#United States #Houston #CenterPoint Energy #Greater Houston #Resiliency Plan

CenterPoint Energy's Historic Resiliency Plan

On January 31, 2025, CenterPoint Energy announced its enhanced Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP), a comprehensive initiative aimed at strengthening electrical service and reducing the impact of weather-related outages across the Greater Houston area. This plan is pivotal for the region, which faces significant climate-related challenges.

Addressing Extreme Weather

The SRP is expected to dramatically reduce outage impacts by more than 1.3 billion minutes by 2029. As a strategic priority, this plan marks the largest single investment in grid resiliency in CenterPoint's history. The focus is to enhance the electric system's adaptability against an array of extreme events, including hurricanes, floods, and high winds that frequently challenge the area.

Key Features of the Resiliency Plan

The ambitious SRP includes several essential upgrades to the infrastructure serving 2.8 million customers, including a comprehensive self-healing capability. Key elements of the plan involve:

• - Automation: 100% of lines serving critical customers will be equipped with self-healing automation devices.
• - Substation Enhancements: 99% of substations will be elevated above a historical flood plain risk, significantly mitigating flood-related outages.
• - Undergrounding: More than 50% of the electrical system will be converted to underground lines, reducing vulnerability to storm damage.
• - Stronger Infrastructure: 130,000 distribution poles will be either replaced or reinforced to withstand winds up to 132 mph.
• - Vegetation Management: A proactive vegetation management plan will ensure that power lines are cleared of hazardous foliage every three years.

Timeline and Cost

The investment for this initiative totals around $5.75 billion, with improvements expected to bolster reliability and resilience of the electrical system by at least 30% over the next three years. Jason Wells, CenterPoint's President and CEO, emphasized the long-term benefits of these enhancements, ensuring that residents have access to a safer, more reliable power system.

Meeting Growing Energy Needs

CenterPoint's SRP also addresses the surging energy demands driven by a steadily increasing population in the Greater Houston area. Predictably, the number of consumers is projected to rise by 2% annually. This plan aims to sufficiently meet the demands of this growing population while minimizing weather-related outages.

Thoroughly Researched and Consulted

The SRP was developed with input from community leaders, emergency management agencies, and expert consultants, ensuring that the strategies outlined are robust and relevant. Over 30 community engagement sessions helped refine the plan, demonstrating CenterPoint's commitment to active community involvement.

In completion, CenterPoint’s Resiliency Plan represents a monumental step forward in building a modern, reliable electrical grid, capable of weathering the increasing challenges posed by climate change. This plan exemplifies a forward-thinking approach that prioritizes resilience and reliability for all customers in the Greater Houston area. The actions carried out will not only enhance current electrical infrastructure but also prepare the community for a stable future in energy supply amidst nature's challenges. To stay informed about the ongoing developments of the SRP, residents can visit CenterPointEnergy.com/SystemwideResiliencyPlan.