Meeting Summary - July 25, 2024 CenterPoint Briefing, Hurricane Beryl

CenterPoint's Executive VP Jason Ryan gives update on Project 56793

• Accompanied by CEO Jason Wells, CCO Tony Gardner, and VP of Electric Operations Randy Pryor.
• Randy Pryor served as Incident Commander during Hurricane Beryl response.

Key documents in Project 56793 include:

• Item No. 16: Presentation available to the public.
• Item No. 17: Initial set of factual documents related to the hurricane.
• Tab No. 3: Timeline of relevant facts including mutual assistance crews and call center data.
• Tabs 7 through 19: Factual statistics, emergency generation data, and customer communications day by day.
• Tab 20: Structure of incident command led by Randy Pryor.
• Tab 1: New communications program for future storms.
• Tab 2: Screenshots of the new outage tracker to go live by August 1.
• Aim is to expedite the Commission's review and facilitate the after-action report.

CenterPoint's CEO Jason Wells Discusses Their Pillars of Action

• Acknowledgment of responsibility and a formal apology to CenterPoint customers for the frustration caused by the outages.
• Commitment to improve service, communications, and overall responsiveness during emergencies.
• Recognition and thanks to employees, contractors, and mutual assistance crews for their efforts in power restoration.
• Introduction of a three-pillar action plan focusing on improvements in resiliency, communication, and collaboration with local partners.
• Specific plans include enhancing vegetation management, launching a new cloud-based outage tracker on August 1, and hiring a new senior leader for emergency response coordination.
• Commitment to act on internal reviews and feedback from various stakeholders to improve emergency response.

CenterPoint's Sr. VP CCO Tony Gardner gives CenterPoint's Action Plan

• Hundreds of customer complaints reviewed, acknowledging frustrations in communication.
• New cloud-based outage tracker launching by August 1, 2024.
• Outage tracker will offer detailed viewing options and be mobile-friendly.
• Engagement with customers and community leaders for continuous application improvement.
• Emergency preparedness and response communications playbook being developed.
• Daily press briefings, press releases, and social media to enhance public communications during storms.
• Commitment to provide restoration guidance within 24 hours post-storm and daily updates.
• Efforts to increase adoption of power alert service and address delays experienced during Hurricane Beryl.
• Centerpoint has contact information on approximately 42% of their customers.  Striving to get contact information for more customers to improve communication effectiveness.
• Significant increase (165%) in call center staffing to reduce wait times during storms.
• Additional training for call center agents during storm season.
• Use of speech analytics to monitor customer experience and provide appropriate support.
• Commitment to regaining customer trust and meeting their expectations.

CenterPoint's VP of Operations & Incident Commander Randy Pryor on the restoration of power after Hurricane Beryl 

• Initial forecasts indicated Houston would avoid the worst, but preparations included securing 3000 mutual assistance crew members.
• Additional mutual assistance crews were called as forecast trajectories changed.
• Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a category one hurricane on July 8, causing heavy rains, flooding, and 97 mph winds.
• Over 2 million customers lost power due to the hurricane.
• Response involved deploying over 15,000 CenterPoint and mutual assistance crew members.
• Coordination occurred with Texas Division of Emergency Management and local partners to prioritize critical facilities.
• 22 staging sites were set up, including 28 sites with mobile generators; one site was shut down due to threats of violence.
• Restoration efforts included replacing over 3000 distribution poles, walking 8500 circuit miles to repair damage, and managing vegetation.
• Over 1 million customers had power restored within the first 48 hours.
• Commitment to enhancing system resiliency for rapid restoration times.
• Emergency response programs are under review to improve response speed and processes.
• Expanding vegetation management work due to the impact of extreme weather.
• Evaluating mobilization of mutual assistance assets more effectively.
• Adding temporary generation units for critical care facilities and infrastructure.
• Aim to strengthen grid resiliency, address vegetation risks, and improve emergency restoration efforts.

CenterPoint's CEO Jason Wells on strengthening their system

• Jason Wells commits leadership to urgently strengthen the system and best serve the community.
• Plans to take messages from the meeting to communities to engage with them on service improvements.
• Will provide monthly updates on the initial action plan.
• An independent after action review will be provided before the end of October.
• Ready to answer questions, specifically mentioning Commissioner Glotfelty's interest in resiliency.

Questions & Answers from Commissioners to CenterPoint

Commissioner Glotfelty Proposed recalling CenterPoint’s Resiliency Plan for review due to storm urgency.

