{"id":2275,"date":"2026-05-22T04:01:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T04:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2275"},"modified":"2026-05-22T04:01:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T04:01:04","slug":"retired-houston-couple-battling-centerpoint-over-who-should-pay-after-power-surge-causes-thousands-in-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2275","title":{"rendered":"Retired Houston couple battling CenterPoint over who should pay after power surge causes thousands in damage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOUSTON<\/strong> – <\/span>A Houston couple says a power surge linked to CenterPoint Energy work in their neighborhood destroyed multiple appliances and electronics in their home, but the utility denied their damage claim, citing a tariff that places responsibility for surge protection on customers.<\/p>\n

Read more Houston renters urged to prepare now as hurricane season approaches<\/a><\/p>\n

Houston Couple Says CenterPoint Power Surge Left Thousands of Dollars in Damage<\/h2>\n

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When it comes to damages caused by power surges, CenterPoint says under its tariff it’s the customers responsibility to provide protective devices for equipment whose performance may be altered by fluctuations in voltage. But Lonnie and Reva Smith say CenterPoint could have prevented their damages.<\/p>\n

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What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

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On May 13, Lonnie says, his daughter was on the back porch when she noticed the TV, which was turned off, was smoking.<\/p>\n

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Then he says he heard CenterPoint workers in his next door neighbor’s yard, and he says, they told him to turn his power off.<\/p>\n

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He says when he turned the power back on six hours later, the downstairs AC, the garage door openers, the dryer, and a TV no longer worked.<\/p>\n

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Lonnie’s wife, Reva, says she contacted CenterPoint.<\/p>\n

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“Two technicians came back, and it happened to be one of the technicians that happened to be in the yard on Wednesday,” said Reva Smith. “He walked through and said, ‘I’m calling my supervisor, this is on us.'”<\/p>\n

Read more Houston neighborhoods face World Cup rental surge as Airbnb cracks down on holiday parties<\/a><\/p>\n

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But in a letter, CenterPoint told the Smith’s their claim is denied, citing the tariff.<\/p>\n

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“I was devastated,” said Reva. “He just had surgery. I’m dealing with sciatica.”<\/p>\n

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In its letter, CenterPoint says it has a fund that provides assistance for certain electrically damaged essential appliances. That doesn’t include dryers, TV’s, and garage door openers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Smiths say all of this could have been avoided if CenterPoint would have told them to turn the power off before the work began.<\/p>\n

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The other side:<\/p>\n

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In a statement to FOX 26, CenterPoint Energy said, “CenterPoint Energy is committed to providing\u00a0safe,\u00a0reliable\u00a0and affordable service to the customers and communities\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0privileged to serve, while prioritizing and addressing any concerns our customers may have.\u00a0A\u00a0member of our team reached out to our customer this afternoon to work together with them to address their concerns and\u00a0resolve\u00a0the issue.\u00a0All of us at CenterPoint are committed to supporting our customers, and we encourage any customer experiencing an issue to contact our team so we can address it.”<\/p>\n

Read more Sugar Land crime: Authorities seeking suspect information following aggravated robbery at ATM<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Houston couple says a power surge linked to CenterPoint Energy work in their neighborhood destroyed multiple appliances and electronics in their home, but the utility denied their damage claim, citing a tariff that places responsibility for surge protection on customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-houston","category-news","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nRetired Houston couple battling CenterPoint over who should pay after power surge causes thousands in damage - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2275\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Retired Houston couple battling CenterPoint over who should pay after power surge causes thousands in damage - 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