Home Care In Center Point, TX

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Houston – You will notice a significant increase in your next electric bill if you live in a deregulated electric market in Texas, even if you use the same amount of electricity as last month.

Why the increase in your electricity bill? The companies that own the lines and wires increased transmission and distribution fees (TDSP fees) on Sept. 1. This is a pass-through charge on your electric bill. The TDUs charge the retail electric providers, and they pass the fees along to you.

CenterPoint Energy is the company that owns the electric infrastructure in the greater Houston area. Texas New Mexico Power owns the lines, wires, and meters in the Galveston County area. Every year on March 1st, the TDSP fees typically decrease ahead of the summer season when electric usage goes up. On Sept. 1, the TDSP fee increase as electric usage goes down in the winter months.

The new electric rates compared to the old ones

CenterPoint’s new rate is 5.46/ kWh, an increase of 1.7 cents/ kWh over the rate customers have paid since March 1, 2023. For a customer using 3000 kWhs a month, you will pay an extra $51 after Sept. 1.

In Texas New Mexico Power’s service area, TDSP charges went up by 1.5 cents/ kWh. Customers in TNMP’s area will see an increase of $45 using 3000 kWh of electricity.

Why do TDSP rates change?

Each of the regulated utility companies is entitled to collect 100% of their costs from their ratepayers. And they are guaranteed to receive a rate of return. That’s because they provide a critical public service: delivering electricity, maintaining the infrastructure, and responding in case of an emergency.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas reviews and approves each utility’s rate case.

Energy Ogre’s Chief Operating Officer David Kinchen told KPRC 2 that TDUs like CenterPoint and TNMP have to explain to regulators why they need the extra money.

“They can’t just slap something in there when they feel like. These are all kind of justifiable costs,” Kinchen said. “As we’ve gone through and wanted a robust grid and you want it to be more winter-proof and all these things, they’ve been introducing charges that kind of cover those things.”

RELATED: Hidden fees in your electricity bill

Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

CENTER POINT, Texas - The state track and field meet begins later this week at the University of Texas at Austin. Hundreds of the best athletes from all over the state will be there. The San Antonio area will be well represented.

One student athlete from Center Point, which is near Kerrville, has made an incredible comeback to be able to compete on this stage.

"I'm very excited. I've never been to the state," said Taylor Vela, a senior distance runner at Center Point High School.

Zack Hedrick with Taylor Vela's inspiring story.

For the last several years, Vela has been running toward this moment.

"I'm very excited and really nervous for it because I know there's going to be like a bunch of good runners I'm going to be competing against, so it's going to be fun," Vela said.

Vela is a state qualifier in not one, but two track events. The 800 and 1600 meter races.

"I spoke to a former coach and the last competitor he can think of was in 2014-15 and that was a pole vaulter, not a runner," said Lovey Ortiz, Centerpoint's track and field coach. "So for him to get to this point, it's good for Center Point."

Vela also runs cross country and first began running long distance as a way to stay in shape for football.

"My friends were like, 'Come - just do it. It's fun!' And I was like, 'Running is fun?'" Vela recalled.

One day during his freshman year, while riding home on I-10 with some relatives, they were hit from behind by a drunk driver.

"That just happened so fast," Vela said. "All you hear is the tires screeching and then like it just hit us so hard. It was just an unforgettable moment. I collapsed. I woke up in the hospital and I was like what's happening."

Taylor ended up spending several days in the ICU. Doctors told him he wouldn't be able to walk.

"I was just like, 'I have to go I have to run,'" Vela said. "It wasn't just about running, it was I have to go run and get ready for football games."

Taylor did play football for one more year, but hurt his knee and made the decision to focus on distance running.

"It was devastating," Vela said. "Whenever I got my meniscus hurt I was still doing cross country. I ran the regionals with my meniscus hurt and I was like I can't do this because it hurts so bad."

Taylor just missed the cut to qualify for state last year.

"It was really heartbreaking because I really wanted to go, but I knew that I wasn't ready," Vela said.

It motivated him to find another gear.

"I knew he was in for great things because I could just tell he was a different person after that track meet last year at regionals," said Ortiz. "His work ethic is just incredible. We have easy days and on the easy days he wants to go hard. On our hard days he wants to go harder."

