Austin Energy sending crews to Houston to help with Hurricane Beryl recovery

Editor’s Note: The above video shows KXAN News’ top morning headlines from Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Energy is sending 20 lineworkers and support personnel to Houston Tuesday afternoon to help with restoration efforts as millions were left without power in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

Beryl made landfall Monday around 4 a.m. near Matagorda, Texas, as a Category 1 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Beryl was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

The storm left flooding and wind damage in its path, and at least six people have died in Texas because of it.

According to reporting from the Associated Press, more than 2.3 million homes and businesses around Houston lacked electricity Tuesday morning, down from a peak of over 2.7 million on Monday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Austin Energy's team will leave for Houston at 1 p.m., taking with them bucket trucks and support vehicles to help restore power to the affected communities. They are prepared to stay and provide assistance for up to a week, according to the utility.

CenterPoint Energy requested the mutual aid, and it estimates restoration efforts will take days or weeks and is enlisting approximately 12,000 lineworkers and vegetation management professionals, according to Austin Energy.

“Providing mutual aid in natural disasters is something our lineworkers take great pride in and our crews will work hard to restore power to families in Houston,” said Elton Richards, Austin Energy Vice President of Electric System Field Operations, in a release. “Any opportunity to train and hone our craft is a benefit to our community as well as those impacted by Hurricane Beryl.”  

Austin Energy has previously sent crews to different cities to aid in restoration efforts following natural disasters.

The utility also sent a team to Houston in May following thunderstorms with hurricane-force winds, which killed at least four people.