Over 1 million in Texas without power after Beryl

HOUSTON/FREEPORT: More than 1.2 million homes and businesses in Texas remained without power on Thursday, four days after Hurricane Beryl lashed the state with fierce winds and flooding, sparking frustration among companies, officials and residents who were facing extreme heat.

About half of CentrePoint Energy’s CNP.N 2.3 million customers had been restored by Thursday morning, the company said, following Beryl’s landfall near Matagorda. CenterPoint is Texas’ largest electricity provider.

Hiccups in the restoration of power are slowing down some companies’ efforts to return operations to normal, especially around Freeport, among Texas’ largest energy hubs. However, most oil and gas companies have resumed normal operations after Beryl made landfall as a Category-1 storm. Freeport LNG, the US third largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, began pulling in small volumes of natural gas for processing on Thursday, according to data from financial firm LSEG. The company has not provided an operational update since Sunday, when it said it ramped down production. A small flare could be seen flickering at the facility, according to a Reuters witness.

No vessels were docked at the LNG company’s berths, but many power restoration crews were working in the area with service trucks arriving from as far as Nebraska and North Carolina, according to locals interviewed by Reuters.