Texans Use Whataburger App for Power Outages

Texans are increasingly relying on the Whataburger app to monitor power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl and its aftermath, as the outage map for CenterPoint Energy, one of the state’s largest electric utilities, has been down this week. Originally designed to help customers find open Whataburger locations, the app has become a crucial tool for tracking power restoration. It displays closures with a gray Whataburger logo, which has inadvertently turned it into a de facto power outage tracker. This adaptation comes in response to the outage map provided by CenterPoint Energy becoming inaccessible, leading residents to use the app to get an idea of which areas might have had their power restored.

The lack of a functional outage map from CenterPoint Energy has spurred frustration among users, who have taken to social media to voice their concerns. According to Poweroutage.us, an independent website that tracks power outages, CenterPoint’s outage map remains offline. The company currently provides limited information through a tracker that shows the number of customers affected, the number of active outages, and recent restoration data. This situation has driven people to the Whataburger app for more immediate and practical updates on power status.

This is not the first time CenterPoint Energy has encountered technical issues during a storm. Similar problems occurred in May following severe storms that resulted in at least four deaths in the state. According to The Houston Chronicle, the company’s power outage tracker experienced significant “technical difficulties” during that period, leaving residents without timely information about power outages and restorations.

As of 5:20 p.m. EDT, data from Poweroutage.us reveals that over 2 million people in Texas are currently without power. Of these, more than 1.6 million are CenterPoint Energy customers, illustrating the widespread impact of Hurricane Beryl. The hurricane’s force and the ensuing outages have left a significant portion of the state in the dark, reflecting the storm’s severity.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas, early on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds reaching 80 mph. This storm is notable for its historical significance, having been the earliest Category 4 and then Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin. The hurricane has caused extensive damage, with at least 11 fatalities reported in the Caribbean and seven in the U.S.—one in Louisiana and six in Texas. In Jamaica, Beryl’s impact has been severe, with over $6.4 million in crop and infrastructure damage, leading to critical food shortages in the country.

Ed Nelson, the President and CEO of Whataburger, expressed his relief that the app has been a valuable resource for Houston residents trying to determine power availability. Nelson emphasized that while the app provides helpful general information, it should not be the sole source of power status. He recommended that residents contact local units directly to confirm whether they are open and operational. Nelson also urged people to exercise caution and prioritize safety if they need to leave their homes.

The use of a fast food app as a power outage tracker is not unprecedented. The “Waffle House Index,” introduced by Craig Fugate, former FEMA administrator, gained recognition following Hurricane Irene in 2011. Similar to the Whataburger app, the index utilized the status of Waffle House locations—approximately 1,900, mainly in the South and Gulf Coast regions—as an informal gauge of power availability. The closures of these restaurants were used to assess the severity of power outages in affected areas.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has faced criticism for his absence during the storm. Since July 5, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has been serving as acting governor while Abbott is on an international business trip to South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Despite being out of the state, Abbott has claimed to remain in daily contact with Acting Governor Patrick and other state officials to ensure that resources are being deployed effectively. Abbott’s update on his trip, posted on July 5, drew backlash from critics who questioned his decision to remain abroad during the crisis, raising concerns about the adequacy of his response to the ongoing emergency in Texas.