CenterPoint Energy – Preparation for Inclement Weather

Announcements – (Updated January 25, 2026)

CNP Winter Storm Update: Over 99 Percent of CenterPoint Customers Have Power Across Greater Houston Area; Teams Actively Repairing Weather-Related Damages and Restoring Power As Soon As Possible

Ice and freezing conditions from winter storm are impacting Greater Houston overnight and this morning; Precipitation expected to clear by mid-to-late morning

Hard freezes around 20 degrees are forecasted Sunday night and Monday night and can impact electric equipment as well

3,300+ workers are fully mobilized and conducting damage assessments and restoring power safely and as quickly as possible

Less than 2,000 electric customers currently impacted; Approximately 27,000 customers already restored since Saturday 6:00 AM

With the winter storm impacting the Greater Houston area overnight and additional waves of winter weather this morning, CenterPoint Energy expanded restoration workforce is actively deployed throughout the area to assess weather-related damages, repair critical electric equipment damaged by the storm, and restore customers’ electric service safely and quickly. Winter weather conditions including winds, precipitation, some ice accumulation and freezing temperatures impacted the electric system overnight. As of 6:00 AM, approximately 2,000 customers are experiencing weather-related outages with represents less than 1% of the 2.9 million customers that CenterPoint serves across 12 counties. Since Saturday 6:00 AM, approximately 27,000 customers have already been restored.

“Any outage is one too many for us and that’s why our expanded team of 3,300 workers remain focused on our customers and communities and restoring anyone who may be out of service due to the winter weather impacts. We would like to thank all of our customers for their patience and support, our local agency partners for all their efforts during these weather impacts, and all the dedicated frontline personnel who are braving extreme conditions to help our communities. We won’t stop until everyone’s power service is restored,” said Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint Energy Vice President of Resilience and Capital Delivery.

Safety reminder: Wires down

The company reminds customers and community members to always assume downed lines or wires are energized and potentially dangerous if contacted. Stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or fallen wires and a similar safe distance from objects touching downed lines (tree limbs, vehicles, fences, etc.) and immediately report downed power lines to CenterPoint.

Actions CenterPoint is Taking to Respond

CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center on January 21, and has been actively preparing for the impacts caused by winter storm, including:

Deploying restoration electric workforce: Readying 3,300-person expanded workforce to support winter storm response and address potential equipment damage and outages.
Staging more than 700 frontline natural gas workers to respond safely and quickly around the clock to any gas emergency calls and service interruptions;
Keeping customers informed: Sharing safety and preparedness information and resources with CenterPoint customers through direct outreach, social media and other channels.
Inspecting and testing critical electric equipment, including all 270 electric substations, executing enhanced tree trimming and conducting inspections to prepare for wintery precipitation and cold temperatures;
Prepping and pre-staging electric restoration equipment at staging sites, including
- More than 9,200 distribution poles;
- More than 11,500 transformers;
- More than 100,000 cable splices; and
- More than 1,500 vehicles;
Conducting outreach to Critical Care customers: Reaching out to identified Critical Care Residential and Chronic Condition Residential electric customers by email, phone or text.
Coordinating with government officials: Providing regular updates to government officials on preparation activities and closely coordinating on customer support.
Providing operational updates for media and public: Conducting daily press briefings to provide important updates related to its pre-storm activities and readiness posture; additional briefings may be held to provide operational updates on response and restoration efforts following the storm.

These emergency preparedness actions build on the winter readiness activities that CenterPoint conducted since the fall of 2025, including annual weatherization requirements from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Railroad Commission of Texas to prepare for winter storms. These actions include:

Donated and installed more than 20 emergency backup generators at key locations across Greater Houston to improve local emergency preparedness and response efforts;
Positioning 17 compressed natural gas (CNG) trailers to provide additional supply for our customers, if needed, adding an additional trailer today to help strengthen preparedness;
Inspecting nearly 200 natural gas regulator stations and installing heaters on equipment to prevent ice damage; and
Conducted more than 19,000 total hours of emergency training in 2025 for hundreds of operational, emergency response and other personnel and contractors to strengthen severe weather preparation and response efforts.

