As freezing polar temperatures return to Texas, CenterPoint Energy deploys its cold weather readiness plan

ERCOT Weather Watch issued for February 19-21 due to forecasted extreme cold weather across its region, meaning higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves   

CenterPoint continues to monitor forecasts and perform readiness checks for its electric and natural gas systems ahead of potential freezing temperatures impacting the company's Texas service territory

Company urges customers to have a plan and make winter weather preparations to stay safe and warm

HOUSTON, Feb. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With extreme cold temperatures forecasted to again impact CenterPoint Energy's service territory in Texas this week, the company's Emergency Response and Preparedness and Meteorology teams are actively monitoring weather models and preparing to support safe and reliable energy delivery through cold conditions. Both electric and natural gas teams across CenterPoint's Texas footprint are engaged in coordinated efforts to maintain readiness and prepare to address potential service impacts.

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch for Wednesday, Feb. 19 through Friday, Feb. 21 due to extreme cold weather across the ERCOT region, higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves. At this time, according to ERCOT, grid conditions are expected to be normal. 

"CenterPoint is actively monitoring the cold weather expected across our communities in Texas. Though current forecasts are not predicting the kind of icy precipitation or snowy conditions the Greater Houston area experienced during last month's cold snap, we will continue to monitor the weather models and prepare our response for any potential impacts from freezing temperatures. We urge our customers to take this extreme cold weather seriously, stay alert of changing weather conditions and have an emergency plan in place," said Don Daigler, CenterPoint Senior Vice President of Emergency Preparedness and Response.  

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 electric and natural gas infrastructure across Texas, as well as inspect and test cold-weather critical equipment ahead of potential severe cold weather. CenterPoint is also preparing to deploy cold weather mitigations across its electric and gas infrastructure, developing plans to mobilize emergency response resources and coordinating with relevant local emergency responders and government officials in preparation.

2025 Winter Energy Guide
CenterPoint encourages customers to use the company's 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.

Electric customers encouraged to enroll in Power Alert Service® and follow CenterPoint Texas X account
CenterPoint electric customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service® to receive winter storm outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates by phone call, text or email. Customers can also follow @CenterPoint_TX to receive the most up-to-date information on the company's operations in the Greater Houston area and across Texas.

In addition, customers can use CenterPoint's new and improved, cloud-based Outage Tracker, available in English and Spanish, to stay updated and see outages by county, city and zip code. 

For more information, contact
Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE CenterPoint Energy