My SIL is home alone in Houston thanks to my brother driving my elderly mom up to my house in DFW so she can enjoy some air conditioning for a while. SIL says they got power back this evening and everything was fine for a while but then she saw a flash out the back window and the power drop was on fire where it enters the pipe into the house. She got the fire out with a water hose (probably not a good idea but somehow it worked without killing her). Called FD who came out and checked and found no heat and suggested to call CP. CP could give her no estimate of when they could be out to check on it. Still has power but some lights are dim and A/C not on. Service drop is also now about head high instead of out of reach. Any suggestions? Is it safe to be there?

I cannot comment on if it's safe or not, I'll let someone else chime in on that.

But, that is the service line between home and utility, and will be homeowner responsibility.

Had this happen at my mom's, service line failed and she lost one leg and had the exact scenario you described. Ran about 5k to replace for a data point.

I'd line up an electrician while waiting on CenterPoint. Danny at Thor electric is a good local rec, have used him several times.

Technically, anything from the transmission line to your house is your responsibility, but in May, CP was making those repairs for customers. It was free, but the catch was these were the repairs they did last.

If she wants it fixed now, she'll need to hire someone to do it for her on her own dime.

One of CP's crews from out of state showed up today and replaced the service drop. They said it was the eighth one they had done today.