CenterPoint Energy is Taking Key Actions to Prepare and Respond To Impact of Tropical Storm Francine

Rhea-AI Summary

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is actively preparing for Tropical Storm Francine's potential impact on the Greater Houston area and Gulf Coast. The company has activated its Emergency Operations Center and is implementing a comprehensive response plan. Key actions include:

- Mobilizing 1,300+ vegetation management workers
- Readying 1,850 local frontline workers and identifying 1,625 mutual assistance workers
- Preparing four crew staging sites
- Conducting outreach to 3,000 Critical Care and Chronic Care customers
- Organizing additional call center staffing
- Coordinating temporary generation deployment

CenterPoint is urging customers to enroll in their Power Alert Service® for updates and to use the improved Outage Tracker for real-time information.

Positive

• Proactive preparation for potential storm impact, demonstrating operational readiness
• Mobilization of significant workforce: 1,300+ vegetation workers and 3,475 frontline workers
• Activation of Emergency Operations Center for coordinated response
• Implementation of customer communication strategies, including outreach to critical care customers
• Deployment of improved Outage Tracker system for better customer service during the storm

Negative

• Potential for storm-related service disruptions and associated costs
• Increased operational expenses due to extensive preparation and mobilization efforts

CenterPoint is preparing staging sites, mobilizing crews and equipment, communicating safety and preparedness tips to its customers, and securing additional frontline resources from mutual assistance partners.

• CenterPoint Energy has activated the company's Emergency Operations Center and is executing its plan to address Tropical Storm Francine.
• CenterPoint has 600 vegetation workers conducting pre-storm vegetation management, with another 700 workers arriving today.
• CenterPoint has 1,850 frontline workers pre-staged and has identified an additional 1,625 frontline workers.

HOUSTON, Sept. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to developing weather conditions, CenterPoint Energy is taking a series of actions to monitor, prepare, and respond to Tropical Strom Francine and its potential landfall in the Greater Houston area or broader Gulf Coast. Across its service area, CenterPoint is preparing staging sites, mobilizing crews and equipment, communicating safety and preparedness tips to its customers, and securing additional frontline resources from mutual assistance partners. The company remains in contact with federal, state, county and city leaders about CenterPoint's preparation activities and readiness posture.

"We are monitoring, planning, and preparing to respond to Tropical Storm Francine's impact on our communities. We are taking the necessary steps to prepare, even as we communicate with our customers and coordinate closely with our local and statewide emergency partners. Our focus is very clear: to get ready to respond and restore power as safely and as quickly as possible," said Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of Operations for CenterPoint.

As of Monday afternoon, CenterPoint has undertaken the following preparation actions:

• Activated Emergency Operations Center (EOC): CenterPoint's EOC Activated at 8PM CT Sunday, September 8.
• Mobilizing 1,300+ Vegetation Management Workers: Deployed 600+ local personnel to clear hazardous vegetation from power lines ahead of storm landfall and secured an additional 700 mutual assistance vegetation management workers.
• Activating frontline distribution workers: Readied 1,850 local frontline workers and identified 1,625 mutual assistance workers. CenterPoint has also identified more than 5,000 additional mutual aid frontline workers, if needed for response.
• Preparing staging sites: Preparing four crew staging sites to help ensure a rapid response once conditions have cleared. CenterPoint is securing additional hotel rooms for mutual assistance workers.
• Informing government officials: Conducted an update call with federal, state, county and city officials to communicate company's pre-storm activities and readiness posture and provide critical updates.
• Conducting operational update for media and public: Conducting a press briefing at 5 PM CT to provide important updates related to company's pre-storm activities, readiness posture and latest meteorological updates.
• Conducting outreach to Critical Care Residential and Chronic Care customers: Conducted outreach to all 3,000 identified Critical Care Residential and Chronic Care customers by email, phone or text.
• Organizing additional call center staffing: Secured additional call center staff to handle higher volume of calls during storm and limit wait times.
• Coordinating temporary generation: Coordinating closely with local government and community stakeholder partners to identify locations for temporary generation deployment.
• Sharing customer communications: Shared safety and preparedness actions with CenterPoint customers across social media and other platforms to help residents of the Greater Houston area formulate a plan.

Important Information for Customers
CenterPoint customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service® to receive outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates via phone call, text or email. Customers can also stay up-to-date on outages with CenterPoint's new and improved, cloud-based Outage Tracker, which allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code. The new tracker is capable of handling increased traffic during storms and is ADA- and mobile-friendly.

CenterPoint is encouraging its customers in the Greater Houston area to make preparations and have a plan to stay safe during Tropical Storm Francine. Customers can get storm-related electric, natural gas and flooding safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/StormCenter. Additional preparations best practices are available at Ready.gov.

About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

For more information, contact:
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com 

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

FAQ

How is CenterPoint Energy (CNP) preparing for Tropical Storm Francine?

CenterPoint Energy has activated its Emergency Operations Center, mobilized over 1,300 vegetation management workers, readied 1,850 local frontline workers, prepared staging sites, and is coordinating with local officials and customers to ensure readiness for the storm's potential impact.

What resources has CenterPoint Energy (CNP) deployed for Tropical Storm Francine?

CenterPoint has deployed 600+ local vegetation management personnel, secured 700 mutual assistance vegetation workers, readied 1,850 local frontline workers, and identified 1,625 mutual assistance workers, with potential for 5,000 additional mutual aid workers if needed.

How can CenterPoint Energy (CNP) customers stay informed about outages during Tropical Storm Francine?

Customers can enroll in CenterPoint's Power Alert Service® for outage updates and use the improved cloud-based Outage Tracker to view outages by county, city, and zip code. The tracker is designed to handle increased traffic during storms and is ADA- and mobile-friendly.

What special measures is CenterPoint Energy (CNP) taking for vulnerable customers during Tropical Storm Francine?

CenterPoint has conducted outreach to all 3,000 identified Critical Care Residential and Chronic Care customers via email, phone, or text to ensure they are prepared for potential storm impacts.