Ryan Duggan, CenterPoint's service area manager in Galveston, shows a resident an example of a weather station on Jan. 29, 2026.

CenterPoint Energy officials said they are working to make improvements after Tropical Storm Arthur left around 11,000 customers in Galveston without power for multiple hours on June 18.

The outages happened after CenterPoint equipment was impacted by salt from the tropical storm.

"We know that that was not a hugely impactful storm, not lots of rain, but lots of wind and lots of sea spray, so that leads to salt contamination in some areas. We got a little bit of that in a couple of our [substations]," CenterPoint Chief Communications Officer Keith Stephens said.

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Jamaica Beach resident Brandon McDermott previously told Houston Public Media some residents on the west end of Galveston Island were without power for nine hours.

Stephens said CenterPoint crews proactively washed their equipment with deionized water to clean their substations and protect them from salt spray; however, some equipment was still damaged.

"It is the island; it is next to the ocean, so we took responsibility for that,” Stephens said. “We said what happened ... We own our results, and people expect a very high level of service from us. That’s what we want to deliver, and when we don’t, we want to tell them why and what we’re doing to make it better."

Stephens said CenterPoint has sensors on its substations to indicate when to proactively wash equipment.

"We’re looking at any and all new forms of technology to help us do that," Stephens said.

Ryan Duggan, who works as CenterPoint's service area manager in Galveston, said the company is using weather stations scattered throughout the island to help figure out how to make their equipment more resilient.

"Part of the whole idea behind these weather stations is so that we can look at the historical data, match it up to our reliability issues and maybe look to do different framings or reroute some power in different locations so that we can make sure we’re building the most resilient grid possible," Duggan said.

Duggan said the equipment in Galveston that was impacted by the storm has been repaired.

CenterPoint officials held an event in Galveston on June 29, following Tropical Storm Arthur, to speak with residents about efforts they've taken to prepare for the 2026 hurricane season and listen to concerns from those who live on the island.

Ted Kury, director of energy studies at the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida, told Houston Public Media that since the Public Utility Commission of Texas regulates the state's electric utilities, including rates, it's important for residents to make their voices and concerns heard to the regulator, not just the companies.

"Even if it’s just a question of leaving public comments online, being aware of the process, making the regulator aware of the unique challenges that may be faced by the people in Galveston," Kury said.