Since I was not in Houston when Beryl hit, but in Orlando, the previous posts (on page 125, IIRC) talking about FL got me thinking. Mostly because I was driving back and got to see their infrastructure as compared to Houston's.
I was going to do screenshots, but can't upload to imgur right now. So these are selected google street views of power stuff. Again, these are selected or shots I remember when I was driving (something to do when driving 2,004 miles (whoop!)).
Florida (Clermont and Orlando)https://maps.app.goo.gl/c1CLMGr4g9PVjQo3A - FL 50 in Clermont, substation
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fccDWZcDPrbpxpiV6 - FL 50, different side. wooden poles among concrete, but marked. Probably tracked as well for replacement/age.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/o9VJa4w88kcA7Tu38 - FL50. Wooden poles going to service distribution (looks like to me). But main feeders are major concrete poles with higher voltages on top, lower on bottom.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rPqtAr83b7ycKtJi6 - Random neighborhood in Clermont with wooden poles. Everything clear and neat.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KzV8vxrhAMCAyYzU8 - Orlando random place with trees trimmed away. Hard to find Orlando lines; most are buried, I assume.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/D4ti1ZZNd74CXTWx7 - Another Random Orlando place with both sets of lines; wooden and metal. Trees (mature) on side are trimmed back and spacing cleared).
Kingwoodhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/B5kKHdugrECwhoiT9 - Near my house; about 6 other poles that look like this. Trees on greenbelt aren't cut back.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3VSAQHH2WXZCXNhS7 - Fun fact: this pole (hard to see, but there) is a disconnect line. They scheduled to replace the line. They dropped the pole and it sat. For ~9 months before they did work on it. I walked by it on my daily walks and never touched that time. The replaced the hardware, set the pole, then cut the top off and left the bottom portion (cable still attached to it). No idea why you don't pull the old pole out and leave a clean install.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/u5P4PMG6xW2KLS3f7 - Lines behind the old HEB. These are coming from the substation that feeds most (if not all) of Kingwood. Can't keep poles straight in 'clear' areas.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/svvTY2gYmf9WERTh6 - Poles that broke in Beryl. Instead of replacing with 'hardened' poles, they used wood. I think 3 broke here. Trees going up inside the lines, which ultimately brought them down.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pfKAKf2f5HsHpDKG8 - Common example in Kingwood of not clearing out the lines. Granted, the lines are in the greenbelt areas, but no clear path of the lines.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/TLWfm6vmfEMMct4g7 - This is my favorite; near Kroger in the back of Kingwood. Until about January, the vegetation growing on the cable lines (at the bottom) were almost to the neutral grounds of the road. It took 2 days for a crew to clean them off (I watched them over the course of the 2 days). I realize not power lines, but these should fall on CNP to clean off (or contract out to clean off).
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JmjknkNJStWyjH538 - I think these are Entergy's, not CNP. Notice the clear path of minimal vegetation.
Aliefhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/xKvhzWJUAZSXCCPm7 - This is my favorite near my parent's house. Lines clearly through the wires, poles at all sorts of angles and CNP? *shrug*
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dpWfcNMpzNjNBUQX8 - Lines are supposed to lean like that, right? Oh and the wires are definitely larger than normal wires AND they are much closer to the ground. Not that I would grab them, but they are only like 10-12 ft from the ground instead of the normal height. Move the view to behind you to see those lines.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/PacRDFqTFwNqNBBt6 - The juxtaposition of the two types of lines is great; nice straight high tension lines and then the wooden ones just slapped up and sitting there, probably at least 45+ years old. The apartments were old as far back as I can remember, and I doubt power lines have been touched in that timeframe.
Freeport (past work life for me)https://maps.app.goo.gl/JZ5Q3dz3pF6MzSxb8 - Freeport port and the way to Freeport LNG. What most of Houston should look like, from a power pole perspective.
If we had CNP spending money the way they should be spending, we'd have lines that look more like Freeport/FL than what we have here. Ike was 2008 (16 years ago), Harvey was 2017 (7 years ago), along with Derecho's, strong fronts and other storms. Don't tell me we can spend the money or that'll cost more. We've already paid it, directly or indirectly (generators, cutting own trees, lost work/time, etc.)
~egon