Resources and Announcements – January 23, 2026

CenterPoint Energy activates staging sites and begins onboarding additional emergency response resources as preparations continue ahead of this weekend’s approaching winter weather conditions
CenterPoint Energy activates staging sites and begins onboarding additional emergency response resources as preparations continue ahead of this weekend’s approaching winter weather conditions
Approximately 3,300 CenterPoint electric employees and contract workers are pre-staged for storm preparation and potential restoration efforts across Southeast Texas
Approximately 700 natural gas workers and contractors support response as well
State of Texas issues disaster declaration ahead of potential impacts
Customers urged to have a plan and prepare for freezing temperatures, high winds and potential ice accumulation

HOUSTON, Jan. 23, 2026 – In preparation for forecasted winter weather heading towards Southeast Texas, CenterPoint Energy continues to monitor the approaching system. With 3,300 frontline workers, support personnel and contractors, CenterPoint stands ready to support its customers and communities. Additionally, the company has stood up three staging sites at strategic locations across the Greater Houston area to pre-position resources to support potential restoration efforts. The company’s Emergency Operations Center is also open, fully staffed, and will remain operational through the weekend as CenterPoint continues executing its cold weather action plan.

During the company’s first daily operational briefing at its Emergency Operations Center, CenterPoint leaders emphasized the company’s continued commitment to delivering for our customers and communities.

“We want our customers to be confident in the numerous cold weather preparations CenterPoint has executed from our winter readiness plan and to know we have plans in place to support customers during this weekend’s forecasted freezing temperatures, high winds, and potential ice accumulation. We also want to urge our customers to stay weather alert, have an emergency plan in place and take steps now to prepare,” said Nathan Brownell, Vice President of Resilience and Capital Delivery.

Yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration ahead of potential impacts, and CenterPoint continues to work closely with government officials and emergency agencies to prepare for the approaching weather system.

What our experts are saying
“Weather forecasts continue to trend toward less icing risk in the Houston area. We continue to actively monitor internal and publicly available weather modeling resources to track forecast changes and adjust our preparations as needed. We encourage our customers and communities to remain prepared for cold weather that will impact the area Sunday and Monday,” said Matt Lanza, CenterPoint’s Chief Meteorologist.

The current weather forecast for CenterPoint’s Houston electric service territory indicates the potential for ice accumulation this weekend, subject to updated forecasts. The company reminds customers and community members to always assume downed lines or wires are energized and potentially dangerous if contacted. Stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or fallen wires and keep a safe distance from objects touching downed lines (tree limbs, vehicles, fences, etc.) and immediately report downed power lines to CenterPoint.

“Our Natural Gas teams are prepared to respond to critical issues that may be caused by the weather. We’ve placed Compressed Natural Gas trucks at 13 strategic locations across Texas to support our system and have frontline gas workers on hand who are ready 24/7 to respond to any service interruptions. We’ve also strengthened our natural gas infrastructure with added hardening measures and heaters to prevent ice damage,” said Richard Leger, CenterPoint’s Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Business.

Staging sites and additional resources
CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center on Thursday morning and secured more than 600 additional frontline workers for an expanded workforce of 3,300 workers and personnel to address the approaching winter storm. In addition to CenterPoint’s Emergency Operations Center staff of 200 personnel and on-system workforce of approximately 2,500 internal line workers, local contractors and vegetation management resources, the company has secured an additional approximately 600 frontline workers including more line workers, vegetation management resources, and damage assessors.

The company is also deploying more than 700 gas workers and contractors to support the weekend response.

The company’s three staging sites will host hundreds of workers and help pre-position crews, vehicles, equipment and materiel needed for restoration across its service territory. These staging sites are strategically placed to position resources in locations where the winter weather system’s impact is forecasted to be the most severe.

