HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Residents of a townhome community in the Houston Museum District are experiencing their second power outage, this time due to a moving company incident rather than weather.
Residents on Barkdull Street told that a week after their power was restored, it went out again when a moving company truck hit a power line.
“The wire got caught by the top of the truck and then wrapped around the hitch area,” said Wayne Thompson, a nearby resident.
Thompson recorded a cellphone video showing the tangled mess and snapped utility pole caused by the accident.
The 18-wheeler belongs to Bravo Moving Company. A spokesperson told that their driver got entangled in low-hanging power lines.
As a result, some residents are back in the dark, just as they were after Hurricane Beryl.
“It’s frustrating because we thought everything was back to normal. Everyone brought their pets back inside and started buying groceries again, and then this happens, and we’re without power,” said Jenni Koetting.
CenterPoint installing a new utility pole, but Koetting said the power wasn’t restored. According to CenterPoint, the damage extends beyond their responsibility.
Koetting was informed that she needs to hire an electrician for repairs.
“Anything on this side of the pole, even if the lines were too low, is on us,” Koetting said.
This is an issue many Houstonians are facing post-storm: outages caused by damage to their home’s infrastructure.
“We expected that CenterPoint or the moving company would restore everything,” Koetting said.
Koetting mentioned that three other homes on her street are also without power.
An electrician estimated repairs would cost upwards of $1,000 per home. Once repairs are complete, CenterPoint can finish the restoration.
“We’ll get back in the queue, and they’ll come restore our power,” Koetting said, expressing concern that their place in the queue might be at the end. “All the neighbors without power have pets. We’re worried about their safety and ours if it gets too hot.”
The moving company reported that their truck sustained significant damage and they plan to file an insurance claim. They stated that their driver was not at fault due to the low clearance of the power lines.
Koetting said her homeowner insurance representatives informed her that they do not cover power-related issues.
