Retired Houston couple battling CenterPoint over who should pay after power surge causes thousands in damage

Couple blaming CenterPoint for power surge that caused thousands in damages

A couple says a power surge caused by CenterPoint caused thousands of dollars in damage to their belongings. FOX 26's Randy Wallace explains. 

HOUSTON - A Houston couple says a power surge linked to CenterPoint Energy work in their neighborhood destroyed multiple appliances and electronics in their home, but the utility denied their damage claim, citing a tariff that places responsibility for surge protection on customers.

Houston Couple Says CenterPoint Power Surge Left Thousands of Dollars in Damage

When it comes to damages caused by power surges, CenterPoint says under its tariff it's the customers responsibility to provide protective devices for equipment whose performance may be altered by fluctuations in voltage. But Lonnie and Reva Smith say CenterPoint could have prevented their damages.

What they're saying:

On May 13, Lonnie says, his daughter was on the back porch when she noticed the TV, which was turned off, was smoking.

Then he says he heard CenterPoint workers in his next door neighbor's yard, and he says, they told him to turn his power off.

He says when he turned the power back on six hours later, the downstairs AC, the garage door openers, the dryer, and a TV no longer worked.

Lonnie's wife, Reva, says she contacted CenterPoint.

"Two technicians came back, and it happened to be one of the technicians that happened to be in the yard on Wednesday," said Reva Smith. "He walked through and said, 'I'm calling my supervisor, this is on us.'"

But in a letter, CenterPoint told the Smith's their claim is denied, citing the tariff.

"I was devastated," said Reva. "He just had surgery. I'm dealing with sciatica."

In its letter, CenterPoint says it has a fund that provides assistance for certain electrically damaged essential appliances. That doesn't include dryers, TV's, and garage door openers.

The Smiths say all of this could have been avoided if CenterPoint would have told them to turn the power off before the work began.

The other side:

In a statement to FOX 26, CenterPoint Energy said, "CenterPoint Energy is committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable service to the customers and communities we’re privileged to serve, while prioritizing and addressing any concerns our customers may have. A member of our team reached out to our customer this afternoon to work together with them to address their concerns and resolve the issue. All of us at CenterPoint are committed to supporting our customers, and we encourage any customer experiencing an issue to contact our team so we can address it."