• Emphasized the importance of resiliency measures and projects to meet timelines set by state leadership.
• Suggested allowing ongoing negotiations to continue and affirmed the right to modify any plan presented.
• Chairman Gleeson Inquired about abatement requests including amending provisions in the resiliency plan.
• Questioned the rationale for requesting abatement instead of submitting a new plan.

• Jason Ryan is open to discussing an agreed path and incorporating learnings from reviews and reports. 
• Plans to file an amended plan based on assessments.

Commissioner Cobos Suggested CenterPoint withdraw and refile their application after receiving feedback.

• Stressed the need for a robust resiliency plan and ongoing actions to enhance resiliency.
• Emphasized CenterPoint's obligation under CCN to provide continuous and adequate service, which isn’t hindered by not having an approved resiliency plan.
• Encouraged CenterPoint to continue with its current actions to enhance resiliency and refile a more comprehensive plan later.
• Believes moving forward right now would not be beneficial without complete information.
• Open to reconsidering the plan once more feedback and data are available.
• Chairman Gleeson expressed concerns about the timeline for abatement request updates, suggesting more frequent communication.
• Jason Ryan agreed to provide an update next week and amend the plan based on assessments.

Commissioner Cobos on Hurricane Beryl Response

• Acknowledgement of the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl, especially in Houston.
• Performance will be judged by actions and results, not just plans.
• Importance of accountability and regaining trust with the community and leaders.
• Importance of preparedness for future hurricanes by all utilities in hurricane-prone areas.
• Need for improved vegetation management and ensuring adequate manpower and funding.
• Acceleration of distribution pole replacement and hardening of transmission lines.
• Proactive planning for pre-staging and deployment of mutual assistance crews.
• Measures to restore power more quickly and optimization of mobile generation units.
• Ensuring accurate and reliable outage trackers, even during Internet outages.
• Improved communication with customers before, during, and after storms.
• Increase in emergency response measures and communication with water utilities.
• Coordination with representatives in service territories for customer information.
• Encouragement of collaboration among utilities to share lessons and best practices for better future preparedness.

Commissioner Jackson on Hurricane Beryl Response

• Management of risk involves two aspects: hardening infrastructure to sustain incidents and quick response and recovery.
• Independent review lacks a defined scope but focuses on root causes of outages and response delays.
• Utility expected to take ownership of root cause analysis to identify infrastructure hardening and prompt response improvements.
• Importance of having a good system map and IT systems for quick data gathering and analysis.
• Root cause analysis should be comprehensive, not limited to the distribution system affected by Beryl.
• Need for both passive and active communication channels for customers and emergency management.
• Suggested coordination with emergency management on a comprehensive emergency alerting system.
• Highlighting the Southeast Texas Alerting Network as an example to follow.
• Reference to the "Eye of the Storm" report after Hurricane Harvey and the importance of improving infrastructure grades.
• Emphasis on "future-proofing" Texas to be prepared for any incident, not just hurricanes.

Jason Wells' response to the Commissioners on CenterPoint incorporating their recommendations

• Jason Wells expressed agreement with the Commissioners' recommendations.
• Emphasized the need to manage and mitigate natural hazards.
• Highlighted the importance of hardening the system against risks.
• Stressed the need for improved emergency response and communication.
• Committed to conducting a thorough root cause analysis.
• Assured incorporation of the Commissioners' recommendations.

Jason Wells on the National Incident Management System 

• Identified the need for further improvement in the adoption of Incident Command System (ICS) structure.
• Plans to hire a senior executive emergency management professional to accelerate ICS adoption.
• Acknowledged issues with chaotic communication and coordination with critical facility partners during restoration times.
• Plans to streamline communication and coordination for the upcoming hurricane season and future storm seasons.
• Acknowledgment of the necessity to examine vegetation management broadly.
• Proposal of additional actions for vegetation management.
• Future recommendations to be expected on the matter.
• Trees are personal property of homeowners and local/state government, limiting CenterPoint's ability to trim outside their right of way.
• 60% of vegetation removed by their management company were trees that had fallen from outside their right of way.
• The issue of vegetation management requires the involvement of all impacted stakeholders.

Commissioner Glotfelty On Vegetation Management

• Suggested CenterPoint lead in vegetation management best practices and consider bringing more crews in-house.
• Emphasized the use of technology for targeted tree trimming.

