As extreme weather events become more frequent, CenterPoint Energy announced June 1 that it is expanding its storm preparedness efforts through a partnership with Technosylva, a provider of weather, wildfire and flood modeling software.
“Preparing for extreme weather today requires earlier insight and better coordination than ever before,” said Jason Wells, chair, president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy. “Our goal is to build the most resilient coastal grid in the nation to benefit our customers and communities.”
The overview
Technosylva's platform combines outage forecasting, storm modeling, flood risk analysis and wildfire monitoring into a single system.
According to a news release from CenterPoint, the platform helps teams track weather conditions several days in advance, position crews and equipment before storms arrive and improve restoration planning.
The National Weather Service forecasts eight to 14 named storms in the Atlantic basin this season, including three to six hurricanes, according to CenterPoint.
What you need to know
To prepare for hurricane season, CenterPoint officials said they are continuing infrastructure upgrades and coordinating with local emergency officials. The company also plans to host community events across Greater Houston to help residents prepare for severe weather.
CenterPoint officials said they are taking the following steps ahead of the hurricane season:
- Installing storm-resistant poles
- Clearing higher-risk vegetation and undergrounding power lines in some areas
- Introducing a new customer tool for tracking the General Health Rating Index
- Opening a new Emergency Operations Center
- Adding 150 weather stations to improve weather monitoring
- Conducting a full-scale hurricane response exercise involving more than 400 employees
- Completing more than 25,000 hours of FEMA training across more than 800 employees
CenterPoint officials also said the platform has already been used to forecast outages and estimate storm impacts before severe weather events. The company said those forecasts closely matched actual system impacts, helping teams prepare response plans.
“Technosylva’s product gives us much clearer visibility into where impacts are most likely and allows us to mobilize crews more efficiently, support neighboring utilities when possible, and restore service faster for our customers.”
The platform is also intended to support long-term infrastructure planning by providing information about flood and weather-related risks.
