Development generating need for power

"The growth is not only occurring among residential customers but commercial customers as well, particularly between Katy and Brookshire and in the Hwy. 6 area near the Energy Corridor," Dixon said.

One of the key drivers of residential growth in the area in the coming years will be Rise Development's Cane Island master-planned community. Rise is working with CenterPoint to make plans to provide power to the thousands of new residents that will eventually occupy the development.

"They haven't started infrastructure work at this point," said Matt Lawson of Rise Development. "But we're coordinating with them because we want to make sure we have reliable power."

Building infrastructure

Until the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 1999, the power industry in Texas was largely vertically integrated. A single company could own the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and then sell power directly to customers.

Now, a company such as NRG Energy may own the power plants, while CenterPoint owns the transmission and distribution lines, and a number of competing providers sell electricity plans to business and residential customers. This means there are a lot of different entities that must coordinate when building or upgrading power infrastructure.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reports that there are four new power plants opening this summer, while two more will undergo major improvements. This will bring an additional 2,153 megawatts of power to Texas, which will ultimately increase the amount of power available to the Katy area. One megawatt provides electricity to about 200 homes during peak summer demand.

At the transmission level, CenterPoint plans to update one of its Katy transmission line segments in the next two months. They will also increase the voltage capacity of a second transmission line by the end of the year.

"Both projects are intended to provide additional capacity in the Katy area," Dixon said.

In addition to improving transmission capabilities in Katy, CenterPoint also recently upgraded the equipment in some of its area substations. A new substation will be built on Fry Road later this year, Dixon said.

"We have worked with them in the past on several occasions and we were able to address some concerns that they had at the time about electric power, and I think everything's worked out really well," said Lance LaCour, president of the Katy Area Economic Development Council.

The substation that will power Cane Island is likely already in place, Lawson said.

"There's a substation literally within a half a mile of us," Lawson said. "I believe they're using that substation to feed our development."

In April, ERCOT approved the Houston Import Project at a cost of $590 million. The project, submitted by CenterPoint, will improve transmission and distribution facilities in the area, better enabling Houston to receive power generated in other parts of the state by 2018.

It is possible that a similar project may be approved specifically to keep up with demand in the Katy area in the coming years, said Robbie Searcy, ERCOT spokeswoman.

Power companies, developers and agencies like ERCOT try to plan for demand well in advance, said Terry Hadley, spokesman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas. A 2008 ERCOT report, for example, first identified the need for the Houston Import Project.

"As planners realize what is needed, they can usually stay ahead of the curve in developing needed infrastructure," Hadley said.