Jason Wells’ Response to Glotfelty on Vegetation Management

• Historically, utilities conducted vegetation management on annual cycles, which is not reflective of current system risks.
• Last year, implemented a high hazard tree program and significantly expanded the scope.
• Initiated nearly a 30% increase in vegetation management spending last year.
• Plan to use and accelerate the high hazard tree program to reduce risks going forward.
• Need to work with landowners and get their consent for tree management.
• Observation that some distribution lines had only 18 inches of span between them and 25-foot trees.
• Opportunity to work with landowners, who might be more willing to cooperate following recent events.

Commissioner Glotfelty on Smart Meters

• Inquiry on the value and effectiveness of smart meters implemented a decade ago.
• Questioned if smart meters provided any value during the recent hurricane.
• Mentioned complaints about the outage tracker being non-functional and lack of information on power restoration.

• Asked if smart meters were supposed to help track outages and provide information to customers.

Jason Wells on Smart Meters

• Smart meters were useful in restoration efforts.
• Smart meters were not useful to customers during this time.
• Significant demand on the outage tracker during de Recho restoration overwhelmed internal servers.
• Commitment to bring a cloud-based outage tracker online by August 1, aligning with the start of hurricane season.
• Implementation timeline of two months is considered faster than industry standards.
• The upcoming outage tracker will benefit from smart meter data.
• Interim solution involved using maps tied to circuit levels, causing frustration at the address/meter level.
• Old outage tracker was decommissioned before the new one could be implemented, causing a temporary service gap.

Commissioner Glotfelty's questions on outage trackers

• Online outage tracker inaccuracies: Some users reported that the outage tracker indicated their power was restored when it was not.
• Nesting problem: Mentioned an issue referred to as the 'nesting problem' that needs fixing in the outage tracker.
• Crowdsourcing idea: Suggested a technology similar to Waze, which uses crowdsourced information for traffic and accidents, to help provide real-time data on outages.
• Community involvement: Proposed involving the community to assist with assessments by using data from customers' meters to potentially speed up the restoration process.
• Restoration delays: Acknowledged that manually walking 8000 miles of distribution lines is difficult and can delay restoration efforts.

Jason Wells' response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question on outage trackers

• Jason Wells agrees with Commissioner Glotfelty's concern about outage tracking.
• CenterPoint has started using aerial resources such as helicopters and drones for better tracking.
• Future plans include customer platforms for reporting and sending photos of damage.
• The goal is to prioritize downed lines and other safety-related issues during restoration.
• CenterPoint aims to utilize the latest technology to expedite restoration processes.

Commissioner Glotfelty's questions on mutual assistance and pre-staging of crews

• Highlighted that multiple issues occurred and there are many areas needing improvement.
• Acknowledged some actions were in line with industry standards and would be challenging for any utility.
• Described the mutual assistance process involving regional mutual assistance groups to request and release crews.
• Noted that many variables affecting mutual assistance may be out of CenterPoint's control.

Jason Wells' response to Commissioner Glotfelty's questions on mutual assistance and pre-staging of crews

• Coordination with Texas Gulf coast peers to pre-stage nearly 15,000 mutual assistance crews along the Gulf coast.
• It is crucial to pre-stage crews out of harm's way due to variability in storm paths.
• Coordination continues up to landfall for efficient redirection to needed areas.
• Acknowledgement of potential for improvement in coordination.
• Crews need to be requested and released from their current utilities to assist.
• Coordination exists with both regional mutual assistance providers and the national EEI mutual assistance team.
• Procedures are in place for requesting and obtaining additional crews for restoration.

Randy Pryor's response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question requesting of resources & pre-staging of crews

• CenterPoint made requests for resources, which utilities provide based on weather threats.
• Agreements with utility providers outside RMAGS were secured in advance of the storm 
• Competition for crews during pre-staging as everyone anticipates storm impacts.
• Midwest utilities also impacted by same storm events, requiring careful resource allocation.
• Resource allocation occurs post-event based on damage and customer impact.
• Mutual assistance involves prioritizing closest crews; further crews follow if necessary.
• Crews driving long distances (e.g., 1000 miles) must comply with required rest periods.
• Utilities average 500 miles of travel per day for large trucks; 1000 miles requires two days.
• Onboarding includes brief training and safety orientation for incoming crews.
• OSHA rules mandate rest periods and affect immediate deployment of crews.
• Crews might appear idle due to uncompleted assessments or compliance with OSHA rules.

