Over 1 million still without power in Houston

Local and state leaders in the Houston area are pushing to get all power restored as sweltering temperatures continue.

The big picture: More than 1.3 million CenterPoint Energy customers were still without electricity early Wednesday morning.

Driving the news: Officials said Tuesday that 1 million affected customers should have power restored by the end of Wednesday.

• The Houston area is under a heat advisory until 8pm, and heat index values will reach as high as 105 degrees Wednesday, per National Weather Service forecasters .
• "The widespread loss of power and A/C will make for dangerous conditions," NWS Houston forecasters wrote on X .

Threat level: The combination of extreme heat — the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. — and a lack of air conditioning will be particularly dangerous for people cleaning up after the storm, Axios' Andrew Freedman and Jacob Knutson write .

Flashback: More than 2.2 million CenterPoint customers were without power Monday.

What they're saying: Restoring power remains the top priority, according to Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

• "As Beryl leaves this state, it is still a dangerous storm and is leaving dangerous consequences in its place," Kidd said during a press conference Tuesday. "Power is our No. 1 priority. Secondary to that is establishing cooling centers."

State of play: President Biden on Tuesday issued an emergency disaster declaration for Beryl's recovery. It will provide a 75% reimbursement for debris cleanup for all 121 affected counties, Kidd said.

• Property owners should report damage online as soon as possible to damage.tdem.texas.gov .

What's next: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country, vowed to look closely at CenterPoint's response when recovery is complete.

• "CenterPoint will have to answer for themselves if they were prepared," he said at the press conference. "I'll tell you whether I'm satisfied or not when I have a full report of where their crews were, when they were asked to come in, and how quickly they get power back."
• Check CenterPoint's website for restoration updates and an outage tracker , which the company published Tuesday night .