Cold weather preparations
The pre-winter safety and readiness actions taken by CenterPoint include:

Activating its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response and restoration efforts;
Coordinating with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) about statewide energy needs;
Communicating with customers to provide safety and preparedness information directly via email and help keep customers informed and prepared;
Conducting outreach to critical care customers by email, phone or text;
Inspecting and testing critical electric equipment, including all 270 electric substations, executing enhanced tree trimming and conducting inspections to prepare for wintery precipitation and cold temperatures;
Positioning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks at 13 strategic locations to be deployed to supplement the natural gas system, if needed;
Monitoring more than 100 weather stations across the Greater Houston area to enhance situational awareness and storm preparation;
Donated and installed more than 20 emergency backup generators at key locations across Greater Houston to improve local emergency preparedness and response efforts; and
Conducted more than 19,000 total hours of emergency training in 2025 for hundreds of operational, emergency response and other personnel and contractors to strengthen severe weather preparation and response efforts.

Stay informed with Power Alert Service^®
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.

Have a plan and stay safe
CenterPoint encourages customers to prepare and have a plan to stay safe during severe winter weather. Customers can get storm-related safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter — available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Customers can also stay up to date on outages with CenterPoint’s Outage Tracker, available in English and Spanish. The Outage Tracker is built to handle increased traffic during storms, is mobile-friendly, accessible for those with disabilities and allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code.

For the latest updates, follow CenterPoint on X and visit CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter. 

Resources / Announcements (January 21, 2026)

CNP activates Emergency Operations Center ahead of weekend winter weather system

Company has been preparing for several days and is supporting cold weather preparedness and response efforts across Houston and parts of South and East Texas

Company continues to closely monitor evolving and potentially severe winter conditions as crews perform cold weather system readiness checks

Customers urged to have a plan and make preparations now for freezing temperatures, high winds and potential ice accumulation

Following several days of monitoring and preparation activities, as of 8 a.m. today, CenterPoint Energy has activated its Emergency Operations Center to support potential response and restoration efforts across Texas from forecasted winter precipitation, significant winds and freezing temperatures over the weekend and into early next week.

The company is coordinating with state and local emergency agencies, actively monitoring weather models and preparing to address potential service impacts for both electric and natural gas customers.

“Our CenterPoint teams are mobilized, performing pre-storm checks, and ready to respond to winter weather conditions on both the electric and gas systems. We have activated the company’s Emergency Operations Center and are coordinating with government and industry stakeholders to be ready to respond to any impacts from the forecasted conditions, including icy weather, strong winds, and wintry precipitation,” said Don Daigler, CenterPoint’s Senior Vice President, Emergency Preparedness and Response. “We urge our customers to stay aware of evolving weather forecasts, prepare now and have an emergency plan in place for yourself and your loved ones.”

Cold weather preparations

The company is prepared to respond to cold weather 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 deploying 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.

The pre-winter safety and readiness actions taken by CenterPoint include:

Activating its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response and restoration efforts;
Coordinating with the Texas Public Utility Commission and ERCOT about statewide energy needs;
Communicating with customers to provide safety and preparedness information directly via email and help keep customers informed and prepared;
Conducting outreach to critical care customers by email, phone or text;   
Inspecting and testing critical electric equipment, including all 270 electric substations, executing enhanced tree trimming, and conducting inspections to prepare for wintery precipitation and cold temperatures;
Hardening electric and natural gas infrastructure across the Greater Houston area, including installing heaters and devices to prevent ice damage or buildup;
Maintaining freeze protection equipment and enclosures for cold-weather critical components;
Repairing thermal insulation and water-proofing materials;
Positioning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to be deployed to supplement the natural gas system, if needed;
Coordinating and communicating with the Railroad Commission of Texas to identify and support operations of critical gas infrastructure for natural gas reliability;
Monitoring more than 100 weather stations across the Greater Houston area to enhance situational awareness and storm preparation;
Donated and installed more than 20 emergency backup generators at key locations across Greater Houston to improve local emergency preparedness and response efforts; and
Conducted more than 19,000 total hours of emergency training in 2025 for hundreds of operational, emergency response and other personnel and contractors to strengthen severe weather preparation and response efforts.

Stay informed with Power Alert Service®

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.

Have a plan and stay safe

CenterPoint encourages customers to prepare and have a plan to stay safe during severe winter weather. Customers can get storm-related safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter — available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

For the latest updates, follow CenterPoint on X and visit CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter. 