CenterPoint Energy’s outage tracker shows that more than half of its customers are still without power on the night of February 16. (Screenshot courtesy of CenterPoint Energy)
CenterPoint Energy officials said in a February 16 statement that their customers could be without power for several more days, while the Texas Electric Reliability Council is trying to stabilize the state’s power grid.
“Due to ongoing problems with the ability of power generators to produce electricity, CenterPoint Energy customers need to be prepared to run out of power, potentially during the generation shortage event, which could last several more days,” the statement said.
The state’s energy supply falls short of demand. As such, the resulting outages are lasting longer than previously planned, says the version. In order to comply with the ERCOT directive, CenterPoint had to suspend service for part of its customers.
At 4:28 pm on February 16, 1.23 million CenterPoint customers were without power – more than half of CenterPoint customers.
The statement states that CenterPoint is an electrical transmission and delivery company serving the Houston metropolitan area, therefore, it depends on the electricity provided by third-party electricity generators and received by ERCOT; CenterPoint does not control the electrical network.
“We are ready to restore energy as soon as it is available for delivery; however, there is not enough electricity from third-party generators, ”said CenterPoint President and CEO Dave Lesar in the statement. “CenterPoint Energy continues to communicate with the Texas Electric Reliability Council and other interested parties about energy shortages, but we have no control over the ability of generators to supply energy, nor can we predict when they will resume their generation. As soon as as the energy is delivered to us, we will be ready to start supplying that energy to our customers. ”
According to the statement, CenterPoint Energy resumed rotary interruptions during the night of February 15, but was forced to interrupt rotary interruptions due to ERCOT’s directive to reduce the grid voltage again. Seven third-party electricity generators in the CenterPoint area went offline, which caused a reduction in energy, according to the statement.
If additional generators go offline, additional power outages will result.
“Given the uncertain timing and continuing public safety risks due to the harsh climatic conditions in Houston and surrounding areas, CenterPoint Energy advises all of its electrical customers to be prepared to run out of power, potentially during the generation shortage event, the We could encourage all of our customers to take precautions with their personal safety, “said Kenny Mercado, executive vice president of electric utilities at CenterPoint, in the statement.
Customers who still have energy are asked to conserve it and natural gas customers are asked to temporarily lower their thermostat to help conserve natural gas, according to the statement.