Dr. Ed Hirs - Energy Fellow University of Houston Joins Houston Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Doctor ed Hires joins his energy fellow University of Houston.
Center Point says, they've been telling everybody they'll listen all
week long that they're ready. Do you think they are?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, I certainly hope they are, and you know, once
certainly hope that Francine keeps going going to the east.
But remember Beryl, Beryl wasn't really supposed to come hit
us either, so they have fewer people stationed I think
thirty five hundred prepositioned than we were we were expecting
last time. But you know, keep in mind that de

(00:31):
Racho and Beryl knocked down a lot of the loose
stuff to start with, so that, you know, with any luck,
if we do get hit, it should be less of
a cleanup.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
It's already taken out, is what you're saying.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
You know, that's it exactly, Yeah, you know it's you know,
Centerpoint as a as a corporate priority has only cleared
maybe twenty odd percent of its lines year in year
out over the last four or five years. I mean
that's the the business operates, and the Public Utility Commission
was well aware of this. The core board of directors

(01:07):
of Centerpoint hired the fourth CEO in four years direct
from Pacific Gas and Electric Utility that had to plead
guilty to more than eighty manslaughter charges because they stopped
clearing vegetation from their transmission lines. That's what causes horrible
fires in twenty twenty and led to death and and

(01:29):
billions of dollars of damage across the state. Yes, and
Centerpoint went out and picked up one of the key
executives in that role to bring him here to Houston.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
Okay, well we don't know exactly. You know, we keep
saying it's going to go to Louisiana. However, it hasn't
made the turn that we keep saying it's going to make.
It's only moving five miles per hour. National Weather Service
is still having it moving westward, which is towards Texas.
So I mean, if it doesn't make that turn, well
then we really are going to be surprised once again.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yes we will. And you know again, you know the
cleanup has been done from Beryl, hopefully it would be
less this time. Ed.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Let me ask you about the Public Utility Commission, because
you've brought them up, and quite frankly, at the end
of the day, that's why I blame the most because
that's their job to watch over the utilities, to make
sure the utilities are being good stewards. And in this case,
I think they dropped the ball. They pretty much did
whatever set of point said they wanted to do. So
does there need to be changes there? And why aren't

(02:34):
people making the bigger stink about them?

Speaker 2 (02:37):
I absolutely agree with you. The Public Utility Commission is
done by Governor Abbott's political appointees. Not one of them
have any direct experience in operating a utility. One of
them's a former public affairs officer, two of them are lobbyists.
The chair has spent I guess what, twelve fifteen years

(02:59):
as a staff or.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
The Public Utility Commission.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
They're actually not on the ground and not living with
the people or even driving the streets of Houston. I mean,
if you go out today, just drive bus timer, take
a look at the city right of way and see
where the trees have grown into the wires and they're
still not clear. You know, anybody can do that. You know,

(03:24):
we don't need the Public Hostility Commission or the mayor
to tell us that they haven't been cutting the lawn.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Let me ask you, then, on top of all that,
is Urcott. So is everybody just pointing the finger everywhere else?

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Of course and Urkott, of course, you know, escape barrel
because it was not a problem with the supply the
generation of electricity. But as we've come out of the
freeze and gone through all of the resulting litigation, what
the Texas state courts have ruled is because Burtcott is
itself an arm of the state, that you know, everybody

(04:02):
in the whole electricity supply chain has plausible deniability. Centerpoint
can point the finger n RG, and RG can punt
the finger at District. District can point the finger at
Kinder Morgan. Kinder Morgan can point the finger at Energy Tanser.
It's say, hey, it failed, but it's not my fault.
Therefore you can't hold me responsible. There's absolutely no chain

(04:23):
of accountability for our electricity supply chain except at the
Governor's office.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Well, there's a name for that begins with circle. I
can't say the resk is. We're in a family oriented program.
But thanks for your time, sir, appreciate it. Energy Fellow
University Houston doctor ed Hers