Thousands of CenterPoint Energy customers in the Greater Houston area have entered their tenth day without power following the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. This has prompted residents living with underground power lines to question the effectiveness of such systems in preventing widespread outages.

Residents in neighborhoods with buried power lines have expressed frustration as their lines have been without power for an unprecedented length of time. Kerry West, a resident of Humble, recounted how his house remained without power while houses across the street had their lights back on. West and his neighbors, who have had their lines underground for decades, expressed disappointment in the functionality of the underground electrical systems during long-duration outages.

Adding to the confusion, CenterPoint's electric outage tracker had falsely indicated that West's house was already restored, creating further frustration. It was only hours after West spoke to ABC13 that the power was eventually restored. West expressed concern not just for his own family but also for the elderly residents in his neighborhood who were severely affected by the outage.

Another resident, Tyson Bower, who resides in Sugar Land and also has underground lines, regained power on Wednesday afternoon. However, Bower raised doubts about the advantage of buried lines, questioning whether having above-ground lines would have resulted in a quicker restoration. Bower mentioned that CenterPoint crews informed him that above-ground outages were prioritized and no estimated time for restoration was provided to him.

Harish Krishnamoorthy, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston, concurred with Bower's concerns. Krishnamoorthy explained that while underground lines were less likely to experience interruptions due to physical damages, such as fallen trees or power poles, there was still a possibility of outages if the underground lines were connected to overhead lines. He emphasized that many distribution systems still rely on overhead lines, and if any of those lines are disrupted, a significant number of homes in the locality could lose power.

CenterPoint, the energy company responsible for the power distribution in Houston, stated in response to inquiries about buried lines that approximately 60% of their customers are already served via underground lines. The company plans to identify strategic opportunities for undergrounding lines but faces challenges due to the age of many neighborhoods in Houston. The streets and yards are not designed to support underground distribution lines. In the meantime, CenterPoint aims to increase resiliency in overhead distribution lines by replacing older wooden poles with newer, wind-resistant poles made from composite materials.

CenterPoint's Resiliency Plan includes undergrounding certain additional electrical distribution lines in areas such as freeways and those serving critical infrastructure, first responders, or life-saving care. Further information about CenterPoint's efforts to enhance reliability and resiliency can be found on their website.

As the power outage continues for thousands of customers in Houston, the debate over the effectiveness and feasibility of underground power lines continues. While underground lines provide protection against physical damage, the reliance on overhead lines in many areas poses a challenge for a quick restoration of power during outages. CenterPoint remains committed to increasing resiliency and reliability across their system, but the complex infrastructure needs and costs present obstacles that must be addressed to prevent prolonged outages in the future.