Thousands of people in the Houston area were still without power more than a week after Hurricane Beryl tore through the fourth-largest US city. Two factors are now emerging as important explanations for why the powerful but predictable storm caused so much disruption: a shortage of workers at CenterPoint Energy Inc., Houston’s main utility, and the company’s limited management of vegetation growing alongside electricity poles and power lines.
Interviews with nearly a dozen experts, including grid-reliability consultants, watchdogs and academics, along with public filings and reports from repair crews reveal the challenges facing the utility that’s responsible for powering America’s fourth-largest city.