HOUSTON – Residents living in a northwest Harris County trailer community with more than 150 families say they were without gas service for nearly two weeks, leaving them unable to heat their homes, cook meals or take hot showers.
The prolonged outage forced families to find alternative ways to stay warm and meet basic needs as temperatures dropped across the Houston area.
“I mean, the generator’s here, but it doesn’t help with gas,” said resident Joseph Workman, who lives in the community with his family of six. “We have a flat top outside to cook because our stove doesn’t work. And we got firewood that we’ve been trying to stock up on for the fireplace to keep the kids warm.”
Workman said his family spent the past two weeks sleeping together in the living room, relying on a space heater and a fireplace for warmth.
“Two weeks, no gas,” he said. “We had water interruptions all last week, and we had another one yesterday.”
Because many of the homes in the community rely almost entirely on gas, residents said the outage meant no working stoves, no hot water and no heat. They say they were first notified of a utilities interruption in early December, but service had not been restored for nearly two weeks.
Community showers were set up to help residents in the meantime, but people said they were often closed early and unreliable.
“The hot showers have been hit and miss,” Workman said. “And that’s only been here since this last Friday.”
Under Texas property law, landlords and property owners are required to restore utility service within a “reasonable time,” which is generally considered to be seven days.
CenterPoint Energy told KPRC 2 it was aware of the situation and prepared to make necessary repairs, but said it was waiting on the property owner to fix customer-owned equipment before gas service could be reconnected.
In a statement, CenterPoint said crews had conducted multiple tests on the natural gas system and determined the remaining issue involved equipment owned by the property.
“The property owner is currently in the process of making necessary repairs so residents can safely receive gas,” the company said. “As soon as those repairs are complete, CenterPoint can take additional actions.”
The property owner provided portable electric stovetops and set up two men’s and two women’s showers to serve the community. Management told residents gas service would be restored, but as of earlier in the day, it remained off.
Residents said freezing temperatures made the situation especially difficult for families with children.
UPDATE:
About three hours after KPRC 2 contacted the property manager following a phone call, gas service was restored to the community.
Workman said a visit from management finally put him at ease, at least for now.
“When I talked to them yesterday, they said they didn’t have a timeline for the restoration of the gas,” he said. “I don’t know if it was a coincidence or you coming out here or what. I just hope they fixed it correctly and it doesn’t go out again.”
He said the restoration brought immediate relief to his family.
“My wife is excited because she and the kids get to shower here now,” Workman said.
For now, families say they are grateful to once again have heat, hot water and the ability to cook, though some remain concerned about whether the repairs will hold.
Under Texas law, tenants can file a consumer complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office if a landlord fails to restore utilities within a reasonable time.