The Forgotten

9/22/2008

Letter to CenterPoint Customers

September 22, 2008

Dear Residents:

As you know, Hurricane Ike made a direct hit on Galveston, Texas, and devastated the entire Houston region the morning of Sept. 13. Most Entergy and CenterPoint customers lost electricity for at least five days, and some, unfortunately, for longer.

We have received many calls, e-mails and messages from residents in CenterPoint’s service area who are disappointed that their power has not been restored as of today. We share your disappointment and send this letter to provide as much information as we can related to the power situation.

While it may be frustrating to see that much of The Woodlands has already had power restored, it is important to understand that The Woodlands is served by two electric companies: Entergy and CenterPoint. Entergy is a smaller company than CenterPoint, with power grids north of here and has been able to restore a majority of its customers. CenterPoint is a much larger company, with power grids south of The Woodlands, with The Woodlands being at the far north boundary of its service region.

In the 5,000-square mile service area centered around Houston, CenterPoint has about 50,000 miles of power lines—a great deal of infrastructure that was susceptible to the high winds and downed trees. Nearly 93 percent, or 2.15 million customers, lost power. CenterPoint is working to restore power to key facilities vital to health and safety, such as water treatment plants, hospitals and other public service facilities, and then focuses on restoring power to the greatest number of customers in the least amount of time across their territory, regardless of geographic location. CenterPoint is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Leaders of the Community Associations have contacted CenterPoint and made every effort to get additional information. State Senator Tommy Williams and Representative Rob Eissler, along with leaders of the Community Associations and The Woodlands Township, have been contacting CenterPoint to make sure that CenterPoint knows that there are thousands of homes in The Woodlands still without power, and to make sure that CenterPoint does not forget us. We have been staunch advocates on behalf of our residents. According to CenterPoint, restoration for customers in zip codes 77380, 77382 and 77389 is estimated (not guaranteed) after Sept. 25. CenterPoint reports that they are working in their entire service area simultaneously and because of different levels of damage, some areas may come up before others.

We assure you that we have not forgotten about you. As some of our newest residents in The Woodlands, you are of utmost importance to us. Unfortunately, we cannot control the effects of Hurricane Ike, and we are asking for your patience in waiting for power to be restored. To make the wait a small bit easier, residents may visit any fire station in The Woodlands to recharge cell phones or laptops.

If you have further questions, please call our office at 281.210.3800, and know that we are doing everything within our power to work with CenterPoint to restore your electricity as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Joel Deretchin,
President, The Woodlands Association