HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo discussed the county’s extreme heat preparedness following a meeting with officials from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and Harris County Emergency Management.
The state is expected to hit record-breaking temperatures and high demand on the state’s energy grid.
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Hidalgo provided remarks on the county’s response and how residents can prepare for summer weather.
She noted that the month of May in Houston was the second hottest month on record and addressed the lingering concern in energy demand. Hidalgo said the county has conducted more than 100 emergency drills in the event of possible power outages in the area. The county is working with local organizations and facilities to expand cooling centers and make sure they are equipped with generators.
Hidalgo said the county is also working with CenterPoint Energy to ensure they have additional backup generators. CenterPoint’s additional generators each contain 10 megawatts that can power up to 6,000 homes. The county has asked the energy company to better target where and how to shed power in case of a mass power outage.
Residents are being asked to focus on trusted information and sources, conserve energy over the summer, and test their backup generators and have fuel in the event of an outage.