Jason Wells’ response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question on restoration and crews response times

• Various reasons can cause delays, such as needing additional vegetation work or waiting for materials.
• Crews are deployed quickly and safely, working tirelessly to restore service.
• More than a million customers were restored within the first 24-48 hours during the storm.

Jason Well’s response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question on 3rd party assessments

• Commissioner Glotfelty questioned if third-party evaluators assess storm drills to identify improvement areas.
• Currently, CenterPoint does not utilize third parties for assessments.
• CenterPoint has hired emergency management experts for best practices, drill shaping, and feedback.
• Third party assessments are being considered for the future.
• Acknowledgment of valuable input from team members including former FEMA personnel and Manny Miranda from Florida Power and Light.
• Goal is to quickly incorporate feedback for consumer and company benefit.

Commissioner Glotfelty's thoughts on communication

• Pointed out that CenterPoints lack of contact with all customers is problematic.
• Noted that CenterPoint has equipment on all of their customers' premises.
• Reiterated the need for providing information to customers.
• Mentioned the restructuring of the industry and the role of retail electricity providers.
• Emphasized CenterPoint's critical role in distributing electricity in Houston, Texas.
• Highlighted the challenge for the chief customer officer in having contact information on only 40% of the customers.

Tony Gardner's response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question on communication

• Tony Gardner emphasizes the ongoing efforts to reach out to customers for more contact information.
• Suggests policy changes might be needed to help gather more information from the REPs.
• Mentions the continuous effort to get permission to obtain customer contact information.
• Assures that customer information will only be used during emergencies, not for marketing.
• Aims to ensure effective communication with customers during emergencies to help them take necessary actions.

Commissioner Glotfelty's question on wind speeds

• Commissioner Glotfelty inquired about the wind speed specifications to which CenterPoint designs its system.
• Interest in knowing whether the design accounts for wind speeds of 150 miles per hour, 120 miles per hour, and the associated differences in cost and consumer value.
• Highlighted the impact of weather changes and the importance of system resilience.
• Encouraged CenterPoint to communicate their strategies for handling these evolving weather conditions.

Jason Wells' response to Commissioner Glotfelty's question on wind speeds

• CenterPoint took steps in 2022 to construct at the national standard for high wind and extreme ice loading.
• New constructions meet the new standards moving forward.
• Details around these standards can be provided.
• Resiliency investments plans address historical investments made prior to the proactive changes.

Commissioner Glotfelty gives his concerns to all providers in hurricane prone zones

• The commissioner emphasized that this event should serve as a wake-up call for all utilities, not just CenterPoint but also Entergy, TNMP, and TXU.
• He highlighted the need for these utilities to seriously address the system challenges posed by natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and other severe weather events.
• Urged that utilities must improve their systems to better serve their customers who deserve reliable service.
• Acknowledged that utilities have the capability to make these improvements and encouraged them to take the lead in this endeavor.

Commissioner Cobos' questions on CenterPoint's presentation

• Focus on page 15 regarding phase two near term actions.
• Inquired about targeting the first 350 of 2000 incremental distribution line miles with higher risk vegetation.
• Referenced the statement that vegetation management is a major driver of long duration outages.
• Clarified that approximately 1900 total distribution circuits were involved.
• Asked if the 1900 total distribution circuits identified are the higher vegetation risk circuits.

Jason Wells' response to Commissioner Cobos' questions on CenterPoint's presentation

• CenterPoint is targeting 2000 miles of circuits with highest risk.
• Utilizing LIDAR technology to analyze vegetation density around power lines.
• High density of vegetation and high rainfall areas identified as most susceptible to outages.
• Analytics based on historical data like Hurricane Beryl to determine risk areas.
• 350 miles identified as an achievable target by August 31, with the remainder by December 31.
• Intent to exceed 350 miles if possible, but needs to balance with storm responses.

Commissioner Cobos' questions on mobile generation units

• Challenges in acquiring more mobile generation units.
• Previous CEO mentioned competition with oil and gas industry and utilities in hurricane-prone areas.
• Current CEO asked if the acquisition of smaller mobile generation units is feasible.
• Question about the ongoing competition for mobile DG acquisition.

