HOUSTON – As Southeast Texas braces for potential winter weather this weekend, CenterPoint Energy says it has been closely tracking the storm and coordinating with ERCOT while mobilizing thousands of workers to protect power and natural gas service across the Greater Houston area.
Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint’s vice president of resilience and capital delivery, held a press conference with the latest information in a press conference Friday afternoon.
CenterPoint Response Information
CenterPoint officials say approximately 3,300 workers are already positioned throughout the region.
HOUSTON WINTER STORM: Which neighborhoods face the highest risk for ice and dangerous roads Saturday
That includes about 200 employees staffing the company’s Emergency Operations Center, roughly 2,500 internal line workers, contractors and vegetation management crews, along with an additional 600 frontline workers secured to assist with restoration efforts if needed.
“We’ve been tracking this winter storm over the past week, and we’ve been coordinating with ERCOT,” Brownell said.
To speed response times, CenterPoint has also set up multiple staging sites across Houston in areas expected to see the worst weather.
Crews are working extended 16-hour shifts, lasting roughly from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to prepare infrastructure and remain ready to respond.
CenterPoint’s Biggest Storm Concern: Ice
Brownell said the biggest concern for keeping the lights on continues to be ice—even small amounts.
“The biggest threat right now continues to be the ice,” Brownell said. “Even a little bit of ice has impacts on driving conditions. Those are areas we’re going to be focused on.”
While ice may be visible on power lines, CenterPoint officials said it is not a major concern unless it causes lines or poles to fall.
“Seeing ice isn’t a real concern,” Brownell said. “It’s the same conversation we have in any storm. If you see a downed power line, don’t go near it. Call our crews.”
CenterPoint’s Message To Its Customers
The company has also rolled out a new cloud-based outage tracker designed to provide customers with more timely and accurate information during outages.
You can access the tracker here.
Brownell pointed to recent infrastructure upgrades as part of CenterPoint’s broader effort to improve reliability during extreme weather.
“We want to be the most resilient energy provider in the United States,” he said. “It’s about two years of work we’ve done in about a year and a half. The things that we’re doing are seeing improvement on day-to-day reliability and in extreme weather events.”
SCHOOL UPDATES: HISD confirms status for Monday’s classes | Houston-area school districts confirm status
Still, Brownell acknowledged outages remain possible.
“One outage is too many,” he said. “But if we do have one, we’re going to get out there and help you faster.”
CenterPoint is urging customers to prepare as they would for any winter storm by charging phones, ensuring vehicles have gas and staying off icy roads when possible.
Officials emphasized that ice poses a greater danger than snow, especially with the potential for black ice.
“Growing up in the Midwest, I know ice is dangerous,” Brownell said.
CenterPoint officials thanked customers for their patience as crews remain on standby through the weekend.