- Company continuing to urge electric and natural gas
customers in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi to take proactive safety
measures
- Teams are instituting enhanced staffing plans and conducting
pre-landfall emergency preparedness protocols ahead of the
weather
- Customer natural gas disconnections have been suspended in
Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to focus resources on preparation
efforts
HOUSTON, Nov. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy continues to closely
monitor forecasts and prepare for potential impacts from Hurricane
Rafael, which has intensified into a Category 3 storm with maximum
sustained winds of 115 mph. The company continues to mobilize
resources, conduct pre-landfall emergency preparedness protocols
and implement enhanced staffing plans to support potential landfall
impacts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. CenterPoint has also identified more
than 13,000 mutual assistance resources to support emergency
response efforts and help restore service to impacted customers if
needed over the coming days.
In addition to working closely with emergency responders and
agency partners, the company is also sharing safety information
with customers across its multi-state Gulf Coast service area.
"There is still a great deal of uncertainty around Rafael and
its ultimate landfall. But we want the customers and the
communities we serve across the Gulf Coast to know that CenterPoint
continues to prepare to respond to any potential impacts on both
our electric and natural gas networks. Should it make landfall in
Texas, Louisiana or Mississippi, our teams will be focused on
restoring service to customers as safely and quickly as possible.
We will continue coordinating with our emergency partners and
sharing important safety information with our customers over the
coming days, and we urge everyone in the path of the storm to stay
vigilant and take the necessary preparation steps to keep
themselves and their communities safe," said Richard Leger, CenterPoint's Senior Vice
President of Gas Business.
CenterPoint temporarily suspends natural gas disconnections
ahead of Rafael
To help support its customers ahead of the
storm's landfall, CenterPoint has temporarily suspended
disconnections of natural gas service in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. This action will remain in place
until next week when more is known about Hurricane Rafael and any
potential impacts and restoration activities.
Safety Tips for Electric Customers
- If you experience an electric outage, do not open freezers and
refrigerators any more than necessary, as opening these appliances
will allow food to thaw more quickly.
- Only use a portable generator in a well-ventilated area and
never run it inside your residence or in a garage to avoid carbon
monoxide fumes, which can be deadly.
- Never connect a portable electric generator directly to your
building's electrical system during a power outage; electricity
could backfeed into the power lines and potentially endanger
utility workers, emergency responders or members of the
public.
- Have your weatherhead, which connects the overhead power line
to your home or business, checked for damage. Any weatherhead
problems will need to be repaired by a licensed electrician prior
to service being restored.
- Stay away from low-hanging, downed power lines or lines that
could be submerged in standing water. Treat all downed power lines
and damaged electric utility equipment as if they are energized.
Report any low-hanging or downed power lines and damaged electric
utility equipment to CenterPoint Energy by calling
713-207-2222.
- Water poses a potential electric safety threat because it's a
good conductor – always be careful not to touch water, or anything
in contact with it, near a downed power line.
- Any amount of water, including a puddle, can become energized.
If you see a downed power line near water, retreat to a safe
distance, then call CenterPoint Energy immediately at 713-207-2222
to report it.
- Flood water can be hazardous. Always use extreme care when
stepping into flooded areas. Submerged outlets or electrical cords
can energize water, even from a distance.
- Boats or other vehicles being used in high water can expose you
to danger from power lines at their normal height. Be aware and
stay away.
- If water has risen above the electrical outlets, contact a
licensed electrician before turning on the main circuit
breaker.
Important Information for Electric Customers
At this
time, the Greater Houston area is
not expected to be heavily impacted by Hurricane Rafael's potential
impacts, but storms are unpredictable, conditions can change
rapidly and storm-related outages could occur. CenterPoint electric
customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert
Service® to receive outage details, estimated restoration times and
customer-specific restoration updates via phone call, text or
email. Customers can also stay up-to-date on outages with
CenterPoint's new and improved, cloud-based Outage Tracker, which
allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code. The
new tracker is capable of handling increased traffic during storms
and is ADA- and mobile-friendly.
CenterPoint encourages all customers to have a plan to stay
safe
CenterPoint is encouraging all of its customers to
prepare and have a plan to stay safe during Tropical Storm Rafael.
Customers can get storm-related electric, natural gas and flooding
safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/StormCenter. Additional
preparation best practices are available at Ready.gov.
For the latest updates, follow CenterPoint
on X (formerly Twitter) for real-time updates. For more
information and other resources, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com/NaturalGasSafety.
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, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees,
CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in
business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com.
For more information,
contact
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy
