Houstonist: Power to the People

beauh

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:50:31 -0600

CenterPoint's numbers are wrong (more likely just made up). In my ZIP code (77027) it shows the number of outages going down, but the percentage of outages going up over the last two days. I'm with the complainers, CP should be doing more to comfort those of us without power, i.e. telling us when they'll be working on what areas.

Katharine Shilcutt Gleave

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:23:10 -0600

It's worth mentioning that the Chronicle's power outage map seems to be much more reliable, primarily because it's being populated by data from actual residents as their power comes on. http://www.chron.com/databases/ikepower.html It also contains helpful local anecdotes about open service stations and grocery stores.

Katharine Shilcutt Gleave

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:08:14 -0600

I understand that it's frustrating for everyone -- I don't have power or water at my own home, and am very lucky to have power (and internet!) at my office building -- but I do think that Centerpoint is doing everything they can to get this taken care of as quickly as possible. No amount of pre-planning and strategizing can magically get millions of tree limbs off power lines, transformers back up and running immediately or repair every single snapped power line or pole within a day. Guessing or estimating about when they'll have things repaired would only make things worse if they weren't able to meet those estimations. Can you imagine how angry people would be then? I'm with Mary in CO: thankful that so many other cities and states (and even those crazy Canucks!) have sent crews in to help us. That makes me so happy and grateful. During times like this, you have to concentrate on the positives and be thankful for what you have. :)

Ali93

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:58:00 -0600

Jim, I don't think anyone disputes that they are dealing with mass devastation. I think everyone realizes that this isn't an easy feat. However- the priorities are so wrong with this. Grocery stores and gas stations should be amongst the first to get power. I live down the street from two schools and the federal reserve building and still don't have power. And I haven't seen a truck in my neighborhood yet. I don't like this double talk of "we need to assess the damage." They've had plenty of time to do that. They should have a plan in place, made public, as to who they are bringing up and when. Estimate some times so that people can plan accordingly. It's frustrating enough to be literally in the dark, but the guessing game is what's driving most of us crazy. Tell me when my neighborhood will be worked on. Estimate when we might see some restoration. If we don't see it by that time, explain why. I work for a huge company that recently went through something similar with an outage that affected millions of people. We gave them updates around the clock and had teams working around the clock to restore everything back to normalcy. It took 3 weeks, but we did it. We had to completely rebuild structures that originally took 6 months to build in 3 weeks. Things like this can be done. All I'm asking for is some sort of information that isn't just simply "we are working on it". It's not good enough when peoples homes and livelihoods are at stake. My husband is hourly and works contract. He can't go back to work until there is power and he doesn't get paid for this time off. Other small mom and pop business have to be closed because of this as well. It's not all about the comforts of home for a lot of people.

Jim Parsons

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:41:41 -0600

I know it's frustrating for those of us who still don't have power, but I think the important thing to remember is that CenterPoint and other power companies are dealing with a truly massive situation: Almost every customer in the Houston area lost electricity during the storm, and it's just going to take a while to get all that fixed. The fact that they've gotten one-third of their customers back online in three days is amazing, and I hope we can all cut them a little slack as they continue their work. Just saying.

Ali93

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:35:23 -0600

I second all of those comments. Ours is listed as 100% out and three people on my street have power. Also, our street lamp is working IN OUR YARD but our house is dark. I'm so not happy with Centerpoint. I just feel like they were totally unprepared for something that should have been prepared for. In a post-Katrina world, they should have been on their game.

Jim Parsons

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:34:11 -0600

Driving through the Third Ward today, I saw about 30 Florida Power & Light trucks staged along Alabama. A sign that lights are on the way for more people, I hope.

Mary in CO

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:28:07 -0600

Luke, am glad your gfriend has electricity! The lists really don't fill the bill, but Centerpoint is definitely pulling out the stops to get the power back on. BTW, Xcel is sending utility crews down to the Houston area -- including some from Denver. Good to see folks pitching in. Have heard that 7000+ from out of town/state will be helping to get the power back on. Awesome! Have heard some great stories of neighbor helping neighbor in this disaster -- sharing ice and generator power, helping clear tree limbs, and so on. Hang in there guys, and help one another. You are in our prayers, for sure.

Jax

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:10:41 -0600

Yeah Centerpoint's list does suck. I live in 77004 and while my apartment has been without power since Friday, many buildings that I can see around us have had power since Sunday. Centerpoint's list says still 100% outage as of this morning.

lukegilman

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:33:05 -0600

Centerpoint's Zipcode list is not to be trusted. My girlfriend's apartment complex has had full power for nearly the entire duration and her zip is listed as 100% out.

Mary in CO

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:18:13 -0600

Katharine, that Zipcode list left me frustrated. Centerpoint does have customers in the Woodlands, but the list mentions only 1 report of an outage in the 77382 area. My sister's family in the Woodlands has been w/o eletricity since Ike hit, and I know they're not the only Centerpoint customers in that area. Entergy Storm Center's map includes estimates for restoration dates (e.g. 80% of Woodlands customers should have power restored by 9/19). I wish that Centerpoint would offer similiar info. Giving customers a "guess-timate" engenders good will and clears up the phone lines!