Severe thunderstorms rolled through the Houston area on May 27, 2025, leaving more than 143,000 CenterPoint Energy customers without power. The storms hit the area with powerful winds, heavy rain, and lightning. This caused a lot of damage to trees and power lines all over the region
According to CenterPoint Energy, the weather caused significant outages across Harris County and surrounding areas. Entergy, another power provider in Texas, also reported over 29,000 outages. Emergency crews have been dispatched to begin repair work, but due to the damage, full power restoration may take some time.
The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for much of the region, warning residents to avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from downed power lines. Storm activity is expected to continue through early morning hours.
CenterPoint's Upgraded Outage Tracker in Action
This is the first major test for CenterPoint’s newly improved outage tracking system, which was upgraded after the Hurricane Beryl outages in 2024. The new system is now cloud-based and can handle more than 20 million users per hour. It updates outage and restoration information every five minutes, giving customers faster and more reliable updates.
The outage map can be accessed through CenterPoint’s website or their mobile app. Customers can check if their area is affected and get estimated times for when their power might come back on.
CenterPoint also encourages customers to report outages through the app or by phone. These reports help speed up the response process by identifying where the worst damage has occurred.
Safety Tips and What to Do If Your Power Is Out
If your power is currently out, CenterPoint and emergency services are urging everyone to follow basic safety steps:
-
Stay away from any downed power lines – they could still be live.
-
Use flashlights instead of candles to avoid fire hazards.
-
Keep refrigerators and freezers closed to preserve food.
-
If you use a generator, make sure it’s outside and far from windows.
Also, avoid driving unless necessary, as some traffic lights may be out due to power loss. Keep your phone charged when you can, and follow updates from local news and weather stations
