HOUSTON — As part of CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC’s commitment to the safe and reliable delivery of electricity across the Greater Houston area, the company filed a Transmission and Distribution System Resiliency Plan with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) April 29.
CenterPoint Energy’s electric service territory covers approximately 5,000-square-miles across Houston and surrounding communities and includes nearly 60,000 circuit miles of transmission and distribution lines, serving approximately 2.8 million metered customers across its electric system. The Greater Houston area – which contains a thriving industrial and petrochemical sector, the Port of Houston and the Texas Medical Center – lies at the heart of CenterPoint’s Houston electric service territory and is at risk of extreme weather events.
The region continues to experience rapid population growth and strong economic expansion. While the Greater Houston area comprises about 2% of the geographic area of Texas, CenterPoint Energy’s metered customers account for approximately 25% of the total electric load in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region.
To continue meeting the region’s electricity demand, CenterPoint Energy must strive to increase system resiliency. Resiliency refers to the system’s ability to prepare for, adapt to and optimally recover from disruptive incidents such as severe weather events, physical attacks and cyberattacks. A more resilient transmission and distribution system and supporting equipment will better withstand the effects of these events, while avoiding damage to the system. Improved resiliency across the system will help reduce overall customer outage times, lessen the number of customers affected and lower system restoration costs for us and our customers.
“Every day, our customers depend on the services CenterPoint Energy provides,” said Lynnae Wilson, CenterPoint Energy’s Senior Vice President, Electric Business. “The Greater Houston region’s experience with severe weather events emphasizes the importance of increasing our electric system’s resiliency. As a regulated ‘poles and wires’ utility, CenterPoint Energy has the responsibility of building a stronger, modern and more adaptable electric grid to enhance resiliency during and in response to severe weather events and physical or cyberattacks, ultimately improving service to our customers.”
The Resiliency Plan filed outlines the comprehensive next steps and initiatives CenterPoint Energy intends to undertake from 2025 to 2027 in enhancing the resiliency of its transmission and distribution system. The proposed capital investments between $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion include projects related to system hardening and modernization, flood mitigation, vegetation management, wildfire mitigation, physical security and infrastructure technology.
By: CenterPoint Energy
