Partnership Statement on Response to Winter Storm

Published Feb 23, 2021 by A.J. Mistretta

Statement from the Greater Houston Partnership

The Houston region and the entire State of Texas certainly experienced a very difficult week as we faced the major winter storm event that was compounded by an unprecedented loss of electricity and safe drinking water. What happened last week was a failure on a massive scale that impacted most Texans, some tragically, and we support a full inquiry into what went wrong and the development of a smart plan to improve the resiliency of our power grid and related infrastructure.

We know that many Houstonians are still reeling from the events of the last week. On Monday, the City of Houston and Harris County came together to launch the Houston Harris County Winter Storm Relief Fund. The Fund is dedicated to helping address Houstonians’ unmet needs with respect to repairing homes from damage wrought by the winter storm, including busted pipes and water damage along with short term housing needs as they await those repairs. The program will be run through the United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation. We encourage companies to consider directing your relief giving to this fund for the quick and efficient distribution of aid to those most in need.

Over the course of the coming days and weeks many of the facts surrounding the winter storm and associated power outages will emerge, and the path to creating a more resilient electric grid will become more clear. This process will begin with testimony before the Texas Legislature later this week. We support this inquiry and a process that will lead to meaningful and cost-effective changes. The Partnership and broader business community look forward to working with lawmakers and other policy makers to make the changes that will prevent such a catastrophic event in the future.

See storm-related recovery resources for residents and businesses and a roundup of Partnership member "corporate champions" that have provided relief funding.