Josh Schellenberg’s Post

Check out Bloomberg News' deep dive into why the utility powering the US "Energy Capital of the World" struggled to get the lights back on after a relatively-weak hurricane. Our investigation, based on interviews with nearly a dozen experts along with public filings and on-the-ground reports, found two major factors contributed to the widespread disruption. 1) CenterPoint failed to call up enough workers before the storm hit. 2) The utility struggled with managing tree trimming around its poles and wires. In addition, the utility has struggled with providing reliable service to customers for years. #Houston #climate #blackouts

Hey fellow Texans, who's ready to have their power bill's wires ("T&D") charges substantially increase? Answer: Doesn't matter, because it's going to happen anyway (yet again). Independent of those of you in the Houston area and the billion$ of cost recovery Centerpoint will need from Hurricane Beryl and other storms, ERCOT-wide 4CP rates (the overall governing "T" rate utilities must pay each other) will shoot way up come early winter 2025. Why? Because grid-wide peak load is significantly down this summer (~2.5%/~2 GW decrease thus far), even though 2024 around-the-clock energy use is up ~5% against 2023. Turns out a scorching hot summer like 2023 really does skew things as it relates to peak load. And peak load is in the denominator of the 4CP charge, while the numerator (rolling past ~25-30 years of transmission cost recovery for utilities), just goes up, and up, and up.... Am forecasting at least a 10% increase in transmission charges for all rate classes (and >10% for wholesale 4CP) for 2025 vs. 2024.

Louisiana and a portion of the Texas Gulf Coast are on high alert today due to the track of Tropical Storm Francine. With the storm expected to strengthen into a hurricane by landfall, we hope communities in Francine’s path are carrying out the necessary preparations to remain safe. Extended power outages are expected for the region, and our customers can rest assured that our 24/7 Network Operations Center is closely monitoring the situation. Reliability is key during unplanned outages, and our natural gas #microgrids are ready to provide power to our customers and support utility partners through service offerings like Entergy's Power Through program. So stay safe, and we’ll always make sure The Power Is On before, during, and after the storm. You can go here to learn more about our performance during extreme weather events and find out how to kickstart your #resiliency strategy: https://bit.ly/4cSKtuK #generators #powergeneration #gridsupport #cleanenergy

Hopefully memories are not too short ! Just over 3 weeks ago Hurricane Beryl swept through southeast Texas. Its 80-mile-per-hour winds took down thousands of trees and knocked out much of the electricity system in Houston. More than 2.6 million Texas power customers went without electricity for days in the summer heat. In the days that followed the storm, officials and residents alike turned their eyes to the Houston area’s electric utility, CenterPoint Energy. Texans criticized the company for failing to prepare adequately for the storm, communicate clearly with customers and restore power efficiently. For days after the storm, CenterPoint did not offer Texans a clear schedule for when power would be restored and its power outage map was offline. Houstonians turned to a variety of workarounds to figure out which neighborhoods had power — including using Whataburger's app to discern where the electricity was flowing. Beryl did between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion worth of damage to CenterPoint's electricity infrastructure throughout the affected area. Those costs will likely be passed on to customers, who could see a 2% increase on their bills for the next 15 years. CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells at a state Senate hearing July 29 said the company. amongst other things, was hiring a chief communications officer. This isn't the last time there are likely to be severe weather events this hurricane season. Is this about communication or is it about resilience and contingency? Don't we all need to up our game in anticipation of extreme weather events in future ? #LNG #CleanEnergy #Innovation #Sustainability #NorthAmerica #EnergyIndustry #EPC #energytransition #Decarbonisation #naturalgas #power

Francine is heading to Texas and Louisiana: We can help you ensure your operations are storm-ready 🌩️ Currently Category 1, it could strengthen to Category 2 before making landfall. The threat of flooding, power outages, and damage is real, and preparedness is key. Aggreko’s 24/7 Emergency Team is on high alert, providing rapid on-site service with top-tier power generation equipment and dehumidifiers. Don’t leave your business vulnerable—contact us now to secure your site with proven storm recovery solutions. We have a strong history of helping companies weather severe storms, and #Francine is no exception. Act now, and we’ll be there in no time! 🚨➡️ bit.ly/3KEmfse #AggrekoDifference #TropicalStormFrancine #EmergencyResponse #TemporaryPower #StormPreparedness #DisasterRecovery #DisasterPreparedness

Strengthening Houston's Power Grid: CenterPoint's $5B Commitment ⚡️🏗️ TL;DR: CenterPoint Energy is proposing a $5 billion investment to enhance Houston's power grid resilience after facing backlash for its response to Hurricane Beryl. The utility will forfeit $110 million in profits from dormant mobile generators that were ineffective in storm recovery. Highlights • $5B investment aims to improve power grid resilience post-Hurricane Beryl • Regret expressed for inadequate communication about mobile generator limitations • $110 million in profits from leased generators to be relinquished • Initiatives include replacing wooden poles and boosting vegetation management • Texas Attorney General investigating storm response practices #HoustonResilience #CenterPointEnergy #PowerGrid #StormResponse #EnergyInfrastructure #ClimatePreparedness Article Source: https://lnkd.in/gfmp4aWj

While Florida still enjoys reasonable (compared to national average) electric rates, costs to recoup storm hardening as part of grid modernization were approved by the Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday and will show up on utility bills in 2025. With the impending hurricane (Helene) today (Thursday), expect additional increases as storm hardening costs are separate from hurricane response costs which are likely to add an additional bill hike for customers. #utilities #electricgrid

S-5! solar mounts earn product approval for hurricane conditions S-5! standing seam clamps, used for solar installations and other metal roof applications, have earned Florida Product Approvals (FPA) for high velocity and hurricane zones (HVHZ). Florida’s product approval regulatory process is known for its stringent standards, particularly due to the state’s susceptibility to high winds and severe weather conditions. S-5! is the first metal… The post S-5! solar mounts earn product approval for hurricane conditions appeared first on Solar Power World. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄!

Great look at CenterPoint Energy's Hurricane Response Initiatives and where they stand. Grid investment text posted below. Shout out Jason Ryan for you and team's continued advocacy and education to get the industry and public information. Great work DataCapable team! Grid Investments • By August 1, we will complete visual inspections on all overhead distribution circuits impacted by Hurricane Beryl to identify equipment or vegetation-related issues that could create future outages. This action is completed. • By August 15, we will complete aerial imagery on all overhead distribution circuits impacted by Hurricane Beryl to identify equipment or vegetation-related issues that could create future outages. • By August 15, informed by the completion and analysis of our inspection, we will execute identified repairs based on risk. This work will be completed by August 31. • We will design all new distribution structures and replacements to standards that address extreme wind and loading conditions.2 • By December 31, we expect to harden nearly 350 distribution line miles to the latest extreme wind standard on a reliability-risk basis. • By August 31, we will strategically deploy at least 300 automated devices to reduce sustained interruptions in major storm events and reduce restoration time. • By August 31, 100% of the remaining distribution poles planned for replacement will be replaced with composite poles (approximately 1,000 poles) Zpryme Froliq