Harris County voters are most worried about prolonged power outages this hurricane season, according to a new survey.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — As the most active months of hurricane season approach, a new survey finds Harris County voters are deeply concerned about extreme weather — especially the risk of losing electricity for an extended period.
The University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs reports that 88% of registered voters in Harris County worry about an outage lasting longer than a day this summer. Nearly half, or 42%, say they’re very worried.
“Eight years after Hurricane Harvey, people are still worried about their homes flooding,” said Renée Cross, senior executive director at the Hobby School. “Even more are worried about damage from high winds. Yet an extended power outage remains the top concern.”
Researchers said that concern is fueled by recent history: multiple long-lasting outages over the past few years have left residents on edge.
“What you’re seeing is a strong memory from Hurricane Beryl and the derecho storm, where 2/3rds of Harris County residents have a form of PTSD, where they’re very worried about losing power for an extended period of time,” said Mark P. Jones, a senior research fellow at the Hobby School and political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute.
The poll also shows voters have little confidence in CenterPoint Energy, the utility responsible for the region’s electricity distribution system.
Only 7% believe the company has made “a great deal” of progress in strengthening the electric grid to withstand severe weather. On the other hand, 26% say CenterPoint has made no progress at all and 44% believe it has made “only a little” progress.
Overall, 63% of respondents hold an unfavorable view of CenterPoint, which is nearly double the 33% who view the company favorably.
Other key findings from the survey:
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Power outages: 42% “very worried,” 27% “moderately worried,” 19% “a little worried,” 12% “not worried.”
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High winds: 85% concerned, including 25% “very worried.”
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Flooding: 71% concerned, including 20% “very worried.”
The Hobby School surveyed Harris County voters from July 9-18 in English and Spanish. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.04%.
The full report is available here.