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Township hears CenterPoint update; board says utility has made progress but questions remain
Summary
The Woodlands Township received an update on CenterPoint Energy's post-storm reforms, including a new outage tracker and infrastructure hardening; staff said CenterPoint has met roughly 70% of planned goals and the board asked for more detail on where work is occurring and inspection timing.
The Woodlands Township Board of Directors on April 17 heard an update on CenterPoint Energy's post-storm reforms and ongoing state legislation addressing grid reliability.
The presentation by Todd Stevens, director of intergovernmental relations and assistant to the president, summarized actions the utility and regulators have taken since widespread outages following Hurricane Beryl last year. Stevens said CenterPoint launched a Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative and that the company "has actually achieved 70% of those goals" with the remainder targeted for completion by June 1.
The update outlined three broad response areas: infrastructure hardening (vegetation management, pole replacement), improved customer communications (a new outage tracker and direct texts), and partnerships with local governments. Stevens said the Public Utility Commission of Texas completed an investigation and issued 14 recommendations; the township is monitoring multiple bills in the Texas Legislature that would affect vegetation management, service accountability, inspection frequency and wildfire mitigation.
Board members pressed for more granular information. Director Cindy Heiser asked whether a map exists showing where CenterPoint is hardening lines and removing vines; Stevens said he did not have a map at the meeting and would request that specific data from CenterPoint. Director [Chairman] Brad Bailey and others praised recent on-the-ground work, saying residents report fewer outages and faster communications since the company revised its approach.
Stevens also described a recent Senate Business & Commerce Committee presentation in which CenterPoint outlined a plan to provide generators to ERCOT and clarified cost recovery for leased generators that were unusable during the storm. He said the company is pursuing a regulatory route to reimburse ratepayers for generator lease costs.
Why it matters: The Woodlands and surrounding counties experienced multi-day outages during last year's storm season. The township said it will continue to track legislation and to press for more detailed, local-level information on where and when infrastructure work is happening.
The board voted to accept the report; the motion was made by Director Franks and seconded by Director Heiser and carried by voice vote.
What the board asked for next: Stevens and staff will request site-level information from CenterPoint about where trimming/hardening work is occurring and whether the new outage tracker supplies accurate, near-real-time outage locations and estimated restoration windows to affected customers. The board also asked township staff to continue monitoring relevant bills in the legislature and to report significant outcomes later in the session.
Quotes from the meeting: "They have actually achieved 70% of those goals," Todd Stevens said of CenterPoint's announced reforms. Chairman Brad Bailey said, "I will take my hat off because someone that was very critical of CenterPoint after the storm, they have done a Monumental job of trying to address a lot of the concerns."
