HOUSTON – Homeowners in Bear Creek say constant power outages and surges are becoming more than just an inconvenience, they say the repeated disruptions are damaging electronics, forcing some families to rely on generators, and even making residents question whether they can continue living in the neighborhood.

“It could be very sunny with no rain, no wind, and we’ll have issues,” said Bear Creek subdivision homeowner Danielle Marcelle.

Marcelle says the outages have become so frequent, she started documenting them.

“April 21st, 2025,” Marcelle read aloud from a log she’s kept for more than a year. Another entry reads: “June 21st of 2025, there are power surges and the lights flickered.”

Each entry marks another moment when the power either flickered, surged, or went out completely.

Marcelle says the outages vary in severity.

“It could be a couple of seconds, but also it can be a full-on outage,” she said. “The last significant one lasted a few hours.”

Marcelle says she has lived in Bear Creek since 2013, and the issue has happened for years.

Other homeowners say they’re facing the same problems.

“Just in the last week or so, it’s probably happened once or twice,” said homeowner Chase Kirk.

Kirk says occasional outages are understandable, but he believes what’s happening in Bear Creek goes beyond that.

“Power goes out once in a blue moon everywhere,” Kirk said. “But once in a blue moon gets taken advantage of when it’s multiple times a week throughout the summer, or it lasts for hours.”

He compared the outages in Bear Creek to storms he experienced growing up in Georgia.

“Living in Georgia as a kid, I could see a tornado from our living room and we still had power,” Kirk said. “But over here, somebody washes their car, sneezes in the wrong direction, we lose power for four hours.”

CenterPoint Energy said they would send a crew out to the subdivision Wednesday to investigate the root cause.

“We understand how frustrating it can be for customers to experience flickering lights or brief interruptions and our team will be in the area tomorrow to investigate and address any issues safely and as quickly as possible,” reads a statement to KPRC 2 News. “We encourage our customers who may be experiencing service issues to report them using our Outage Tracker, so we can address them immediately.”

Kirk says the repeated outages pushed his family to spend about $2,000 installing a generator inlet system last year.

But that wasn’t his only expense.

“TVs go bad because of it,” Kirk said, adding he believes the power surges damaged electronics in his home. He says neighbors have also reported losing appliances.

“My next-door neighbor across the street lost a washing machine,” Kirk said.

Marcelle worries about what could happen during the summer heat, especially for families with children, pets, or medical needs.

“There are people with medical issues. We’re in Houston, so it’s hot,” she said. “I have a pet at home that I worry about if the power goes out while I’m at work.”

Marcelle also says she has previously lost medication during an outage.

Kirk says the outages have become frequent enough to affect decisions about whether to stay in the neighborhood long-term.

“We love Bear Creek,” Kirk said. “But this is the biggest factor for us wondering if we’re going to stay here long term or not.”

Data from Whisker Labs appears to support residents’ concerns. The company tracks power outages through sensors installed in homes and businesses nationwide.

CenterPoint Energy has previously disputed Whisker Labs’ findings.

For homeowners like Marcelle, they say they mainly want answers and a solution.

“I want to know why,” she said. “But also, I just want it fixed. Because we’re tired of it happening.”