Company has been preparing for several days and is supporting cold weather preparedness and response efforts across Houston and parts of South and East Texas

Company continues to closely monitor evolving and potentially severe winter conditions as crews perform cold weather system readiness checks

Customers urged to have a plan and make preparations now for freezing temperatures, high winds and potential ice accumulation​

HOUSTON – Jan. 21, 2026 – Following several days of monitoring and preparation activities, as of 8 a.m. today, CenterPoint Energy has activated its Emergency Operations Center to support potential response and restoration efforts across Texas from forecasted winter precipitation, significant winds and freezing temperatures over the weekend and into early next week. The company is coordinating with state and local emergency agencies, actively monitoring weather models and preparing to address potential service impacts for both electric and natural gas customers.

“Our CenterPoint teams are mobilized, performing pre-storm checks, and ready to respond to winter weather conditions on both the electric and gas systems. We have activated the company’s Emergency Operations Center and are coordinating with government and industry stakeholders to be ready to respond to any impacts from the forecasted conditions, including icy weather, strong winds, and wintry precipitation,” said Don Daigler, CenterPoint’s Senior Vice President, Emergency Preparedness and Response. “We urge our customers to stay aware of evolving weather forecasts, prepare now and have an emergency plan in place for yourself and your loved ones.”​

Cold weather preparations
The company is prepared to respond to cold weather and has performed a series of proactive pre-winter preparedness actions to strengthen and winterize its electric and natural gas infrastructure across Texas, as well as inspect and test cold-weather critical equipment ahead of potential severe cold weather. CenterPoint is also deploying cold weather mitigations across its electric and gas infrastructure, developing plans to mobilize emergency response resources and

The pre-winter safety and readiness actions taken by CenterPoint include:

• Activating its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response and restoration efforts;
• Coordinating with the Texas Public Utility Commission and ERCOT about statewide energy needs;
• Communicating with customers to provide safety and preparedness information directly via email and help keep customers informed and prepared;
• Conducting outreach to critical care customers by email, phone or text;
• Inspecting and testing critical electric equipment, including all 270 electric substations, executing enhanced tree trimming, and conducting inspections to prepare for wintery precipitation and cold temperatures;
• Hardening electric and natural gas infrastructure across the Greater Houston area, including installing heaters and devices to prevent ice damage or buildup;
• Maintaining freeze protection equipment and enclosures for cold-weather critical components;
• Repairing thermal insulation and water-proofing materials;
• Positioning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to be deployed to supplement the natural gas system, if needed;
• Coordinating and communicating with the Railroad Commission of Texas to identify and support operations of critical gas infrastructure for natural gas reliability;
• Monitoring more than 100 weather stations across the Greater Houston area to enhance situational awareness and storm preparation;
• Donated and installed more than 20 emergency backup generators at key locations across Greater Houston to improve local emergency preparedness and response efforts; and
• Conducted more than 19,000 total hours of emergency training in 2025 for hundreds of operational, emergency response and other personnel and contractors to strengthen severe weather preparation and response efforts.

The current weather forecast for CenterPoint’s Houston electric service territory indicates the potential for ice accumulation this weekend, subject to updated forecasts. The company reminds customers and community members to always assume downed lines or wires are energized and potentially dangerous if contacted. Stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or fallen wires and keep a safe distance from objects touching downed lines (tree limbs, vehicles, fences, etc.) and immediately report downed power lines to CenterPoint.

Stay informed with Power Alert Service®
​​ CenterPoint electric customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service®​ to receive winter storm outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates by phone call, text or email.

Have a plan and stay safe
CenterPoint encourages customers to prepare and have a plan to stay safe during severe winter weather. Customers can get storm-related safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter​ — available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Customers can also stay up to date on outages with CenterPoint’s Outage Tracker​, available in English and Spanish. The Outage Tracker is built to handle increased traffic during storms, is mobile-friendly, accessible for those with disabilities and allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code.

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For the latest updates, follow CenterPoint on X​ and visit CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter​.

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 Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of September 30, 2025, the company owned approximately $45 billion in assets. With approximately 8,300 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.