Take a breath. Think.

Is it reasonable to expect no transmission issues in a relatively no warning freak storm that isn't even during hurricane season? Windows were blown out of buildings in the downtown area. Major trees were toppled.

Sorry but having the expectation of 0 power interruptions is ridiculous.

CP's contractors do preventative work to avoid outages from average storms...they aren't weather-proofing the lines for Cat 2+ hurricane force winds. To do so would be much more invasive and expensive.

We aren't talking about a few branches brushing up against power lines, this was whole trees falling over and taking out service. Unless you want CP grubbing every tree that is in falling distance to a line (their aerial easement doesn't extend that far anyway), then this storm shouldn't be your example of poor planning. Personally, I prefer having some trees in my yard.

Ultimately, the owner of the trees (property owner) are responsible for what those trees damage if not maintained.

I believe the tree owner is only responsible if negligence could be proven. Like it's dead and the neighbor warns them (probably in writing) that it's about to fall on their house.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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I believe the tree owner is only responsible if negligence could be proven. Like it's dead and the neighbor warns them (probably in writing) that it's about to fall on their house.

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Yep, so Wycliffe needs to start sending Centerpoint some certified letters.

if your main complaint about centerpoint is just now happening...then you are either very young, very stupid, or just haven't been paying attention.


Centerpoint customer service is one of the worst i've dealt with. try getting a gas connect and let me know if you are still mad at not having power for 4 days.

I posted in the hurricane thread.

Live in kingwood and see dead trees right next to Centerpoint. They'll let them stay for months if not years then when a small storm comes they'll finally cut them. After power is out for 8+ hours.

Or we have poles leaning 30+ degrees but no replacement. I've called and emailed and nothing.

Centerpoint is messed up. And being a public company doesn't help. They're a monopoly.

~egon

Good gawd, get a grip.

CenterPoint cannot prevent giant trees from falling on the power lines.

There are people with trees fallen into their house. If you don't, thank whatever god you pray to and HTFU.

Y'all are crazy. Centerpoint absolutely has culpability in this. Would tree trimming have stopped everything that happened? Absolutely not. I don't believe Wycliffe even said that. But there are plenty of spots that would not be down if Centerpoint did their job.

Just a couple of weeks ago, CenterPoint's contractor came through our hood and cut trees back away from the lines. Did not in any way prevent a tree from falling over and knocking the transformer to our house off its pole.

Wanna know why they don't "harden the lines" or "do more?"

MONEY

It's called actuarial risk analysis. There's a whole team out there with the brain power of a supercomputer and the social skills of a rock that run the numbers and find the near perfect point where they believe the cost of repair meets the cost of X, Y, or Z of not "doing something."

The investors expect a certain rate of return on their investment. It's called capitalism. If someone is a Commie *******, I can see why they wouldn't like the set up. You think these cold calculations are cruel to humanity? Well, it's a lot less cruel than Communist gov't control.

Anyone who wants all of these old power lines buried has likely never seen what it takes to install electrical infrastructure. You want to triple or quadruple your electric bill? Keep pushing for it.

CenterPoint Energy sucks ass, but there are no alternatives, and I can tell you that being friends with someone in the C-suite at another energy provider just outside of Centerpoint's area, the alternative is not any better. This is modern day America everywhere. Good customer service is a novelty now, not the standard.

Now, one final engineering point as to why this 100mph wind blast was worse than a Cat 1-2 hurricane.

Impact Force = 1/2 x mass x velocity^2

During a hurricane, the winds gradually rise, and if you go from 80mph to 100 mph in a gust, you're only getting a differential velocity of 20mph. Very low impact force.

The straight line winds on Thursday went from nearly 0 to 100mph in a heartbeat. That's a devastating impact load to ANY structure, natural or manmade. It's a big reason why even smaller tornados are more dangerous than minor hurricanes.

I've never seen giant trees snapped at the base like this. I'm not talking pushed over with the root ball sticking out, I mean snapped. That is an astounding amount of energy.

Damn, that turned into a random assortment of things.

Bottom line, this all sucks, CenterPoint sucks, and unless you've got big money and a defensible cause for a lawsuit, nothing is going to change.

Dr. Doctor said:

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Live in kingwood and see dead trees right next to Centerpoint. They'll let them stay for months if not years then when a small storm comes they'll finally cut them. After power is out for 8+ hours.

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If there is a dead tree, it is the property owner's responsibility to take it down before it causes damage. The property owner owns the tree, not CP. CP's aerial easements vary, but on most residential lines they are 5' X 20' AE. If the tree is encroaching/inside the AE, then, yes, CP should have their contractor cut it back before it gets to the point of being able to cause damage. But they aren't allowed to go outside the AE to cut everything that might get blown into the line during a storm.

