With Houston’s hurricane season underway, many Harris County residents are well aware of the risks posed by extreme weather, but over 60% are distrustful of CenterPoint Energy’s reliability, a July survey from the Hobby School found. CenterPoint is responsible for maintaining the region’s electricity distribution, according to the release.
By the numbers
Of the surveyed registered Harris County voters:
- 88% are worried a power outage lasting at least one day will happen this summer, and 42% said they are “very worried.”
- 85% are worried about wind damage to their homes this year.
- 71% are worried about their homes flooding, and 21% are “not worried at all.”
- 63% have an unfavorable opinion of CenterPoint Energy, while 33% have a favorable opinion.
- 26% believe CenterPoint has made “no progress at all” in strengthening the electricity grid, while 7% believe the company has made “a great deal of progress.”
Researchers from the Hobby School attributed respondent attitudes to several lengthy power outages in the Greater Houston area due to extreme weather, such as Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Beryl and the 2024 derecho.
“Eight years after Hurricane Harvey, people are still worried about their homes flooding,” Reneé Cross, senior executive director at the Hobby School and one of the principal investigators, said in the release. “Even more are worried about damage from high winds. Yet an extended power outage remains the top concern, with 88% of respondents worried that an outage could last longer than a day this summer.”
Read the full results of the survey here. Researchers from the Hobby School conducted the survey between July 9-18 in English and Spanish.
