​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Electric Outages

​CenterPoint Energy continuously strengthens its energy grid to make your power more reliable, but not all outag​es are preventable.
 
Minimize how power outages impact you! Enroll now in CenterPoint Energy’s FREE Power Alert Servicesm to get an automated confirmation of service restoration by phone call, text or email.​

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Do This if your Power Goes Out

Enroll in Power Alert Service, for FREE restoration time estimates and outage notifications via phone, text or email!

In addition to Power Alert Service, you can use CenterPoint Energy’s Electrical Customer Outage Tracker for estimates of outage locations and restoration times.

Note: If your power outage is due to a major storm, please don’t call CenterPoint Energy for the status of your power, as our service center will be extremely busy assisting people with electric emergencies. Instead, use the outage resources mentioned above.

Causes of Power Outages

Here’s a look at the top causes of known power outages in Houston during 2016:

  1. Equipment*, 28 percent
  2. Weather*, 26 percent
  3. Trees/vegetation*, 20 percent
  4. Animals/birds*, 12 percent
  5. People/vehicles*, 2 percent
*Equipment-related outages describe normal wear and tear on energy grid equipment. Prolonged stress on Houston’s grid, like a heat wave, can be especially rough on electrical equipment.

*Weather-caused outages include high winds, like those generated by hurricanes and severe storms. Ice storms and flash floods can also knock your power out.

*We trim 1 million trees in Houston each year to reduce outages caused by vegetation. You, too, can help by following our safe planting guidelines.

*Animals cause outages by creating circuits between overhead wires, entering electrical substations, and even by chewing through electrical poles. Offenders include birds, raccoons, squirrels, beavers, rats and mice.

*People-related outages include accidental contact with overhead or underground lines, such as when a vehicle hits a utility pole. Thieves can causes outages by attempting to steal electricity or electrical wire.

Other Types of Outages:

A momentary outage is when an electrical fault interrupts service for a brief time (a few seconds to a few minutes). We understand momentary outages are a nuisance to customers, but they prove smart grid technology is working properly to reduce the duration and severity of outages.

During maintenance outages, CenterPoint Energy may have to temporarily stop power service, allowing our employees to safely maintain the energy grid and electrical equipment. This improves the reliability and quality of your electricity and prevents a longer outage to repair worn-out equipment.

Restoring Power

Understand our power restoration process after a storm, or how we help other communities restore power after major storms.

Want FREE notifications about electrical outages affecting your area? Power Alert Service gives you outage alerts, estimated restoration times, and status updates via text message, email or phone call. You can also use outage tracker for a map-based view of Houston power outages.

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Preventing Outages

CenterPoint Energy employees work 24/7 to keep your lights on, improving your power reliability in a variety of ways:

  1. ​​Strengthening the smart grid
    Houston’s award-winning energy grid never stops receiving strategic improvements. We’ve installed more than 2.4 million smart meters and 860 Intelligent Grid Switching Devices across Houston Metro and continue to expand the capabilities of our network.  As part of our smart grid, CenterPoint Energy is developing predictive analytics to monitor the electric load on equipment to predict and prevent equipment failure before it occurs.
  2. Trimming trees near power lines
    Trees and vegetation account for 20 pe​rcent of the known causes of outages in Houston. We trim trees on behalf of about 150,000 customers each year to prevent outages.  Yo​u can help by following our planting guidelines.
  3. Using electric technology
    You can use free services like outage tracker and Power Alert Service to stay informed about your power status. These features are possible because of selective investments in technology.
  4. Planning for storms​
    Our employees are working to restore your power before it even goes out. Our team has a prepared, complex and cooperative response to hurricanes and major weather events.​
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