapple with its power issues and extreme weather events, questions remain about the future of its electrical infrastructure and whether enough is being done to prevent another crisis.


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Confidence

85%

Doubts
  • Was the rejection of CenterPoint Energy's grant due to budget constraints or other reasons?
  • Were there any alternative solutions for strengthening Houston's electrical infrastructure?

Sources

57%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Ken Hoffman knows whom to blame for Houston's too slow Beryl recovery

CultureMap Houston Ken Hoffman Friday, 12 July 2024 16:00
  • Unique Points
    • Hurricane Beryl caused power outages in Houston, leaving some residents without electricity for over five days.
    • CenterPoint Energy restored power to some areas but not others, causing frustration and anger among affected residents.
    • Lina Hidalgo, the highest-ranking elected official in Harris County, was criticized for leaving town during the storm despite forecasts showing it was safe to do so.
  • Accuracy
    • ][Houston Mayor John Whitmire held press conferences][] but faced criticism for turning them into political photo ops.
    • [Governor Greg Abbott and Acting Governor Dan Patrick were criticized for their response to the power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl.]
    • [Lina Hidalgo, the highest-ranking elected official in Harris County, was criticized for leaving town during the storm despite forecasts showing it was safe to do so.]
  • Deception (30%)
    The author uses emotional manipulation by expressing his frustration and anger towards CenterPoint for not restoring power quickly enough. He also makes a false statement about CenterPoint having no idea when power will be restored, which is a lie by omission as they have stated that restoration efforts are ongoing. The author also engages in selective reporting by focusing on the negative aspects of the situation and ignoring any positive information or actions taken by CenterPoint.
    • If a hurricane is barreling anywhere within 1000 light years of Harris County – you stay home.
    • But my side of the street, just one block – no lights, no Internet, no cable TV, no air conditioning, no nothing.
    • I only had to endure one day of being without power during Houston’s 95-degree summer heat and humidity. Good on CenterPoint.
    • I have trouble sleeping because it’s so hot and drippy. When I do conk out for a couple of hours, I wake up in sheets soaked with sweat.
    • It happens every time. It will happen next time. And we will put up with their excuses.
    • Everybody in Houston is angry. Social media is a powder keg.
    • Next time, after CenterPoint’s total poop show, Houston has to be Top 5 in perspiration.
  • Fallacies (75%)
    The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by expressing anger and frustration towards CenterPoint and other public officials for their handling of Hurricane Beryl. The author also makes a dichotomous depiction by contrasting the situation of those with power to those without.
    • > I only had to endure one day of being without power during Houston’s 95-degree summer heat and humidity.<br>Fantastic! I only had to endure one day of being without power.<br>Slight problem: My power was NOT back. My house was a sauna. There goes the box of chef Curtis Stone frozen gourmet burgers I bought off the Home Shopping Network.
    • <I am furious and defeated and powerless in so many ways.<br>Everybody in Houston is angry.<br>Social media is a powder keg. Beyond frustrating, across the street has power, the street behind me has power. I’m surrounded by homes with power.
    • <Next week! Actually, CenterPoint has no idea when power will be back on in Houston. They have left us in the dark.<br>I am so over CenterPoint.<br>I wish I could pull the plug on CenterPoint so they know how it feels.
    • <But my side of the street, just one block – no lights, no Internet, no cable TV, no air conditioning, no nothing. I have trouble sleeping because it’s so hot and drippy. When I do conk out for a couple of hours, I wake up in sheets soaked with sweat.
    • <I tried finding a hotel that takes dogs, but too late, not one available room anywhere.<br>Next stop: Generac.
    • <To be fair, it wasn’t just CenterPoint that stuck it to Houstonians in the wake of Beryl. There was enough incompetence on every level of government to go around.<br>Let’s start with Lina Hidalgo, the highest-ranking elected official in Harris County.<br>“Like many over the July 4 weekend, I headed out of town on a pre-planned trip with the blessing of emergency management professionals when forecasts showed it was safe for me to leave.<br>Hidalgo trusts weather forecasts? That’s so cute.
    • <Just like Sen. Ted Cruz high-footin’ to Cancun during the Big Freeze, Hidalgo’s pre-planned trip crosses party lines for irresponsibility.<br>By the way, all planned trips are “pre-planned.” That’s like Mattress Mack bragging that his zero-gravity couch is “non-scratch proof.” Just say scratch proof, Mack.
    • <Remember Whitmire bragging how prepared Houston was before the storm reached Texas? “No city handles a weather crisis like Houston does,” he said.<br>Are you new around here? My lights flicker when it drizzles anywhere south of Dallas.
    • <For its part, the state unleashed the four scariest words to hear in an emergency: Acting Governor Dan Patrick.<br>His main role post-Beryl is pointing fingers at Judge Hidalgo for failed response. The real governor, Greg Abbott, was another no-show.<br>He’s in Asia trying to drum up business for Texas on a trade mission.
    • <The primary villain<br>Then there’s CenterPoint, the primary villain.<br>I’ve never seen a more dysfunctional response to an emergency than CenterPoint’s mishandling of restoring power.<br>Hundreds of thousands of Houston area residents still are held prisoner by CenterPoint’s failure to deliver.
    • <CenterPoint either completely underestimated the destructive force of the storm or is simply too incompetent to deal with getting power restored.<br>Residents complain that repair trucks are idling by the curb doing nothing while drivers say they are waiting for instructions.<br>If a hurricane is a natural disaster then CenterPoint is a man-made catastrophe. Whoever’s running the CenterPoint show has gotta go.
    • <Houston has extreme weather. It’s the price we pay for living on the Gulf Coast.<br>CenterPoint had a week to prepare for Beryl, it knew power would go out, and still was unable to deal with the storm’s aftermath.<br>It happens every time. It will happen next time. And we will put up with their excuses.
  • Bias (10%)
    The author expresses extreme frustration and anger towards CenterPoint for their handling of power restoration after Hurricane Beryl. The author also criticizes other government officials for their responses to the hurricane. This demonstrates a clear bias against these organizations and individuals.
    • CenterPoint either completely underestimated the destructive force of the storm or is simply too incompetent to deal with getting power restored.
      • I am so over CenterPoint. I wish I could pull the plug on CenterPoint so they know how it feels.
        • Whoever’s running the CenterPoint show has gotta go.
        • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication

