HOUSTON, Texas — As days of sweltering heat continue, Houston residents are expressing frustration over the lack of electricity to local utility CenterPoint Energy, which has come under increasing scrutiny for a perceived slow response after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Gulf Coast earlier this week.
More than 800,000 customers were still without power as of Friday afternoon, more than four days after the hurricane left streets flooded and more than two million people without air conditioning as temperatures soared above 90 degrees.
“It’s ridiculous, we’re sleeping in hot rooms,” said Ruth Gonzalez, a Houston resident who takes cold showers at night to sleep.
She blames the utility company and the storm for this week’s chaos.
“What in the world are you going to do for us, and how are we going to get compensated for everything we lose?” she asked CenterPoint, referring to the $600 worth of food they had thrown away since the storm.
Gonzalez and her 56-year-old fiancé Guy Vasquez pawned their diamond wedding rings this week, just for gas money and food.
“You have to do what you have to do to keep the kids fat and full,” Vasquez said, referring to the three grandchildren they help raise.
The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths in the U.S. and nine in the Caribbean. At least three people have died in the Houston metropolitan area, weather officials said.
Despite the public outcry, Darin Carroll, senior vice president of operations at CenterPoint, told NBC News this week that the utility was prepared for the storm and had sent crews from outside Houston to mobilize once the storm passed.
“We realize what it must be like to live in Texas in July and not have electricity,” he said during the interview, adding that this is the fastest time the company has ever had to restore power to about a million homes.
CenterPoint Energy reported in a press release Thursday that more than 80 percent of affected customers should have power restored by Sunday.
However, in some areas with significant structural damage, there may be extended power outages as thousands of new distribution poles and overhead lines are installed, which are needed to transport electricity.
Carroll said the storm “hit the entire service area with full force,” with downed trees taking power lines across the city with it.
“In many cases it is not just branches, but entire trees that need to be cleared before we can carry out the restoration,” he says.
The repairs can’t come soon enough for Rosa M. Zelaya, 53, of Humble, Texas, a city just outside Houston, has been without power since the storm hit on Monday.
She said she had been sleeping in her truck the past few nights, next to her two children.
“It’s terrible because we have nothing. We need food and water,” Zelaya said, sweating through her blue dress Friday morning. It was about 85 degrees outside at the time, but she had spent most of the morning indoors, where temperatures were warmer. “At least the truck has air.”
Ronald Thompson, 61, of northeast Houston, says he stays at his church, where air conditioning and an air mattress relax him.
He also believes that CenterPoint is partly responsible for his living situation.
“There has to be improvements because our bills have to be paid at the end of the month,” Thompson said. “I can’t go home.”
Tensions have been rising all week. On Wednesday, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a man threatening to shoot CenterPoint employees.
“Do your job quickly or I will shoot your truck,” the man told the workers, according to the deputies.
Sheriffs arrested the man for terroristic threats and deadly conduct.
And on a concrete wall along Interstate 10, someone spray-painted graffiti that read “CenterPointless,” according to NBC station KPRC-TV in Houston.
Acting Governor Dan Patrick said at a news conference this week that Governor Greg Abbott is calling for an investigation into CenterPoint’s response to the storm, noting that the impact will be determined by the Public Utility Commission.
Hospitals overwhelmed and long lines for food
This week’s dangerously high temperatures have led to an increase in emergency calls and visits due to the heat, with some local hospitals now relying on generators.
The storm also worsened the health of Vasquez, the man who sold his engagement ring. He lives with a pacemaker and has breathing problems.
“When I’m in the room in the house, I can’t even breathe,” he said.
He was one of hundreds of people who lined up in their cars Friday for ice cream 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 dishes per day in the coming days.
However, the meal distribution campaign was not without controversy.
Cleveland Jackson, who uses a wheelchair, said he was denied food because he was not in a vehicle when he asked for a plate.
“They wouldn’t let me go upstairs and get food,” said Jackson, 58, of southeast Houston. “I felt unwanted, like I didn’t mean anything.” Several others said they experienced the same thing.
Tyson Foods spokeswoman Kate Powell said she initially thought Jackson had been given a plate but later realized that was not the case and offered him one anyway.
‘Waiting for the lights to come back on’
In some parts of Houston life is went on as usual. Many people went to work. Traffic-choked streets and supermarket shelves were full, although partly because of the storm.
But the impact the hurricane had on local residents cannot be underestimated. Those with the financial means retreated to hotel rooms to wait out the aftermath. Those without were forced to sleep in cars or sweltering houses.
Michael Stavinoha, a 40-year-old real estate developer who lives part-time in Houston, has spent about $1,500 on hotel stays since the storm hit. He said he will likely continue paying rent because power to his home won’t be back until next week.
“Every low-end hotel I’ve stayed in has been $350 a night,” he said. “Finding a place to stay is crazy because everything is expensive and booked up.”
Jessica Shaw, 35, who lives in northwest Houston, was not so lucky.
Tired of sleeping in her apartment in the “unbearable heat,” she reluctantly stayed in her car with her three children on Wednesday night.
“I had the air conditioning on, but I didn’t get much sleep because it was pitch black outside and that was a safety hazard,” said Shaw, who had power restored briefly on Thursday but lost power again on Friday.
Holidaymakers passing through the city also incurred 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 struck.
He pays $100 cash a night to stay at a hotel that doesn’t have access to its computer system. “Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” said Munoc, 39. “It’s just very inconvenient.”
Robert Perez, who sat on a crate of milk under a large tree to cool off Thursday night, said he felt helpless and was relying on CenterPoint to restore power to his apartment.
Despite the high temperatures outside, he said it beats the stifling heat in his apartment. “I don’t understand why people don’t want to fix this,” said Perez, a southwest Houston resident who expressed frustration with the power company.
And then there were those who couldn’t wait for the nightmare to be over.
“I didn’t do anything but wait for the lights to come back on,” said Zelaya, who tries to avoid the heat by any means possible.