Tropical storm Nicholas brought widespread power outages in the Houston, Texas, area today, knocking out some pipeline operations, including a major refined products line. The storm briefly reached hurricane status as it made landfall at about 1:30am ET 20 miles southwest of Freeport, Texas, with 75mph sustained winds. About 180,000 customers in the Houston area remain without power as of 5pm ET from a high of about 450,000 earlier today, according to utility CenterPoint Energy. Colonial Pipeline has resumed service on its 1.5mn b/d gasoline-bearing Line 1 from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina at 12:58pm ET, ... (full story)