CenterPoint Energy has faced heavy criticism for its handling of power distribution after Hurricane Beryl, raising doubts about its other mission: transporting natural gas.

“Most of the underground lines here in Houston have been there for more than five decades,” said Ed Hirs, an energy expert at the University of Houston. “They are made of steel or iron and deteriorate over time.”

Brett Adamcik, director of system integrity and reliability at CenterPoint, said the average age of the pipes beneath Houston is closer to 36 years, which he said is below the industry standard.

“We have about 25,000 miles of pipeline and just over 1.5 million customers,” Adamcik said. “In a year, we replace between 200 and 300 miles.”

Adamcik estimated that less than half of the Houston area’s 25,000 miles of pipeline are still made of steel and that the remaining ones are coated to prevent rust.

“In our current system, we primarily install polyethylene, or PE, pipe,” said Adamcik. “Some of the most important and problematic materials you see in the industry we removed from our system years ago. We removed cast iron in the Houston area in 2009.”