Texas PUC Launches Audit Of CenterPoint Energy Amid Hurricane Beryl Fallout

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas has initiated steps to audit CenterPoint Energy, following widespread criticism of the utility’s performance during Hurricane Beryl.

According to the Houston Chronicle, PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson tasked staff with identifying third-party firms to conduct a “management audit” of CenterPoint’s operations, policies, and procurement processes. The audit is set to conclude in April to give the PUC time to make recommendations before the end of the legislative session in June.

“There are a few things we can look at, (such as) CenterPoint’s policies and procedures when procuring goods from a third party. We can look at how they evaluate customer needs for where the mobile generation needs to go, including looking at their emergency operation plan and how it deals with this,” Gleeson said.

Gleeson’s comments could hint that the scrutiny stems from CenterPoint’s $800 million generator lease. The generators came under scrutiny after the Chronicle found that most have never been used, even after Beryl left millions of Texans without power.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who called for the audit, argued the company could be overcharging customers.

“I expect you to do that audit,” Patrick said to the commissioners in October. “I want to know how much they have been overcharging, if they’ve been overcharging the customers at CenterPoint, and for how long.”

Senator Phil King recently introduced legislation to ensure CenterPoint refunds customers for unused generator costs and covers future expenses itself.

The company has tried to counter these allegations, arguing it already has invested $75 million in 2023 on system enhancements and vegetation management without billing customers. Additionally, it proposed forfeiting $110 million in future profits from the generators.

In a separate, independent review, consulting firm PA Consulting found CenterPoint’s response to Hurricane Beryl aligned with industry standards but highlighted communication failures. CenterPoint says it is implementing two-thirds of PA’s 77 recommendations and has completed 42 post-Beryl improvements, including stronger poles, tree-trimming, and a new outage tracker.

The PUC is already investigating the performance of CenterPoint and other utilities in the Houston area during Beryl.