Texas lawmakers question Energy Department on allegedly denying CenterPoint funding request

Congressional Republicans representing Texas want to know if an alleged decision by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that denied CenterPoint Energy’s application to receive federal grid improvement funding may have contributed to the utility’s restoration and recovery challenges following Hurricane Beryl.

The Houston-based utility, which serves some 2.8 million businesses and homes there, in October 2023, applied for about $100 million from the DOE’s $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, which is awarding billions in non-competitive funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to states, territories, and Tribal entities to further strengthen and modernize the energy grid against extreme weather and natural disasters.

However, CenterPoint was not chosen as one of the 58 projects across 44 states that received federal funds from that first round of GRIP Program awards.

“The DOE’s decision appears to have significant implications for Texas’s recovery efforts and raises questions about the criteria and reasoning behind such determinations,” the seven members wrote in a July 16 letter sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “It seems apparent to us that our region should have been a high-priority applicant based on the consistent severe weather that impacts grid infrastructure.”

The Texas Republicans — U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, Morgan Luttrell, Brian Babin, Dan Crenshaw, Randy Weber, and Lance Gooden, who all serve districts that include or are near Houston — cited a July 12 story published in the Daily Caller that reported DOE denied CenterPoint’s application seeking GRIP Program funds.

“According to reports, CenterPoint specifically requested the assistance “to fund high wind and flood mitigation projects.” It should be noted that it was flooding and high winds from Hurricane Beryl that caused one of the largest — and ongoing — power outages in CenterPoint’s history,” they wrote. “Further, it seems this denial was issued despite our region being particularly susceptible to weather events that impact grid infrastructure.”

Given the extent of the damage to power lines and the urgent need for support in Houston and surrounding areas, the lawmakers requested that Granholm provide them with a detailed explanation of the factors that led to the denial of grid assistance. They also asked for clarification on several points, including what specific criteria were used to evaluate CenterPoint’s request for GRIP Program funding versus those that were granted funding.

“The well-being of our constituents and the resilience of our communities are of utmost importance, especially in times of crisis,” wrote the House members. “Unfortunately, power restoration has been painstakingly slow, putting Texans at risk as temperatures continue to rise.

“We remain concerned that mitigation efforts may have been hastily or wrongly denied for our region,” they wrote. “Therefore, it is crucial that we understand the rationale behind decisions that affect their recovery and future preparedness.”

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