Groups urge state to give aid after freeze
A network of Texas community organizations is calling on state leaders to offer financial aid to families affected by February’s devastating winter storm.
The Network of Texas Industrial Areas Foundation Organizations, a coalition of interfaith service groups, joined the Metropolitan Organization of Houston at a Monday afternoon news conference in favor of state-level reform after the freeze.
Faith leaders, activists and Texans affected by the weather advocated for bills already under consideration in the Legislature, including Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 3460, and pushed for new measures to aid residents harmed by the freeze and the associated power outages.
“This was man-made — not the weather, but the response,” said minister Jacqueline Hailey, the director for New Hope Baptist Church in Houston. “Congregants, schools, homeowners, renters were all affected. This is still affecting us. We are not going to forget, and we want to ensure that this will never happen again.”
SB 3, already passed by the Texas Senate, would require power companies and energy producers to weatherize their facilities and create a statewide emergency alert system, among other provisions. HB 3460 would establish a new grant program to help low-income families affected by the storm.
Many Texans are still counting their losses from the freeze, from fixing burst pipes and paying off skyrocketing energy bills to addressing personal health issues stemming from the event. At the height of the crisis, more than 4.4 million people
were without power in Texas; an estimated 200 died.
Cynthia Larkin, a member of Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Houston, lost electricity for four days in February. Pipes burst in her house and her garage, and she was without running water for three weeks because a plumber couldn’t obtain supplies.
In the interim, her house grew mold — an issue her insurance company doesn’t cover.
“As of today, my house is still not whole because I have to still pay for the damages,” she said.
The organizations demanded that state lawmakers create a $2 billion fund to pay for home repairs, pay for weatherization of power generators and appoint a consumer advocate to the Public Utility Commission, the state-run agency that oversees the electricity grid manager.
“It’s not over yet,” said Bob Fleming, a leader with the Metropolitan Organization. “We will be taxed in the future as surcharges are placed on our bills for years and years as providers seek to defray the excessive and exorbitant costs charged by energy companies and generators in just a two-day period.”
Texas IAF has previously advocated for statewide reform after the freeze, holding several news conferences with faith leaders over the past two months to call on Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials to take accountability for the grid disaster.