A group of Houston restaurants that lost power for days after Hurricane Beryl sued the city’s main utility, accusing CenterPoint Energy Inc. of failing to adequately invest in infrastructure and respond to widespread power outages.
The lawsuit, filed by various eateries and restaurant groups in state court in Houston, claims CenterPoint failed to properly plan for the storm and conduct “reasonable power restoration efforts” after customers lost power. The businesses are seeking unspecified damages to cover the cost of business interruption, property damage and repairs, lost profits and other expenses.
“All of the restaurants suing lost power initially as a result of Hurricane Beryl, but that loss inexplicably continued due to the incompetence and utter dereliction of CenterPoint Energy,” Tony Buzbee, a high-profile Houston attorney representing the restaurants, said in a statement.
Buzbee is seeking class-action status for the case, which would allow other affected restaurants to join as plaintiffs.
More than 2.5 million homes and businesses in Texas lost power after the storm made landfall July 8 — including roughly 1.9 million CenterPoint customers. Restoration work has been slow, with large swaths of the city remaining in the dark for days. The utility said Monday it is on track to restore power to 90% of its impacted customers, one week after the storm hit.
CenterPoint has come under fire from state leaders for the ongoing outages. Governor Greg Abbott ordered the company to draft a detailed plan for improving power reliability for future storms and threatened to take executive action if it failed to do so. He also ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate allegations that the company was “penny-pinching and cutting corners” ahead of the storm.
In a statement responding to Abbott, the company said crews have been working “around-the-clock through the weekend, restoring power at the fastest rate in the company’s history.”
“We have heard and understand our customers’ frustrations,” according to the statement. “We are committed to doing a thorough review of our response to support our customers and our communities, especially when they need us most.”
The case is Berg Hospitality Group LLC v. CenterPoint Energy, 2024-44198, Texas District Court, Harris County (165th District).
Photo: CenterPoint assistance crews work to restore power lines in Houston, Texas on July 11.
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