HOUSTON – With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Houston this summer, CenterPoint Energy says it has spent more than a year preparing the region’s electric and natural gas infrastructure for the global event.
Houston will host seven World Cup matches between June 14 and July 4, prompting concerns from some residents about whether the electric grid can handle the increased demand during one of the hottest times of the year.
CenterPoint officials say they have completed nearly 700 electric resiliency projects across more than 100 miles of power lines serving key World Cup-related locations, including NRG Park, Shell Energy Stadium, airports, hotels, transit corridors and fan zones.
The company also inspected nearly 250 miles of natural gas pipeline surrounding major event venues.
“Preparing for seven World Cup matches is like preparing for seven Super Bowls,” said Jesus Soto, CenterPoint Energy’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “For over a year, our teams have worked to strengthen the electric and gas systems around all critical venues and to closely coordinate with all our emergency management partners.”
According to CenterPoint, crews conducted inspections of primary and backup electrical circuits serving World Cup priority locations, repaired or replaced equipment where needed and developed a specialized response plan for the event.
The utility also plans to activate its Emergency Operations Center before, during and after each match to coordinate response efforts if issues arise.
While some Houstonians are worried about potential strain on the power grid, energy experts say the overall impact on ERCOT’s statewide system is expected to be manageable.
“It’s not large on the scale of Texas itself,” said Sam Luna with BKV Energy. “Really, the impact we foresee is going to be on the local infrastructure and what CenterPoint has done to be prepared.”
Luna said NRG Park alone could see an increase of 13 to 15 megawatts of electricity demand during World Cup events, roughly equivalent to the power used by 3,000 to 5,000 homes.
However, he said concerns are focused more on localized infrastructure around hotels, entertainment districts, watch parties and fan events than on ERCOT’s ability to supply power statewide.
The World Cup arrives during a period when Texas typically experiences peak electricity demand driven by extreme heat.
ERCOT has projected that statewide demand could reach as high as 90,000 megawatts this summer.
In addition to infrastructure upgrades, CenterPoint says it has coordinated with the City of Houston, emergency management agencies and federal partners, participated in emergency response exercises and pre-staged additional crews and equipment near key event locations.
The utility says those efforts are designed to improve reliability and speed restoration efforts if outages occur during the tournament.
Houston’s seven-match schedule is expected to make the city one of the busiest World Cup host locations in the United States, bringing international visitors, watch parties and fan events throughout the region.