Houston, May 20, 2026, 05:05 (CDT)
- Bear Creek residents report ongoing outages and power surges have wrecked electronics and spoiled medication. Some households are now using backup generators.
- CenterPoint Energy said crews will head to the subdivision Wednesday to investigate the cause.
- Complaints keep coming this week as Houston’s grid faces more problems and hurricane season gets nearer.
CenterPoint Energy is under pressure from Bear Creek homeowners in Houston, who say frequent outages and surges are wrecking appliances and disrupting daily routines. Some residents said they might move out. CenterPoint said it would send a crew Wednesday to investigate.
The setup is rough for the utility. The National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston says showers and storms could last through Wednesday morning, with 1 to 3 inches of rain possible and a risk of localized flooding. Damaging winds are the top severe threat for storms moving through, the said.
CenterPoint says it’s trying to show it’s better prepared for major storms. The company said it staged a full-scale Category 3 hurricane drill on May 14, bringing in more than 400 employees plus about 100 officials from state, local, and emergency teams. CenterPoint says it’s installed stronger poles, removed dangerous vegetation, and put part of its network underground.
Danielle Marcelle, who owns a home in Bear Creek, told KPRC 2 she’s seen power outages even when there’s no bad weather. “We’ll have issues,” she said. Marcelle has tracked over a year’s worth of flickers, surges and outages, including notes from April and June 2025. KPRC
Power has gone out at Chase Kirk’s home a couple of times this week, he said, with outages tending to get longer in the summer. Kirk said his family spent $2,000 last year to install a generator inlet system. He blames power surges for damaging TVs and said his neighbor’s washing machine was ruined.
Power flickers, outages and surges hit Houston homes this week, with a brief surge pushing voltage higher. Houston residents told these interruptions can be more than a nuisance—outages have affected houses with refrigerated medicine, powered medical devices or pets depending on air conditioning to get through the heat.
CenterPoint told KPRC 2 it is aware of customer frustration about flickering lights and brief outages and is checking out complaints “as quickly as possible.” The company also directed customers to its Outage Tracker for reporting any service problems. KPRC
CenterPoint’s outage center says its tracker only gives general locations for outages. Customers can sign up for Power Alert Service to get voice, text, or email alerts for each electric account. The company asks people to report outages online or by phone, and warns everyone to stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines.
Bear Creek isn’t the only spot in Houston flagged like this. In January, KPRC reported Ting by Whisker Labs, which uses sensors to track outages, showed CenterPoint’s Power Outage Index at 0.49 in December. That’s above the national average of 0.32. CenterPoint said it reviews reliability numbers over time and was satisfied with its 2025 performance.
CenterPoint and Entergy both had light outages from last week’s Gulf Coast storms. The two utilities, which split service in parts of Houston and Montgomery County, each reported few disruptions. CenterPoint said 97.5% of customers stayed online, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Bear Creek’s probe may not give locals the answers they want. Crews could just find a small problem with equipment, or storms this week could blur whether damage is from a new event or an older issue. People hoping for compensation for broken gear might have trouble tying a power surge to any specific loss.
Marcelle put it plainly. “I want to know why,” she said. “I just want it fixed.” HarianBasis.co