Taylor's journey isn't over yet. His goal is to bring home a gold medal.

"It's all or nothing," said Vela. "In the 800 I feel the pain and I like feeling the pain that's the weird thing about it. No one can out go me with the pain, no one can. I've been through so much so you just can't."

"That accident didn't hold him back," Ortiz said. "He wasn't at the top when we went into regionals and he finished at the top so where there's a will there's a way."

Vela says he wants to run distance at Lamar University after high school.

HOUSTON, Texas -- After months of searching for the perfect home, a Texas homeowner was excited to finally move into her first home with her husband -- that is, until a massive utility pole was placed almost directly in front of their house just two weeks after closing.

The massive pole is part of an ongoing project to upgrade transmission structures and enhance resiliency in the Montrose area, according to CenterPoint Energy.

However, residents do not understand why the giant poles have to be placed so close to their homes.

SEE ALSO: 5G towers appearing around Houston area has residents asking questions

"We saved a lot for this house and put a lot into this. It's upsetting they can do this," the homeowner said. "When they first poured the base, I said it's the size of a trampoline. It's huge. It clearly belongs on the side of a highway, not a neighborhood."

The homeowner, who wants to stay anonymous, said it has become an attraction in all the wrong ways.

"If I am inside, I can see them kind of stop if they are on a walk and take a look up and down," the homeowner said. "If I am outside, they will be, like, 'Do you own this house? I am so sorry.' Every single person apologizes, and I am like, I don't know what else to say at this point."

Her frustrations are shared with neighbors, who all worry about what this will do to property values in the neighborhood.

"They are a utility company, so they can do whatever they want, but what's it doing to the property values? This can't be good," Steve Wiese, a neighbor, said.

Our sister station in Houston, ABC13, got to the bottom of why this is allowed.

A spokesperson for CenterPoint said it is "conducting an electric system enhancement project in Montrose, which includes upgrading our transmission structures to enhance resiliency."

The structures are located in the City of Houston's road right-of-way, according to CenterPoint Energy.

SEE ALSO: CenterPoint Energy accreditation revoked after consumer complaints, Better Business Bureau says

This particular pole, at the intersection of Fairview and Park Street, is a self-supporting 90-degree structure that provides for the removal of five other electric poles and numerous guy wires, according to CenterPoint.

ABC13 also contacted the City of Houston to see whether the city could step in. A spokesperson also pointed to the fact that the State of Texas gives public utilities the right to construct equipment on public rights-of-way within neighborhoods (Sec. 181.042).

A spokesperson did acknowledge the City of Houston is aware of the pole and its impact on the community.

"We are investigating any enforcement actions that may be available to us, up to and including legal action against CenterPoint if we find a violation of any kind," a spokesperson for the Department of Administration and Regulatory Affairs said.

When asked why CenterPoint did not contact residents beforehand, a spokesperson said they are not required to.

In the statement, a spokesperson said, "The Public Utility Commission of Texas does not require utilities to file a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) for routine activities associated with transmission facilities such as upgrading to a higher voltage not greater than 230 kV, as was performed for this project (from 69kV to 138kV)."

However, the spokesperson did acknowledge the company should have, even if it were not required.

"We acknowledge that we should have engaged our neighbors about this pole. We will strive to ensure that such communications occur in the future," the spokesperson said.

Andy Abercrombie has lived on the same street since the early '80s. Abercrombie said he understands why the utility poles are important, especially with the February freeze still fresh on his mind.

"We made it through OK. Much better than other people had in the city, so to have someone like that in the city is helpful," Abercrombie said.

However, many residents still don't understand the reasoning for the utility poles having to be placed so close to their homes.

"I think that is everyone's question. Why does it have to be in front of a house?" the anonymous homeowner said. "Why can't it be outside the neighborhood? On the street. Not in front of all these houses? It clearly doesn't belong here."

The giant pole is not only an eyesore, but a safety hazard, some neighbors voiced.

"Anyone trying to cross Fairview, the problem is you just can't see to your left-hand side," Abercrombie said. "I think the solution would be to put one of those half-round mirrors, the ones that give you a 180-degree view, and then you would always be able to tell what is coming in that lane."

Amid the frustrations, construction continues, while some neighbors wonder if their homes will be next, fearing they clearly have no say in the matter.

