Gov. Abbott calls for utility reform after Hurricane Beryl destruction

AUSTIN, Texas - Governor Greg Abbott says he is ready and willing to drop the hammer on a major Texas power provider. 

The warning came during a one-on-one interview with FOX 7. Governor Abbott wants utility providers to be storm ready and will make an example out of Houston’s utility provider, CenterPoint.

When Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Houston as a Cat 1 storm, more than two million utility customers lost power. Officials at CenterPoint were criticized for not being prepared and not being fast enough to get the lights back on. 

Last week, Governor Abbott rejected the utility's plan to make repairs and upgrades, calling CenterPoint’s place inadequate. The utility has to come up with a new plan by the end of the month. If the deadline is missed, the Governor said he will force the company to put in the changes he wants.

"I said, well, you are not doing enough, and you're not fast enough, because we could have another tropical storm here in a week or two. So, I gave them a deadline of August 31 to get all of this fixed, and they said, yes, they will do it," said Governor Abbott.

The "proof will be in the pudding," Abbott said when asked if he believed CenterPoint would follow through.

"If they don't. Here's what they know. I will use my Executive Authority, under the Emergency Authority the governor has, to impose those restrictions on them. They know I have that hammer. They know that I’m willing to use that hammer if they fail to do it on their own," said Abbott.

The governor also spoke to FOX 7 about presidential politics and the border. Abbott is not backing down on how he is trying to secure the south Texas border. Abbott said he has already started thinking about what new measures he will have to put in place if the Democratic presidential ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz wins the election.

"I got to tell you, I'm very concerned and frightened to see a ticket that could impose open border policies that are even more extreme than what Biden has allowed in the United States," said Governor Abbott.

The full discussion with Governor Greg Abbott can be seen Sunday night on FOX 7 News as part of the "Texas, The Issue Is" segment.