Jason Wells' response to Commissioner Cobos' questions on mobile generation units

• CenterPoint is committed to increasing the size of their small mobile generation facilities for restorations.
• Previous CEO referred to the competition for larger mobile generation units often dedicated to load shed events.
• During the recent storm, CenterPoint utilized 18 of their small mobile generation units and secured an additional 12 from neighboring utilities.
• CenterPoint is committed to securing more units for future restorations.
• Emphasis on the importance of involving critical care and at-risk customers
• Prioritizing the restoration of power to critical care and at-risk customers is critically important.
• Wells acknowledged that CenterPoints performance needs improvement and committed to better future performance.
• There are 8600 critical facility customers on CenterPoint's system, and preparation and coordination efforts need to be year-round.
• Commitment to work more closely with critical care customers and potentially coordinating with city resources for additional support during power outages.

Commissioner Glotfelty's thoughts on mobile generation units

• Commissioner Glotfelty expressed a desire for future discussions about mobile generation units.
• He believes that the current responsibility for providing mobile generation to every critical customer in the region might not align with the intended purpose of the mobile generation language.
• Glotfelty mentioned a disagreement on how mobile generation should be managed, preferring generation companies to handle it rather than T&D entities.
• He expressed a need for a deeper discussion on the use, purpose, and funding of mobile generation units.

Chairman Gleeson's Questions on Mobile Gen and CenterPoint's Moratorium

• Necessity to evaluate the performance of mobile generation during the storm.
• CenterPoint's decision to implement a Disconnection for Non-Payment (DNP) moratorium until the 29th.
• Inquiry into the reasoning behind selecting this specific end date.
• Consideration of possibly extending the moratorium.

Jason Wells' response to Chairman Gleeson's questions on CenterPoint's moratorium

• The original moratorium end date was set based on the anticipated full recovery from Hurricane Beryl.
• While restoration has been completed, communities and customers are still in the recovery phase.
• CenterPoint plans to extend the moratorium through the end of the next week.
• Jason Wells believes extending the moratorium is advisable.

Chairman Gleeson's questions on transmission concerns

• Discussion of transmission issues during the storm.
• Inquiry about specific facilities that experienced issues during the derecho.
• Question if the same facilities had issues during Beryl.

Jason Ryan's response to Chairman Gleeson's questions on transmission concerns

• No structural issues with facilities impacted by Beryl and the derecho.
• Temporary transmission poles are built to a high wind standard and performed well in Hurricane Beryl.
• Experienced one circuit lockout in both Hurricane Beryl and the derecho due to a tree outside the right of way.
• Lines were re-energized immediately after clearing the vegetation.

Chairman Gleeson's thoughts on CenterPoint having a "town hall" and unacceptable violence

• The Chairman advised CenterPoint to consider holding a town hall to communicate directly with customers.
• Importance of establishing communication systems between storms was emphasized.
• Recommendation made to collaborate with Reps who have call centers and customer relationships to aid in crisis communication.
• Inquiry about updates on the progress of these communication systems was requested by the Chairman.
• Concerns were raised regarding stories about violence against line workers during the storm.
• Acknowledgment that violence led to the removal or relocation of staging sites, causing delays.

Jason Wells' response to Chairman Gleeson's thoughts

• Acknowledged majority of customers were gracious, patient, and appreciative.
• Noted numerous instances of threats and acts of violence against line workers.
• Staging site had to be demobilized due to credible threat of drive-by shootings.
• Multiple instances of guns being pulled on line workers.
• Active community threats, including throwing rocks.
• Praised law enforcement for their role in keeping line workers safe.
• Highlighted behavior not tolerable in society and counterproductive to restoration efforts.
• Emphasized the importance of mutual assistance crews who volunteer to help.
• Stressed need for collective action to ensure crew safety during restoration.

Chairman Gleeson's thoughts on upcoming hearings

• Chairman Gleeson indicated the importance of the upcoming two hearings next week, and the legislative session in less than six months away.
• He views the hearings and legislative session as opportunities for statutory and regulatory changes.

• Encouraged CenterPoint to present items that need to be addressed in statute. 
• Urged communication of necessary statutory and regulatory changes to the legislature.
• Emphasized the need for ongoing collaboration to achieve these changes.

Commissioner Glotfelty's questions on injuries or fatalities

• Commissioner Glotfelty inquired about any serious accidents on the system.
• Specifically asked if everyone made it home to their families without injuries.

Jason Well’s response to Commissioner Glotfelty's questions on injuries or fatalities

• No significant injuries and fatalities occurred during restoration.
• A handful of illnesses and motor vehicle incidents were reported, but no significant injuries