CenterPoint Energy aims to complete power restorations by Wednesday

Following Thursday evening’s severe weather event, CenterPoint Energy is continuing to assess damage and increase restoration efforts.

UPDATE: As of 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, CenterPoint Energy had restored approximately 115,000 additional customers. By Monday evening, CenterPoint expects to restore approximately 85 percent of the customers affected by Thursday’s storms.

Over 70 percent of customers affected by category 2 hurricane-like winds and tornadoes on Thursday have been restored in 72 hours, according to CenterPoint. As repairs continued, the restoration progress was affected by extensive damage and difficult restorations, but the company is still on track to be substantially complete with the restoration by Wednesday evening.

SEE ALSO: Power restoration timeline: CenterPoint releases map with estimated dates for returning service

“We appreciate the continued patience of our customers who lost electricity, especially given the higher temperatures and humidity across our area,” said Lynnae Wilson, Senior Vice President, Electric Business said in a press release. “We know it has been a difficult 72 hours for them and we will continue to work around-the-clock to restore their service.”

CenterPoint continues to restore power for its approximately 240,000 customers, while addressing areas with significant damage and challenging restorations. Over the course of the restoration event, the company expects to clear thousands of trees.

UPDATE: There are fewer than 350,000 customers without power as of 10:00 a.m. Sunday. In the first two days of storm response, CenterPoint has restored more than 570,000 customers or 60 percent of peak outages. The company anticipates that approximately 80% of affected customers will have their service restored by this evening. It hopes to have substantial restoration completed by Wednesday evening for customers who are able to receive service.

CenterPoint has restored power to more than 82 percent of its customers, or 2.3 million, as of 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The company aims to have restorations ‘substantially complete’ by the end of the day Wednesday for customers who are available to receive service.

According to CenterPoint, approximately 2,200 lineworkers and vegetation professionals arrived overnight to assist in the restoration process.

• LIVE power outage tracker: Here’s how to find out when your power might be back on in Houston

Restoration times could change as crews assess damage and encounter new challenges. As CenterPoint works to bring back additional customers, some customers who have had power restored may experience temporary interruptions.

“Since the storm’s devastating impact on parts of our area on Thursday night, we have worked tirelessly to safely restore service to our customers,” said Lynnae Wilson, Senior Vice President of Electric Business in a press release. “Our crews’ visual inspections and damage assessments of our infrastructure yesterday showed that we have a lot of hard work ahead in the coming days. The team at CenterPoint and the mutual assistance teams supporting our efforts are committed to the restoration of service to our customers as safely and quickly as possible.”

SEE ALSO: Q&A with CenterPoint Energy on mass power outages in Houston

Customer-owned equipment may have also been damaged by the severe weather, in addition to CenterPoint’s electric infrastructure. Power enters a home through a weatherhead, which is often a pipe on the side of the building or residence, which is where the electric service drop is located. A qualified electrician will have to repair damaged equipment before the company can restore service.

The company encourages customers who rely on electricity for life-sustaining equipment (such as those with chronic health conditions or critical care needs) to prepare an emergency plan. CenterPoint said these customers should make alternative arrangements for on-site backups in the event of a power outage.

To avoid deadly carbon monoxide fumes, portable generators should only be used in well-ventilated areas. In the event of a power outage, you should never connect a portable electric generator directly to your building’s electrical system; electricity could back feed into the power lines, potentially posing a danger to CenterPoint employees and customers.

• City of Houston opens resource centers for storm recovery

In its Outage Tracker tool, CenterPoint reports slower-than-normal system performance. In addition to updating its Power Alert System, CenterPoint will also share updates on X at @CenterPoint.

“We are experiencing processing delays and slower than normal system performance due to the number of outage cases being reported because of the extensive damage throughout the region. We will continue to share information on our Power Alert System, Outage Tracker and on X at @CenterPoint as the information becomes available,” the representative said to KPRC 2.

Social media updates

CenterPoint Energy has been actively updating the public through social media.

Early Friday, the company tweeted, “Houston-area crews have been working to first restore power to hospitals, water treatment plants and public service facilities vital to safety, health and welfare. Next, we’re prioritizing repairs that return power to the largest number of people first until power is restored to everyone who can receive power. If you are one of those still impacted, we appreciate your patience as we work to get everyone’s lights back on.”

The storm’s destructive winds inflicted significant damage on the electric infrastructure. An image shared by CenterPoint Energy showed an employee inspecting a toppled transmission tower, which alone is affecting approximately 115,000 customers in Northwest Houston.

Early Saturday morning, CenterPoint provided another update, “In Houston, crews set off this morning before the sun had come up, relieving teams who worked through the night. Damage assessment continues so repair work can be completed safely until the last customer is restored.”