A closer look
The phased initiative—launched last July after 2.2 million customers were left without power during Hurricane Beryl—aims to strengthen the region’s power grid ahead of the 2025 hurricane season from June 1 to Nov. 30, according to an April 10 news release.
CenterPoint officials said crews furthered several milestones during March, including:
- Installing over 3,300 storm-resilient poles and 1,215 automated reliability devices capable of self restoration
- Clearing 655 miles of high-risk vegetation near power lines
- Burying 65 miles of power lines
In their own words
“Our entire CenterPoint Houston Electric team is focused on completing this historic suite of grid resiliency actions before the start of hurricane season. That is our goal, and we will achieve it,” Darin Carroll, senior vice president of CenterPoint’s electric business, said in the release. “We will continue to work every day to complete these critical improvements as part of our company’s goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the country.”
Something to note
The first 2025 Colorado State University hurricane forecasts are predicting 17 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean with nine developing into hurricanes, Phil Klotzbach, senior research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at CSU, said at the April 3 forecast announcement.
Of the nine predicted hurricanes, four are anticipated to be at a Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 miles per hour.
Looking ahead
CenterPoint is slated to begin installing 100 new weather monitoring stations across the Greater Houston area, officials said. The weather monitoring stations will provide 24/7 updates to help the company prepare for incoming weather.
All stations are expected to be installed by June 1.
