No matter whom you buy your electricity from, we keep the lights on. We're the only company in Houston that can restore your service during power outages. We prepare for outages before they happen by investing in technology to quickly and accurately pinpoint problems. When storms knock out your power, our specially trained crews will work day and night to get you up and running.

If your lights go out,

• Unplug all major appliances and turn the air conditioner off. When power is restored, appliances can draw three to four times the electric current they normally use, which can cause a short-term overload or even another power outage. Food in a freezer will stay frozen up to 36 hours if the door is kept closed. Wrapping the freezer in blankets helps insulate it.

• Keep a small lamp plugged in and turned on so you'll know when power is restored. Once your electric service is back on, plug in your appliances first and then turn your air conditioning back on.

• Call CenterPoint Energy at 713-207-2222 to report an electrical outage or emergency.

• Following a severe storm or hurricane, we may be unable to provide much detailed information about your individual outage, but working together, we can assess the damage and speed up our response. Our phone lines may be busy during emergencies, so please be patient while power is being restored. Customers should plan on being without power for the following lengths of time based on the severity of the storm:

• How CenterPoint Energy restores power after a storm