Hurricane Beryl allowed microgrids to prove their worth to Houston residents during an extended power failure that started July 8 and, for some residents, still continues.
Making landfall in Houston, Texas on July 8, Hurricane Beryl never worsened beyond a Category 1 storm, but it delivered a wallop nonetheless. It cut power almost instantly to roughly 2.7 million people, leaving them to swelter in 30+℃ heat, many without access to clean water as treatment plants went offline.
Not everyone found themselves in such dire straits, however, writes Microgrid Knowledge.
For a fortunate minority, microgrids saved the day, at least to the extent of keeping refrigerators and freezers humming and critical infrastructure secure.
For much of the rest of Houston, misery became the order of the day, and in places, weeks to come, as the local utility scrambled to restore power. As of July 22, thousands in the city were still without electricity, reports Bloomberg.
The local utility, CenterPoint Energy, faces two US$100-million class action lawsuits alleging negligence and fraud before, during, and after the extreme weather event.
“CenterPoint was negligent in the maintenance of its lines and equipment, properly investing in infrastructure, adequately preparing for the hurricane, and properly conducting power restoration operations,” writes Houston Public Media, citing the lawsuit launched last week by several Houston residents.
“CenterPoint failed its customers in a low-level Category 1 hurricane; it is terrifying to imagine the extent of power grid failure that would be caused by CenterPoint’s ineptitudes should a Category 5 hurricane make landfall in the Greater Houston area,” the lawsuit documents state.
Among the fortunate were the patrons and staff of H-E-B grocery stores, which kept lights on and fridges running 24-7 thanks to microgrids from Enchanted Rock, Microgrid Knowledge says. At the outage’s peak, the Houston-based company was operating 140 microgrids simultaneously, supplying 210 megawatts to customers that also include health care and food processing facilities, chemical plants, and water and flood control systems.
“We are doing our small part to help the citizens of Houston get through this,” said Allen Schurr, chief commercial officer at Enchanted Rock. “We’re not providing air conditioning, but we can make sure that food is available and health care facilities are supported.”
Houston microgrid operator PowerSecure was also on the scene, supplying 97 MW via 75 microgrids to help Houstonians through 119 utility outage events.
Meanwhile, microgrid provider Sunrun, which has thousands of residential customers in Houston, was able to keep the air conditioning on, as well as the lights, and perishables secure, using the power of the sun.
As for CenterPoint Energy, its woes are just beginning, with no less than three Hurricane Beryl-related lawsuits now on the docket against it. Alongside the $100 million class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of aggrieved residents is a second $100-million suit from more than 100 local restauranteurs who say they lost power for an “unacceptable” 48 hours or more.
A third lawsuit is a $1-million personal injury case charging that the utility’s negligence caused “life-changing injuries” to a Houston man who suffered second- and third-degree burns when a tree-damaged power line fell on him.
