The overview
During Winter Storm Uri, Houston saw approximately 7.8 million power outages, according to the Houston Advanced Research Center. However, according to a Jan. 21 news release from CenterPoint Energy, approximately only 28,500 customers lost power during Winter Storm Enzo, and as of Jan. 22, CenterPoint reported only 116 outages remaining affecting 1,604 customers.
“With Winter Storm Enzo now behind us, we want to again thank all our customers for staying off the roads and allowing our dedicated crews to respond safely and effectively when scattered outages occurred,” Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of CenterPoint’s Electric Business, said in a Jan. 22 news release. “We’re also grateful to those crew members who worked in extreme conditions to provide our customers the service they expect and deserve.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire also noted during a Jan. 22 news conference that no fatalities involving traffic accidents or carbon monoxide incidents occurred during the storm. However, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department reported at least one death likely due to the cold weather exposure.
Whitmire opened 10 warming centers from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, which saw around 1,300 individuals use during the storm. Whitmire said two warming centers are likely to remain open until the end of Jan. 23.
What else?
Whitmire said city operations and city services will also resume Jan. 23. Whitmire canceled the City Council meeting scheduled for Jan. 22, rescheduling the meeting to Jan. 28 and 29.
Houston ISD also announced Jan. 22 they will reopen Jan. 23. The University of Houston and Houston Community College will resume operations Jan. 23 as well.
One more thing
Gov. Greg Abbott also urges Texans impacted by this week's winter weather to document and report any property and agricultural damages sustained from ice, snow and/or freezing temperatures to the Texas Division of Emergency Management's online, self-reported damage assessment tool. Residents can also report storm damage to homes and businesses using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool, or iSTAT, damage survey.
