Texans use Whataburger app — not power company — to stay updated on outages after Hurricane Beryl
What prompted Texans to use the Whataburger app for updates?
Texans used the Whataburger app for updates on power outages after Hurricane Beryl because the local energy company, CenterPoint, did not have a functioning outage tracker map. The Whataburger app has a geomap that shows which locations are open and have power, and which are closed due to likely power loss.
How does the Whataburger app track power outages?
The Whataburger app tracks power outages by indicating the status of its restaurant locations. If a location's logo appears in orange on the app's map, it means the restaurant is open and likely has power4. A gray logo signifies that the location is closed, likely due to a power outage4. Users can thus infer the power availability in their area by checking the status of nearby Whataburger restaurants.
Why hasn't CenterPoint's outage map been online since May?
CenterPoint's outage map hasn't been online since May due to "technical difficulties" caused by a severe storm that hit the area1. The high traffic on the website and the widespread power outages overwhelmed the system, leading to its failure. The company is working on a replacement project to prevent similar issues in the future.