Centerpoint, the privatized power company the maintains the grid in Houston, did not bother to stage linemen before the storm, which is the normal practice. Linemen had to come from out of state after the storm. Then, centerpoint told the linemen once they were here that they would have to find and pay for their own accommodations. That has never been the case before. Finally, they are trying to low-ball the linemen, so there are pay negotiations ongoing. Also they’re spending a lot of time idle in parking lots waiting to be assigned work by centerpoint.
This is what privatized utilities do.