Over 1 million in Texas without power, Freeport LNG restart pending after Beryl | U.S. & World [Video]

By Arathy Somasekhar, Curtis Williams and Liz Hampton

HOUSTON/FREEPORT (Reuters) -About 1.3 million homes and businesses in Texas remained without power on Thursday, four days after Hurricane Beryl lashed the state with fierce winds and flooding, sparking frustration among companies, officials and residents who were facing extreme heat.

Around 1.1 million of those without power were customers of CenterPoint Energy, the state’s largest provider. Another 1.17 million customers have been restored since Beryl’s landfall near Matagorda, Texas, the company said.

The slow restoration of power continues hindering some companies’ efforts to quickly return operations to normal, especially around Freeport, among Texas’ largest energy hubs. However, most oil and gas companies have resumed normal operations after Beryl made landfall as a Category-1 storm.

Freeport LNG, the U.S. third largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, has not restarted gas processing operations after making initial preparations on Wednesday, according to sources.

No vessels were docked at the LNG company’s berths, but …