        79%

        The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
        (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

        A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

        Texas needs money to keep the lights on during extreme weather. It’s funding more fossil fuel instead

        CNN News Site: In-Depth Reporting and Analysis with Some Financial Conflicts and Sensational Language Ella Nilsen Friday, 12 July 2024 15:44
        • Unique Points
          • Texas is investing billions of taxpayer dollars into new natural gas-fired power plants instead of strengthening its grid.
          • Natural gas plants went offline during the February 2021 deep freeze, causing most of the outages.
          • Many of Texas’ electrical poles are old and made of wood, which becomes more brittle with extreme heat and floods.
        • Accuracy
          No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
        • Deception (30%)
          The article makes selective reporting by focusing on the construction of new natural gas-fired power plants in Texas and implying that this is the primary cause of power outages during extreme weather events. However, it fails to mention that natural gas plants went offline during the deadly deep freeze in February 2021, accounting for a significant portion of the outages. The article also implies that investing in new natural gas-fired power plants will not make power lines resilient to stronger storms, but it does not provide any evidence or expert opinions to support this claim. Furthermore, the article uses emotional manipulation by describing the consequences of power outages on people's lives and implying that Texas officials are prioritizing fossil fuels over people's safety.
          • But flooding the energy grid with more planet-warming fossil fuels won’t make power lines resilient to stronger storms.
          • The move to build more natural gas plants came in the wake of another massive power outage: the deadly deep freeze in February 2021 killed more than 200 people and left millions of customers without power and heat for days. Despite Texas Republicans’ anti-wind energy rhetoric, natural gas plants going offline accounted for the bulk of the outages.
        • Fallacies (85%)
          The author commits the appeal to authority fallacy by quoting energy experts Doug Lewin and Michael Webber to support her argument that Texas is prioritizing natural gas power plants over hardening its grid. However, the author's assertion that Texas is 'pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into new natural gas-fired power plants' is not directly quoted from the experts but rather an interpretation by the author. Additionally, there are dichotomous depictions in the article when it states 'Texas is pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into new natural gas-fired power plants' and 'But flooding the energy grid with more planet-warming fossil fuels won’t make power lines resilient to stronger storms.' The author presents these two statements as mutually exclusive, but they are not necessarily so.
          • ] Texas is pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into new natural gas-fired power plants.[
          • But flooding the energy grid with more planet-warming fossil fuels won’t make power lines resilient to stronger storms.
        • Bias (80%)
          The author expresses a clear bias against the use of natural gas-fired power plants in Texas, implying that they are not effective in making power lines resilient to extreme weather. The author also implies that Texas officials are prioritizing natural gas power plants over hardening the grid and addressing climate change. These statements demonstrate a bias towards renewable energy sources and against fossil fuels.
          • But flooding the energy grid with more planet-warming fossil fuels won’t make power lines resilient to stronger storms.
            • Some utilities are starting to replace wooden poles with stronger fiberglass materials; some are contemplating burying electrical lines underground, which is an expensive process.
              • The problem is transmission lines can’t carry that power. You could have all the power in the world; if you can’t get it to where it’s needed, it’s not going to do anybody any good.
                • We’ve got to make sure that 90-year-olds have power when it’s 105 degrees out — period. That’s just mission critical. Anything less than 100% success is not okay.
                • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                  None Found At Time Of Publication
                • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                  None Found At Time Of Publication

                83%

                The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                DOE rejected Houston grid improvement a year before Beryl blackout

