While weather models and forecasts continue to significantly evolve for a potential severe cold and ice storm around the Martin Luther King holiday, CenterPoint Energy continues to actively monitor those weather forecasts and deploy its cold weather readiness plan across the company's Texas service territory.
The company encourages customers to have a plan and make preparations for severe cold weather and potentially ice.
While updated forecasts show a range of potential impacts early next week hitting the Greater Houston area, the company's Emergency Preparedness and Response, Meteorology and Operations teams remain on alert and continue preparing to support safe and reliable energy delivery during potentially extreme cold and icy conditions.
Usually snow and cold temperatures are not major impacts on electric systems, However, ice accumulation and stronger winds can pose hazards to trees, limbs and power lines. Should those icy conditions materialize next week, there would likely be some outages related to the extreme weather. If it appears that will be the case, CenterPoint will be prepared to expand its workforce over the weekend, with additional contractors and mutual aid personnel, to meet the restoration need.
"While there are still a great deal of unknowns on what weather will actually arrive early next week, we want our customers and communities to have confidence in the cold preparations we've already executed, that we are actively monitoring the weather and our systems and that, if needed, we can marshal additional resources to help us restore those customers who may lose power, if we have significant ice accumulation and strong winds. We also want our customers to take this storm seriously, prepare for it and have emergency plan in place," said Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of CenterPoint's Electric Business.
Cold weather preparations
The company has a cold weather action plan in place and has performed a series of proactive pre-winter preparedness actions to strengthen and winterize its infrastructure across Texas, including inspecting and testing cold-weather critical equipment. CenterPoint is also deploying cold weather mitigations across its electric and gas infrastructure, coordinating with relevant local emergency responders and government officials and developing plans to mobilize emergency response resources, if needed. Additionally, as part of the ongoing work to increase system resiliency, CenterPoint has already trimmed approximately 3,500 miles of higher risk vegetation since Aug. 5, 2024.
2025 Winter Energy Guide
CenterPoint recently launched its Winter Energy Guide, a comprehensive online resource hub that helps customers throughout the winter heating season. The guide features practical and important safety, energy savings and bill management tips to help customers stay safe and warm throughout the winter season. To learn more, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/ReadyforWinter.
Energy-saving tips
- Make sure the heating system is operating safely and efficiently. An annual inspection and tune-up by a qualified technician are recommended. Change or clean the furnace filter regularly to help maximize the furnace's efficiency and life.
- Turn down the thermostat. Lowering the thermostat by 7-10 degrees at night or when away for at least eight hours, can potentially save customers 10% on heating costs. Also, with a programmable thermostat, the heating system can work around one's schedule.
- Keep warm air in and cold air out of the home. Use caulk or weather-stripping to seal leaks around doors, windows and other openings such as pipes or ducts. A convenient alternative can be to roll up towels and push them against the bottom of the door's interior to help prevent heat loss. Close fireplace dampers when not in use, so you don't lose heat.
- Use window coverings and blinds effectively. If it's sunny outside, open window coverings during the day to capture warmth from the sun, and close coverings at night to keep warmth inside.
- Circulate warm air with ceiling fans. Set ceiling fans to turn clockwise slowly to move warm air from the ceiling to your living levels.
