In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, CenterPoint Energy, the major electricity provider in Houston, has come under fire for its response to the widespread power outages. As of Thursday, over 1 million CenterPoint customers were still without electricity, leading to frustration among both residents and politicians.

CenterPoint had initially set a goal to restore power to at least 1 million customers by the end of Wednesday, which they successfully achieved. However, the company now faces the challenge of restoring power to the remaining customers. Their plan is to have power back for an additional 400,000 customers by the end of Friday and another 350,000 customers by the end of Sunday.

Despite these restoration efforts, CenterPoint officials have expressed concerns that as many as 500,000 customers could still be without power one week after Hurricane Beryl struck the region with winds exceeding 80 mph. The outage was primarily attributed to trees being knocked over by the storm, which CenterPoint claimed were vulnerable due to previous freeze, drought, and heavy rain events over the past three years.

An outage map released by CenterPoint immediately after the hurricane was met with criticism from customers on social media, who claimed it was unreliable. CenterPoint spokesperson, Logan Anderson, acknowledged the map's limitations, stating that it was only meant to give customers an approximate visual representation of the restoration progress in their area. Anderson assured customers that the map would continue to be updated and improved.

CenterPoint Energy's Vice President for Regulatory Policy, Brad Tutunjian, appearing on Houston Public Media's Beryl recovery special, defended the map's accuracy challenges, citing difficulties caused by overwhelming web traffic and crashes of the previous tracker. Tutunjian disclosed that a new cloud-based outage tracker was being developed and expected to be operational before August.

CenterPoint faced additional criticism for the delayed release of estimated repair times on the outage map. While they had promised to provide this information by noon, it was still not available by 2 p.m. Tutunjian explained the complexities involved in obtaining real-time numbers for specific areas manually but assured customers that CenterPoint was working to release the information as quickly as possible.

The company's response to the hurricane has drawn criticism from various quarters. Rep. Sylvia Garcia publicly criticized CenterPoint CEO in a letter posted on social media, emphasizing the impact and potential risks of prolonged power outages. Governor Greg Abbott, who is currently on an economic development trip, expressed his intentions to request an investigation into the repeated outage issues in the Houston region by the state's Public Utility Commission.

As CenterPoint Energy continues its restoration efforts, tensions remain high amongst the affected customers and politicians alike. The company faces the challenging task of restoring power to the remaining customers while also addressing criticisms and working towards more accurate and reliable communication regarding outage updates.

Note: The above article is based solely on the information provided and does not include any additional details or speculation.