Houston – June 14, 2021 – CenterPoint Energy is closely monitoring grid conditions and information from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). According to ERCOT, as a result of unplanned power generation outages and customer demand for electricity, the ERCOT system will be close to the amount of power generation available late this afternoon and into the early evening. Grid conditions are expected to continue to be tight today through Friday, June 18.
ERCOT is responsible for scheduling electric power and ensuring the reliability and adequacy of the electrical network in the ERCOT region of Texas. CenterPoint Energy does not generate electricity itself, so any shortage of electric power capacity from the electric grid is not something that the company controls.
CenterPoint Energy is asking its customers to conserve electricity this week, particularly between 2:30 to 8 p.m., the forecasted peak time period for customer power usage.
"The power generation issue is expected to be at its peak from the afternoon to the evening hours for the remainder of the week," said Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint Energy's Executive Vice President, Electric Utility. "We are encouraging our customers across our electric service territory to help conserve electricity."
Consumers can help the ERCOT grid by conserving energy, especially until 8 p.m. by following these steps:
- Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher – every degree of cooling increases your energy use by six to eight percent.
- Turn off lights and pool pumps and avoid using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dryers.
- If you don't need something – please turn it off and unplug it, if possible.
If conditions worsen, ERCOT may issue a directive to CenterPoint Energy to curtail delivery of power to customers, which will require the utility to implement controlled outages due to power generation shortage. Controlled outages are planned emergency measures designed to avoid potentially longer and more widespread power outages for customers. Controlled outages are only implemented as a last resort to maintain reliability of the electric system, and they are done with the intent to rotate outages in the electric service territory based on grid and system conditions.
Houston-area customers should prepare now and have a back-up plan in place, especially those who rely on electricity for life-sustaining equipment.
ERCOT is the independent system operator for the region and manages the flow of electric power to most of Texas and more than 26 million Texas customers. CenterPoint Energy is an investor-owned electric utility and a member of ERCOT. The company manages the transmission and distribution of electricity to its approximately 2.6 million customers across the greater Houston area and surrounding communities.
CenterPoint Energy will keep customers updated through local media outlets and the company's customer communication channels, including Twitter (@CNPalerts), Facebook, Power Alert Service, Outage Tracker (Estimated Restoration Times will not be available for these types of emergencies) and the web.
About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. As of March 31, 2021, the company owned approximately $36 billion in assets and also owned 53.7 percent of the common units representing limited partner interests in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops strategically located natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With approximately 9,500 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
