CenterPoint Energy’s outage tracker shows that more than half of its customers are still without power as of the evening of February 16 (Screenshot courtesy of CenterPoint Energy)
CenterPoint Energy officials stated in a Feb. 16 release that their customers could still be without power for several days as the Texas Electric Reliability Council seeks to stabilize the state’s electrical grid.
“Due to ongoing issues with power generators’ ability to produce electricity, CenterPoint Energy’s customers must be prepared to run out of power, possibly for the duration of the power generation event, which may last several days,” the publication said.
The state’s power supply has lagged demand. As such, the resulting failures take longer than previously planned, the release states. In order to comply with ERCOT’s guideline, CenterPoint has had to suspend service to some of its customers.
On Feb. 16, 28:28, 1.23 million CenterPoint customers were without power – more than half of CenterPoint customers.
The publication states that CenterPoint is an electrical transmission and supply company serving the Greater Houston area, so it relies on electricity provided by external power generators and received by ERCOT; CenterPoint has no control over the electrical grid.
“We are ready to restore power when it is available for delivery; however, there is not enough electricity from third-party generators, ”said CenterPoint President and CEO Dave Lesar in the press release. “CenterPoint Energy continues to communicate with the Texas Electric Reliability Council and other stakeholders about the power shortage, but we have no control over the generators’ ability to provide power, nor can we predict when they will resume their generation. we will be ready to start delivering that power to our customers. ”
According to the release, CenterPoint Energy resumed the nighttime rotating outage on Feb. 15, but was forced to stop the rotating outage due to ERCOT’s guideline to reduce the load on the grid again. Seven third-party power generators in the CenterPoint area went offline, causing the power cut, according to the publication.
If additional generators go offline, it will result in additional power outages.
“Given the uncertain timing and ongoing public safety risks arising from the harsh weather conditions in Houston and surrounding areas, CenterPoint Energy is advising all of its electrical customers to be prepared to be without power, possibly for the duration of the production shortage. days. We encourage all of our customers to take precautions for their personal safety, ”said Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint’s executive vice president, Electric Utility, in the publication.
Customers who still have power are being asked to save it, and natural gas customers are being asked to temporarily lower their thermostat to help conserve natural gas, the publication said.