No backup required: Texas senior care depends on luck and wits to cope with heat after power outages [Video]

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Some 120 miles from where Hurricane Beryl first made landfall in Texas on Monday, the power was out in north Houston, specifically at the Ella Springs Senior Living Community, an 80-resident assisted living and memory care facility.

That first day, following their emergency plan, the staff got to work, locating two small generators, fans and portable air conditioners to try to make one common area – the dining room – cooler for residents. Ella Springs had previously registered with CenterPoint Energy, the utility that manages power lines in the area, as a “critical load” customer, according to director Brenda Hobson.

That designation, Hobson thought, would mean that like hospitals, her center would be among the first – ahead of residential customers – to have power restored. Electricity needed for air conditioning is …