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Almost All Power Out In Southeast Texas

POSTED: Friday, September 12, 2008
UPDATED: 10:20 am CDT September 14, 2008

Almost all of southeast Texas lost power after Hurricane Ike made landfall early Saturday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy said 1.99 million of its 2.26 million customers were without power as of 7 p.m. Saturday. Officials said that accounted for almost all of its overhead power line customers.

The Texas Medical Center and some parts of downtown Houston still had power early Saturday. Those areas are on underground power lines.


  • Check Status Of CenterPoint Energy Power Outages

    Floyd LeBlanc, with CenterPoint Energy, said it could take several weeks to get everyone's power restored.

    "We will work around the clock to turn everyone's power back on, but that's a lot of homes without power," he said.

    Priority will be given to putting emergency services back online, such as police, fire departments and hospitals.

    Power was restored to 112,000 customers as of 10 p.m. Saturday, mainly on the western side of the Houston area because it received the least amount of damage.

    Seven thousand additional crews from around the country will arrive in Houston on Sunday to help restore power.

    Customers do not need to report their individual outages because CenterPoint's automated system provides that information.

    However, anyone who spots a downed power line is urged to call 713-207-2222 or 800-332-7143.

    Entergy Texas

    Entergy Texas said nearly all of its 395,000 customers in Texas were without power Saturday morning. Officials said it could take weeks to restore power because of Hurricane Ike's impact on the electric grid.

    "Restoration is weeks away," Entergy spokesman Mike Rogers told KFDM-TV. "Do not come home. You will not have power for weeks."

    Rogers said the company has sustained significant damage to its transmission system, with 119 of 187 transmission lines out, and two power plants off line. The Sabine Power plant was taken off line Friday and a plant in Montgomery County tripped off line Friday night.

    He said a full assessment would not be possible until the storm passes and the winds diminish.

    Texas-New Mexico Power Co.

    Texas-New Mexico Power Co. has lost a main electrical transmission line in Brazoria County as a result of Hurricane Ike, officials said.

    Emergency officials urge residents who left the county during the hurricane to stay where they are, and not to return home.

    Steve Rosa, Brazoria County's assistant emergency management coordinator, said it could be as much as a week before electricity is restored to all parts of the county.

    This will affect water supplies, as well as electrical power, Rosas said. Cities have some water storage that is expected to keep the water supply available temporarily, but once that is gone, water won't be available in some areas until after power is restored.

    The power problem will affect all areas of Brazoria County that are located south of Manvel. This includes Angleton, all of Brazosport (including Lake Jackson, Clute, Freeport, Oyster Creek, Jones Creek, Surfside, Quintana, Richwood, and other beachfront communities) as well as West Columbia, Brazoria and Sweeny, Rosa said.

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