Mayor John Whitmire leads a press conference with acting governor of Texas, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick behind him July 9 at the Emergency Operations Center the day after Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area.

Gallery Furniture Owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, from right, says CenterPoint Energy should put “people before profit” during a press conference with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday following Hurricane Beryl.

Gov. Greg Abbott shakes hands with Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale after a press conference on Hurricane Beryl on Sunday.

CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells speaks to a reporter on Thursday about the effort to restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

CenterPoint Energy has deep roots in Houston, and its branches have spread widely into local, state and federal politics as it has grown into a multi-state and multi-faceted corporation with a net income last year of $917 million and a million-dollar budget to influence politicians.

Houston Mayor and former state Sen. John Whitmire helped pass the law that transformed the former Houston Lighting and Power into the modern-day CenterPoint. He was also the company’s key ally in the Texas Senate, and the company employed his daughter, Whitney, as a legislative lobbyist from 2008-2021.

Just last year, Whitmire voted for two laws that diminished a city’s authority over companies like CenterPoint. The first allows the utility to request rate hikes twice a year instead of once, while the other diminishes the city’s input into the........

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