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Centerpoint Energy abruptly cancels meeting over proposed substation
FOX 26's Randy Wallace was there as Centerpoint Energy officials canceled a meeting regarding a proposed substation being built near one Seabrook neighborhood.
SEABROOK, Texas - "Every time we've gotten beaten down, there's been some strong voice in our group that has carried us through," said homeowner Angela Cervantes. "That's why this neighborhood is such a gem."
For two years, residents who live in the Red Oaks Acres subdivision in Seabrook have tried to stop an unwanted new neighbor from moving in a proposed electrical substation for CenterPoint.
"You're disrupting families. You're disrupting wildlife, you're disrupting our livelihood by putting a substation out here," said homeowner Sandra Harrison. "You didn't even tell us."
"We're the sacrificial lambs, we're an older established neighborhood," Cervantes said. "We're average working class people, and we're the prime target for a monster like CenterPoint."
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Residents say they have SeaBrook City Council, a State Representative, and a Harris County Commissioner on their side, but CenterPoint isn't budging.
"It doesn't matter. It seems like this billion-dollar company is an unstoppable force," said Cervantes. "They have no oversight except the Public Utility Commission, and they too, are unreachable."
Residents accuse CenterPoint of not being forthcoming about its plans.
"Every single piece of information that we've gotten has been through discovery, it's been through asking questions using the Open Records Act, and really just pushing where we could," Cervantes said.
"Like a rotating door for us," Harrison said. "We give them questions, they come back to the table, and they have no answers."
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We went to the mitigation meeting Wednesday night between CenterPoint and the residents. But CenterPoint was obviously upset with our camera being there and abruptly canceled the meeting. FOX 26 did email CenterPoint's media relations informing them we were covering Wednesday night's meeting and seeking a response.
"They had something to tell us tonight. They didn't want to say in front of the camera, in front of the public. I feel like they're either hiding stuff or don't want people to know what they do," said Jose Cervantes.
"I'm not sure why that can't also be heard by the public and all of the viewers," said homeowner Stacy Gauna.