‘Nothing to do but sweat’: 300,000 CenterPoint customers cope without power in Houston heat

Juan Infante’s insulin has to be kept around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

But three and half days without power means the 67-year-old diabetic has little choice but to inject the slightly warm, essential medication into his body, since Thursday’s storm wiped out electricity for nearly a million homes, businesses and other utility customers.

Infante and his wife, Laura, have been storing the monthly supply of insulin in an ice chest inside their home off of Beltway 8, where the thermostat reads 80 degrees and the shades are drawn to keep out the sun.

“At least when you have a hurricane, you know it’s coming,” Infante said.

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Thursday’s derecho , an intense, widespread and fast-moving windstorm, took Harris County by surprise, knocked out power to about a million homes and businesses and demolished infrastructure across the region.

As temperatures climbed to a blistering 92 degrees on Sunday, over 300,000 utility customers tallied their 72nd hour without electricity, according to estimates from CenterPoint Energy.

For residents with medical issues, like the Infantes, the combination of wicked heat and lack of air conditioning is anxiety-inducing.

“I’ve got a bit of PTSD from (Hurricane) Harvey,” Laura said, which flooded the couple’s neighborhood with waist-high water right as Juan was recovering from a stroke in 2017. “I know other people have it worse than us but we’re worried.

“And hot,” she added.

‘Ain’t nothing you can do about it’

The homes in Rick Parnell’s Cloverleaf neighborhood wore undeniable bruises from Thursday’s storm — heavy winds stripped mobile homes of their siding, while toppled trees tore through fences and roofs.

Cloverleaf is in Harris County’s Precinct 2, which Commissioner Adrian Garcia oversees.

“I’ve got a number of senior (residents) who don’t have a whole lot of resources,” Garcia said. “Most people depend on their medical apparatuses, their devices. There’s a lot of isolation, so there’s a lot of seniors that don’t have anyone else.”

But you’d never guess Parnell was experiencing his third day without electricity.

The 68-year-old was upbeat and optimistic as he waited patiently at a charging station inside Grayson Community Center. Fueled by a generator, the building serves as a cooling center while homes and businesses in the neighborhood remain dark.

For the past three days, Parnell has made routine trips to the center to recharge his electric wheelchair, which he can only walk short distances without. A lifelong Houstonian, Parnell is no stranger to the city’s volatile weather. And the way he sees it, complaining won’t make it any cooler.

“Ain’t nothing you can do about it,” he said through a southern drawl and a chuckle. “Just grin and bear it.”

After surveying the damage from Thursday’s storm, Garcia told the Landing he anticipates it will take anywhere from one to three months to clean up his precinct, which covers the east side of Harris County.

“Our effort is to get to normal as quickly as possible,” the commissioner said.

‘Nothing to do but sweat’

Lydia Mendoza, 77, spent most of Saturday night tossing and turning as the air in her dark, powerless home grew thicker. By the morning, the heat was unbearable and all her food was spoiled.

Mendoza hasn’t seen any crews fixing the damage to power lines near her Heights neighborhood, which was among the areas that sustained the most destruction. She’s trying to stay optimistic, but as she sees homes across the city become illuminated again, she can’t help but think, “Why not us yet?”

Forced to take refuge at a local cooling center in Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood, Mendoza spent her Sunday watching “Dirty Dancing” with other powerless Houstonians. She’ll escape the heat by camping out at the facility every day from dawn to dusk until her electricity is restored, she said.

“Why would I sit home?” Mendoza said. “There’s nothing to do but sweat.”

Neighbors Kathy Smith and Nowell Degree sat at a table in front of Mendoza inside the Leonel Castillo Community Center, cracking jokes and waiting for their phones to charge.

Smith, who runs her own daycare business in her home, has already had to throw out a freezer’s worth of groceries, but hopes she can hold on to her three ice boxes full of produce.

“I know God will make it right,” Smith said, fanning herself with a package of animal crackers, “but Lord, please, in the middle of the night give me some breeze!”

Degree laughed.

The two women live in Kashmere Gardens, where Thursday’s storm ravaged their neighborhood,  tossing trees into roofs and blockading the streets with debris.

“Until CenterPoint cuts these trees, we’re gonna be in the dark,” Degree said, referring to the utility company that supplies most Houstonians who are currently out of power.

Still, both women remain good-natured.

“Running water is different for me now,” Degree said. “Air conditioning is different for me now. I say, ‘Lord thank you,’ when I can turn on a switch and there’s light … the things we take for granted until you don’t have it.”