Company has installed or replaced nearly 4,600
stronger storm-resilient poles; cleared more than 800 miles of
higher-risk vegetation; undergrounded more than 100 miles of power
lines; and installed dozens of new, intelligent grid switching
devices
HOUSTON, Nov. 19,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy today
released the first of its public progress updates on the actions
being taken throughout the Greater
Houston 12-county area as part of Phase Two of its Greater
Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI). In the first two months of
the program, and in preparation for the 2025 hurricane season,
CenterPoint has installed nearly 4,600 storm-resilient poles
designed to better withstand extreme winds; installed more than 100
miles of power lines underground to reduce the impact of extreme
weather; cleared more than 800 miles of hazardous vegetation to
improve reliability; and installed more self-healing automation
devices to help improve overall restoration times. CenterPoint is
taking all of these actions and enhancements as part of the
company's goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the
nation.
"This summer, we accomplished a significant level of increased
system hardening in the first phase of the Greater Houston
Resilience Initiative. Since then, as we have been fully engaged in
delivering the additional set of actions in our second phase
of GHRI, we continue to make significant progress as we work
toward our ultimate goal of becoming the most resilient coastal
grid in the country. Now, and in the months to come, we will remain
laser-focused on completing these critical resiliency actions and
building the more reliable and more resilient energy system our
customers expect and deserve," said Darin
Carroll, CenterPoint Energy Senior Vice President of
CenterPoint Energy's Electric Business.
GHRI Phase Two: Progress Update
CenterPoint announced on
September 30 the launch of Phase Two
of the GHRI, which included a series of actions to strengthen
resiliency, enable a self-healing grid and reduce the duration and
impact of power outages. Through early November, significant
progress has been made across its service area, including:
GHRI Phase Two: Looking Ahead
As part of the second
phase of GHRI, which runs through May 31,
2025, CenterPoint teams will be taking additional actions
including: installing 4,500 automated reliability devices to
minimize sustained interruptions during major storm events and
reduce restoration times; and establishing a network of 100 new
weather monitoring stations. This part of GHRI Phase Two is set to
begin in early 2025. The company plans to complete each of these
actions before the start of the next hurricane season.
When completed, the actions outlined as part of GHRI Phase Two
will lead to more than 125 million fewer outage minutes annually
for customers. The company is also continuing to expand and improve
the way it communicates with customers and engages with communities
before, during and after emergencies, including through a
year-round safety and preparedness campaign.
Post-Beryl Commitments: Completed Ahead of Schedule
In
addition to this Phase Two GHRI work, CenterPoint announced last
week that it has completed all 42 of the critical actions the
company committed to taking in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl to
immediately strengthen the electric system and improve its storm
response. These initial improvements included:
- Trimming or removing higher-risk vegetation from more than
2,000 power line miles
- Installing more than 1,100 stronger, more storm-resilient
poles
- Installing more than 300 automated devices to reduce sustained
outages
- Launching a new, cloud-based outage tracker
- Improving CenterPoint's Power Alert Service to provide better
customer information
- Hosting listening sessions across the service area and using
feedback to inform the company's storm response plans
CenterPoint will continue to provide updates on its progress
toward completing all of its GHRI commitments. For more information
and real-time updates, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com/TakingAction.
###
About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in
Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric
transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas
distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered
customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees,
CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in
business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release, as well
as the website pages related to the GHRI, includes forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release or the website
pages related to the GHRI, the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal,"
"intend," "may," "objective," "plan," "potential," "predict,"
"projection," "should," "target," "will" or other similar words are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding our
resiliency investments, and the GHRI, including effectiveness,
timing and related matters, are based upon assumptions of
management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and
are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events
and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news
release or the website pages related to the GHRI regarding future
events that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news
release, or the website pages related to the GHRI speaks only as of
the date of this release. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated by the provided
forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties
relating to: (1) the impact of pandemics, including the COVID-19
pandemic; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic
conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and
legislative decisions; and (5) other factors, risks and
uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and
CenterPoint's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters
ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024 and
other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from
time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information,
contact:
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc