CenterPoint Energy Installs 50,000th Storm-Resilient Power Pole in Greater Houston

CenterPoint Energy reported the installation of its 50,000th storm-resistant distribution utility pole as part of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI). The pole was installed in the Near Northside community. According to the company, the milestone reflects work underway since August 2024 to replace existing poles with storm-resilient infrastructure designed to withstand hurricane-force winds of more than 110 mph and up to 130 mph, depending on location.

CenterPoint stated that pole replacements have been prioritized in areas most affected by severe storms and high winds to support system reliability. The 50,000 installed poles are part of a broader plan to replace or brace a total of 130,000 poles across the Greater Houston area.

Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint’s vice president of resilience and capital delivery, said the pole installations are intended to strengthen the system, reduce storm impacts, and support faster restoration following major weather events.

In addition to pole replacements, CenterPoint’s GHRI activities include installing grid automation devices, managing vegetation near distribution lines, and undergrounding select power lines. The company reported that outages caused by vegetation have been reduced in duration by 50% since 2024 across its 12-county Greater Houston service territory.

GHRI progress to date

Since the launch of GHRI in August 2024, CenterPoint reported the following actions completed as of November 2025:

• Vegetation management: Trimmed or removed more than 7,800 miles of high-risk vegetation near power lines.

• Undergrounding: Placed more than 430 miles of power lines underground.

• Outage Tracker: Launched a cloud-based outage tracking system available in English and Spanish, designed to accommodate increased traffic during major storms.

• Weather monitoring: Installed 100 new weather monitoring stations to support storm preparation and situational awareness.

Long-term resiliency plans

CenterPoint stated that its longer-term resiliency plans through 2029 are intended to improve system performance during extreme weather and include the following targets:

• Improve systemwide resiliency by 30%.

• Reduce extreme weather-related outages by more than 820 million minutes.

• Expand system capacity to meet rising energy demand and population growth.

• Reduce storm-related restoration and response costs by approximately $50 million per year.

• Prevent outages for more than 500,000 customers during storms similar to Hurricane Beryl.

• Underground 50% of the electric system.

• Implement a three-year vegetation management cycle with full inspection and clearance of hazardous vegetation.

• Rebuild or upgrade more than 2,200 transmission structures to improve performance during extreme weather.