CenterPoint Energy has officially submitted its annual declarations of winter readiness to both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Railroad Commission of Texas.
According to certain reports, these declarations are actually intentioned to showcase that CenterPoint has completed the regulatory requirements, which were adopted back in 2021, to prepare electric and natural gas infrastructure for winter storms and extreme cold weather.
This comes on the back of weather forecast for CenterPoint’s Houston electric service territory, a forecast where the potential for ice and snow accumulation was indicated early next week, subject to updated forecasts.
Markedly enough, the company has already conducted an assortment of proactive pre-winter preparedness actions to strengthen and winterize its electric and natural gas infrastructure across Texas. Not just that, the company is also in the process of deploying cold weather mitigations across its electric and gas infrastructure, developing plans to mobilize emergency response resources, as well as coordinating with relevant local emergency responders and government officials.
All in all, CenterPoint teams and contractors have already trimmed approximately 3,500 miles of higher risk vegetation since August 5, 2024.
“We’re continuing to monitor the severe cold weather expected across the communities we serve in Texas. We’re keeping a particularly close watch on the potential for a major winter storm that could impact the Greater Houston area beginning on MLK Day and into next week. We will continue to actively monitor the models for any severe weather and urge our customers to stay alert in anticipation of quickly changing weather conditions,” said Matt Lanza, Meteorology Manager at CenterPoint.
Taking a specific view of all the actions CenterPoint Energy has taken so far, we begin from inspecting and testing critical equipment, including each one of the 270 substations, to prepare for high demand and cold temperatures.
Next up, the company has made significant efforts to solidify electric and natural gas infrastructure. This it has done across the Greater Houston area. As for how CenterPoint went about this exercise, the company would, for instance, install heaters and devices to prevent ice damage or buildup. Furthermore, the company facilitated proper maintenance of freeze protection equipment and enclosures for cold-weather critical components.
Beyond that, CenterPoint also repaired all damaged or degraded thermal insulation and water-proofing materials, while simultaneously conducting emergency training for hundreds of operational personnel and contractors to prepare for, mitigate, and respond against the impacts of severe winter weather.
Now, we briefly touched on how the company strengthened its natural gas infrastructure, but what we haven’t yet touched upon is CenterPoint’s bid to prepare a dedicated set of strategies focused on protecting its natural gas system. These strategies, on their part, include positioning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks in such a manner that they can seamlessly supplement the natural gas system, if needed.
Moving on, the stated plan can be expected to reinforce reliability in this area by empowering all station set points to remain aligned with their given cold weather settings. The promised reliability will also be achieved by having technicians on standby to work closely with engineering and natural gas control.
Almost like an extension of that, the plan in question even has a consideration for coordinating with the Railroad Commission of Texas to identify and ensure operations of critical gas infrastructure for natural gas reliability.
CenterPoint took this opportunity to launch its Winter Guide, as well, which is a comprehensive online resource hub that helps customers throughout the winter heating season. Going by the available details, this guide features practical and important safety, energy savings, and bill management tips to help customers stay safe and warm throughout the winter season.
“Our teams are well-prepared and ready to respond to any potential impacts from the forecasted colder temperatures. We have enhanced staffing plans in place and crews stationed across the communities we serve, so that our teams can safely and quickly restore service to any impacted customers. We will remain alert throughout the next week and continue to coordinate with local officials as our communities take steps to prepare,” said Darin Carroll, CenterPoint’s Senior Vice President of Electric Business.