"I just think this is a very important neighborhood in Houston," the anonymous homeowner said. "It's right in the heart of Houston. All these houses are historic for the most part if not very nice, newly built houses. It's just ruining the neighborhood."

Stained glass at Center Point church is more than 100 years old

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Small church congregation struggling to complete big window restoration project

CENTER POINT, Texas – Members of a small Hill Country church are struggling to complete a big project. One that involves restoring all the stained glass windows on the more than century-old building.

The congregation of Center Point United Methodist Church first began the undertaking in 2013.

Since then, through fundraisers and other donations, they have managed to pay for the refurbishment of only some of the windows.

“It takes a lot of money to refurbish stained glass. Each of the big windows was about $50,000,” said Marsha Burney, the church’s historian and a long-time member.

The church and its windows mean a lot to Burney as well as the entire congregation.

Burney married into the family that founded the church in the mid-1800s.

The current building is the third to house the congregation. Still, it and its colorful windows are more than 100 years old.

“You can’t sit here in the sanctuary and look at the windows and not be moved,” Burney said. “It’s the light of God that comes through.”

The windows, she said, were handcrafted by a young San Antonio woman, Helen Ferne Goolsby, in the early 1900s.

“The people of the church at that time wanted stained glass windows and they contacted the San Antonio Glass Company in San Antonio,” she said. “(Goolsby) was 19 and she designed these. They were brought up to Center Point, probably on a wagon.”

Although the railroad was up and running in Center Point at the time, Burney says the train would have been too rough of a ride for the delicate artwork.

Refurbishing the windows also has to be done carefully, she said.

Each one is taken out, piece by piece, then cleaned, repaired and replaced.

Burney said a company in New Braunfels, Whitworth Stained Glass, has been handling the project and working patiently with the church.

While it includes a hefty price tag for the congregation, which includes about 40 people, Burney said they have faith they will find a way to complete the work.

“God just works for us,” she said. “We just keep praying and hoping and planning.”

For more on Center Point United Methodist Church and its window restoration project, click here.

Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- Power was restored Saturday morning to a senior living apartment complex that left residents struggling with extreme heat.

Wednesday's severe weather knocked power out, and residents reached out to Action 13 when they couldn't get information from apartment managers or CenterPoint Energy.

Several residents described the conditions at Augusta Woods in Spring as horrible ever since Wednesday night's severe weather left their complex without power until Saturday morning.

SEE ALSO: Houston areas may not see power restored until Sunday: CenterPoint

"I believe it flickered, and then it went. It just- no lights," Didi Bradford told ABC13 on Friday.

That also meant no air. It created dangerous conditions for anyone, especially for this community of adults 55 years old and up.

"It's really difficult because she's on the fourth floor, and she's 89," Mary Mergenhagen, whose mother-in-law resides at Augusta Woods, said.

The mother-in-law stayed with the family until power was restored Saturday, but it wasn't easy getting her there.

"During this episode, I had to bring her down the stairs at night with a cell phone light," Mergenhagen said. "There was no generator to provide emergency lighting or anything."

"We have people over 80 (years old). We have people who are in wheelchairs. We have people on oxygen, and we didn't see any management until today," Bradford added.

Eyewitness News found one maintenance worker at the complex who said a generator was on the way. He asked ABC13 to leave the property, and management has not responded to attempts to contact them.

The fire department also went door to door, checking on residents who couldn't make it down without the elevator or who had nowhere else to go.

"I have no plan. I have to deal with it," Bradford said.

Before power was restored, linesmen with CenterPoint were working on the lines nearby Friday evening.

A spokesperson said they were making progress.

"We've had our crews working around the clock, rotating in and out, to continue this restoration. By the end of the day (Friday), we will have the majority of those out back on," Alyssia Oshodi, of CenterPoint Energy, said.

As of Saturday morning, more than 17,000 CenterPoint customers across the Houston area were still without power. Going on day three now, ABC13 asked CenterPoint Energy why this time around it's taking longer than usual.

The power company said the storm that blew through Wednesday took a toll on their equipment.

"The damage we've been seeing is across the board so poles down, wires down, trees on lines, and so we have to clear those trees. We have to get those wires and poles back up and it just takes significant time to do that clearing and then make those repairs," Alyssia Oshodi, Director of Communications for Centerpoint Energy, said.