Alright, since you just inferred that people like me who are complaining are communists.

It is about as capitalist as you can be to expect better performance from a company that you give your money to for services in return. I am sure they have all of their whiz bang smarties come up with what are acceptable risk/rewards to make money for their investors, of which you are probably one. There is nothing wrong with that.

The problem is that Centerpoint has culpability here, however they probably also have immunity.

If you go to a restaurant and they give you crap service and you get food poisoning, then thanks to capitalism you can never go there again and pick somewhere else to give your money.

If we keep experiencing enough service issues maybe enough capitalists will start to realize they are not getting good service in return for their money.

But Centerpoint is a monopoly and in bed with the gov.

Best of luck to all. Buy a generator and be prepared for this to happen on the regular. Centerpoint will continue to milk us all for profit with no commitment for service.

Furlock Bones said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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Good lord this is so far off the mark it hurts.

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Care to explain why, or just drive by?

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I think Wycliffe summed it up pretty well.

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So, nothing but feelz.

CDUB98 said:

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Just a couple of weeks ago, CenterPoint's contractor came through our hood and cut trees back away from the lines. Did not in any way prevent a tree from falling over and knocking the transformer to our house off its pole.

Wanna know why they don't "harden the lines" or "do more?"

MONEY

It's called actuarial risk analysis. There's a whole team out there with the brain power of a supercomputer and the social skills of a rock that run the numbers and find the near perfect point where they believe the cost of repair meets the cost of X, Y, or Z of not "doing something."

The investors expect a certain rate of return on their investment. It's called capitalism. If someone is a Commie *******, I can see why they wouldn't like the set up. You think these cold calculations are cruel to humanity? Well, it's a lot less cruel than Communist gov't control.

Anyone who wants all of these old power lines buried has likely never seen what it takes to install electrical infrastructure. You want to triple or quadruple your electric bill? Keep pushing for it.

CenterPoint Energy sucks ass, but there are no alternatives, and I can tell you that being friends with someone in the C-suite at another energy provider just outside of Centerpoint's area, the alternative is not any better. This is modern day America everywhere. Good customer service is a novelty now, not the standard.

Now, one final engineering point as to why this 100mph wind blast was worse than a Cat 1-2 hurricane.

Impact Force = 1/2 x mass x velocity^2

During a hurricane, the winds gradually rise, and if you go from 80mph to 100 mph in a gust, you're only getting a differential velocity of 20mph. Very low impact force.

The straight line winds on Thursday went from nearly 0 to 100mph in a heartbeat. That's a devastating impact load to ANY structure, natural or manmade. It's a big reason why even smaller tornados are more dangerous than minor hurricanes.

I've never seen giant trees snapped at the base like this. I'm not talking pushed over with the root ball sticking out, I mean snapped. That is an astounding amount of energy.

Damn, that turned into a random assortment of things.

Bottom line, this all sucks, CenterPoint sucks, and unless you've got big money and a defensible cause for a lawsuit, nothing is going to change.

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This is one of the most reasonable, rational posts in TexAgs history. Thank you, sir.

Wycliffe said:

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My feels are telling me that you are pretty insecure since you are so quick to degrade and insult others.

I've shared my thoughts. I bow out.

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LOL, if you think that is insulting, then you need some thicker skin. Commie is the only insult I hurled, in a general direction, and if you're not a Commie, well then it doesn't apply to you.

Also, it's hard for me to empathize with people who live in Houston and still refuse to plan ahead. And I'm not even a native. Ike, Harvey, 2021 freeze, annual flooding of certain parts of town. Clif's notes for any newcomers or longtime residents who haven't figured it out:

-Houston gets storms, hurricanes and flooding in some areas.
-It can also get cold here.
-When seconds count the police are minutes away.
-If you live in an area that has flooded it will flood again.
-Buy a generator and know how to use it.
-Keep a stock of water and non-perishable food. HEB might not be open during a disaster.
-Stop waiting for someone else to do something.
-Hol' it dine.

NoahAg said:

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Also, it's hard for me to empathize with people who live in Houston and still refuse to plan ahead. And I'm not even a native. Ike, Harvey, 2021 freeze, annual flooding of certain parts of town. Clif's notes for any newcomers or longtime residents who haven't figured it out:

-Houston gets storms, hurricanes and flooding in some areas.
-It can also get cold here.
-When seconds count the police are minutes away.
-If you live in an area that has flooded it will flood again.
-Buy a generator and know how to use it.
-Keep a stock of water and non-perishable food. HEB might not be open during a disaster.
-Stop waiting for someone else to do something.
-Hol' it dine.
- Talmbout

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FIFY