Harris Co. Commissioner announces back-up power mandate for nursing homes

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones declared a new era of protection from weather-related injury and death for Harris County's vulnerable senior citizens.

A measure amending the Harris County Fire Code went into effect on January 1 mandating that nursing homes and assisted living facilities install back-up electrical generation capable of running heating and air-conditioning units in a crisis.

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"We need to make sure we have the regulations in play to protect, especially our seniors and our most vulnerable residents," said Briones.

Briones says approval of the safety measure was driven by power outages during the brutal winter storm of 2021, and more recently Hurricane Beryl, which knocked out life-preserving electricity at 44 local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

"This is for all of our families whether it's our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents, all of us. We are all aging and this could be us. So we know in the next freeze, next oppressive heat, the next hurricane, the next derecho, that there will back-up systems here in Harris County, because we are taking the lead in setting higher standards for protection and safety," said Briones.

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Efforts to mandate HVAC back-up generation statewide at elder care facilities have yet to gain approval at the Texas Legislature.

Published estimates of the cost involved with installation of back-up power range from $20,000 to several hundred thousand dollars, depending on the facility.

Briones says access to back up power for the elderly has proven the difference between life and death, citing the 100-plus seniors who perished statewide during the hyper-frigid temperatures and associated electrical outages nearly four years ago.