                E&E News Thomas Frank Friday, 12 July 2024 10:55
                • Unique Points
                  • The Biden administration rejected CenterPoint Energy’s request for $100 million to strengthen its electric poles and wires against hurricane winds and flooding.
                  • CenterPoint provides electricity to a critical area that includes major industrial ports, oil refineries, and one of the nation’s largest petrochemical hubs.
                • Accuracy
                  • CenterPoint Energy provided electricity to a critical area that includes major industrial ports, oil refineries, and one of the nation’s largest petrochemical hubs.
                • Deception (35%)
                  The article does not clearly state that the Biden administration rejected CenterPoint's request for funding. Instead, it states that “It’s unclear why the department rejected CenterPoint’s request.” This is a lie by omission as the article does not disclose that the Biden administration was responsible for the rejection. Additionally, while it is mentioned that DOE funds pay a portion usually 50% of the overall cost of a project, there is no mention that this was also the case for CenterPoint's request. This can lead to readers assuming CenterPoint applied for full funding which was rejected when in fact they only applied for half. These two instances make the article slightly deceiving.
                  • CenterPoint says in the document it had sought a $100 million grant through DOE’s new Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program “to fund high wind and flood mitigation projects.” It was the first time the rejection was disclosed publicly.
                  • The Biden administration rejected a request from Houston’s power utility last year for $100 million...
                  • It’s unclear why the department rejected CenterPoint’s request.
                • Fallacies (100%)
                  None Found At Time Of Publication
                • Bias (95%)
                  The author expresses a clear bias against the Biden administration and implies that they are prioritizing renewable energy over infrastructure in Houston, which led to power outages during Hurricane Beryl. The author quotes an energy economist who shares this perspective and criticizes the administration for rejecting CenterPoint's grant application. The author also uses language that depicts the Biden administration as being anti-fossil fuel.
                  • CenterPoint is clearly a matter of national security. This is the communications hub for the oil patch and petrochemicals and refiners.
                    • It's unclear to what extent CenterPoint would have strengthened its distribution system by the time Beryl hit if DOE had awarded the company money in October.
                      • There’s such an anti-fossil-fuel initiative with the Biden administration that anything that might be remotely supporting the industry, second or third or fourth degree, gets short shrift.
                      • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication

                      80%

                      The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                      (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                      A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                      Why Hurricane Beryl was more than Houston could handle

                      Vox Media LTD Umair Irfan Friday, 12 July 2024 17:01
                      • Unique Points
                        • Houston is recovering from previous storms and flooding in the area.
                        • May 2022 saw severe flooding in Houston after a torrential downpour.
                      • Accuracy
                        • Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 storm in the Atlantic hurricane season on record, reaching that level on July 2.
                        • Hurricane Beryl caused power outages in Houston, leaving some residents without electricity for over five days.
                        • Texas is investing billions of taxpayer dollars into new natural gas-fired power plants instead of strengthening its grid.
                      • Deception (30%)
                        The author makes editorializing statements and uses emotional manipulation by describing the impacts of Hurricane Beryl as 'unprecedented', 'predictable', and a 'compound disaster'. The article also engages in selective reporting by focusing on the negative consequences of Hurricane Beryl without mentioning any potential positive outcomes or mitigating factors. Additionally, there are references to studies and trends related to climate change, but no specific sources or citations are provided.
                        • But the storm's impacts on vulnerable infrastructure and its convergence with severe temperatures were just as foreseeable.
                        • Power companies are warning residents to stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines.
                        • Officials weren’t assuaged.
                        • It's just one thing after another
                        • Hurricane Beryl was unprecedented in many ways
                      • Fallacies (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Bias (95%)
                        The author expresses a clear concern for the impact of extreme weather events on vulnerable infrastructure and communities, particularly in the context of climate change. However, there are several instances where the author uses language that could be perceived as biased towards blaming specific entities or conditions for these issues. For example, when discussing CenterPoint Energy's response to Hurricane Beryl and previous storms, the author states 'CenterPoint did apply for a $100 million grant last year from the US Department of Energy to bolster its wires and poles to withstand severe weather, but the agency denied the proposal.' This statement implies that CenterPoint's lack of funding is solely responsible for their inability to prepare for and respond effectively to extreme weather events. Additionally, when discussing Texas' energy infrastructure, the author states 'The Texas power grid is largely isolated from its neighbors so it can’t easily draw power from other states when its supply is disrupted.' This statement could be perceived as biased against the Texas power grid and implies that other states have more effective energy infrastructure. These instances of language use do not necessarily reflect a deliberate bias on the part of the author, but they do contribute to a potentially biased perspective.
                        • CenterPoint did apply for a $100 million grant last year from the US Department of Energy to bolster its wires and poles to withstand severe weather, but the agency denied the proposal.
                          • The Texas power grid is largely isolated from its neighbors so it can’t easily draw power from other states when its supply is disrupted.
                          • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                            None Found At Time Of Publication
                          • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                            None Found At Time Of Publication