CenterPoint Energy Winter Storm Update: Over 99 percent of CenterPoint customers have power across Greater Houston area; Teams actively repairing weather-related damages and restoring power as soon as possible

Rhea-AI Summary

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) reported winter-storm response activities in Greater Houston on Jan 25, 2026, with crews restoring power after ice, precipitation, wind and freezing temperatures. As of 6:00 AM, about 2,000 customers remained without service (<1% of 2.9 million customers) and ~27,000 customers were restored since Saturday 6:00 AM. The company said an expanded restoration workforce of 3,300 workers is deployed, and staging included >9,200 poles, >11,500 transformers, >100,000 cable splices and >1,500 vehicles. CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center Jan 21 and is sharing outage updates via Power Alert Service® and Outage Tracker.

Safety reminders, coordination with officials, Critical Care outreach and prior fall 2025 winterization steps were highlighted as ongoing preparedness measures.

Positive

• Expanded restoration workforce of 3,300 workers
• ~27,000 customers restored since Saturday 6:00 AM
• Staged >9,200 distribution poles and >11,500 transformers
• Activated Emergency Operations Center on Jan 21, 2026

Negative

• Approximately 2,000 customers remained without power as of 6:00 AM
• Forecasted hard freezes near 20°F risk additional equipment outages
• Winter weather impacted all 270 electric substations inspections

Key Figures

Customers currently impacted: approximately 2,000 customers Customers restored: approximately 27,000 customers Total electric customers: 2.9 million customers +5 more

8 metrics

Customers currently impacted approximately 2,000 customers Weather-related outages as of 6 a.m. in Greater Houston

Customers restored approximately 27,000 customers Restored since Saturday 6:00 a.m.

Total electric customers 2.9 million customers CenterPoint customers across 12 counties

Mobilized workforce 3,300+ workers Expanded restoration workforce deployed for storm response

Natural gas workers staged more than 700 workers Frontline gas workers staged for emergencies

Electric substations inspected 270 substations Critical equipment inspections for winter readiness

Backup generators donated more than 20 generators Emergency backup generators at key locations

Emergency training hours more than 19,000 hours Emergency training completed in 2025

Market Reality Check

Price: $43.00 Vol: Volume 7,803,976 is 1.77x...

high vol

$43.00 Last Close

Volume Volume 7,803,976 is 1.77x the 20-day average of 4,398,106, indicating elevated trading interest before this update. high

Technical Shares at $38.78 are trading above the 200-day MA of $38.04 and about 4.25% below the 52-week high of $40.50.

Peers on Argus

CNP slipped 0.23% with elevated volume, while peers showed mixed moves: CMS -0.2...

CNP slipped 0.23% with elevated volume, while peers showed mixed moves: CMS -0.27%, DTE -0.52%, ES -1.19%, FE -1.25%, and FTS +0.86%. No peers appeared in the real-time momentum scanner, suggesting trading was more stock-specific than broad sector-driven.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 21 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 21	Storm preparedness update	Positive	-1.7%	Expanded emergency workforce and readiness ahead of forecasted winter storm.
Jan 20	Earnings call scheduling	Neutral	+0.6%	Announcement of webcast details for Q4 2025 earnings conference call.
Dec 11	Dividend declaration	Positive	+1.4%	Regular quarterly dividend of <b>$0.2300</b> per common share declared.
Oct 23	Q3 2025 earnings	Positive	-1.1%	Stronger Q3 results and reiterated 2025–2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance.
Oct 21	Asset sale announcement	Positive	-0.5%	Sale of Ohio natural gas business for <b>$2.62 billion</b> to recycle capital.

Pattern Detected

Recent positive fundamental and strategic updates have sometimes seen negative or muted next-day price reactions, especially around strong earnings and asset sale news.

Recent Company History

Over the past few months, CenterPoint reported stronger Q3 2025 results with higher revenue, operating income and net income, while reiterating its 2025–2026 EPS guidance and a long-term growth plan. It also announced a $2.62 billion sale of its Ohio natural gas business to recycle capital into a $65 billion investment plan and declared a regular dividend of $0.2300 per share. Multiple winter-storm readiness updates in January 2026 highlight operational resilience, which this latest storm-recovery update continues.

Regulatory & Risk Context

Active S-3 Shelf

Shelf Active

Active S-3 Shelf Registration 2025-08-05

The company has an effective S-3ASR shelf registration filed on 2025-08-05, with usage evidenced by at least two prospectus supplements (424B5) dated 2025-09-30 and 2025-10-01. This framework allows the company to issue registered securities as needed, subject to the remaining unspecified capacity.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights CenterPoint’s storm response, with roughly 3,300 workers mobilized and ...

Analysis

This announcement highlights CenterPoint’s storm response, with roughly 3,300 workers mobilized and only about 2,000 of 2.9 million customers experiencing outages, while roughly 27,000 have already been restored. It follows earlier winter-readiness updates and sits alongside stronger Q3 2025 financials and an announced $2.62 billion asset sale. Investors may watch future storm events, capital deployment under the long-term plan, and how the active shelf registration is utilized.

Key Terms

emergency operations center, compressed natural gas (cng), electric reliability council of texas, railroad commission, +3 more

7 terms

emergency operations center technical

"CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center on January 21"

A centralized command center where an organization gathers leaders, information and resources to coordinate its response during crises like natural disasters, cyberattacks, or major accidents. Think of it as a company’s “control room” that quickly makes decisions, assigns tasks and communicates with employees, regulators and customers. Investors pay attention because a well-run emergency operations center reduces downtime, limits financial and reputational damage, and shows the company can protect operations and assets under stress.

compressed natural gas (cng) technical

"Positioning 17 compressed natural gas (CNG) trailers to provide additional supply"

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is natural gas—primarily methane—stored at high pressure so it can be used as a fuel for vehicles, heating, or power generation; think of it like the same gas that cooks your stove but packed tightly like air in a pumped bicycle tire so it fits in a tank. Investors care because CNG can lower fuel costs, reduce some emissions, and drive spending on refueling stations and vehicle conversions, all of which affect operating margins and infrastructure investment decisions.

electric reliability council of texas regulatory

"annual weatherization requirements from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas"

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is the organization that manages the flow of electricity across most of Texas, like an air traffic controller for the power grid: it matches supply and demand in real time, schedules power plants, and coordinates outages and emergency actions. Investors care because ERCOT’s decisions and grid conditions influence electricity prices, revenue for utilities and generators, and the risk of outages or regulatory actions that can affect company earnings and stock values.

railroad commission regulatory

"annual weatherization requirements from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Railroad Commission"

A railroad commission is typically a state-level regulatory agency that sets and enforces rules for rail transportation and often related infrastructure such as pipelines, oil and gas operations, or utility services; its exact responsibilities vary by jurisdiction. Investors watch its actions because the commission issues permits, sets operating and safety standards, and can influence costs, timelines and legal risk for companies—think of it as the referee whose decisions affect whether a project can move forward and at what cost.

chronic condition residential technical

"Critical Care Residential and Chronic Condition Residential electric customers"

A residential setting that provides long-term housing plus ongoing medical and personal care for people with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, heart failure, or mobility impairments. For investors it matters because these facilities behave more like specialized rental properties: demand tends to be steady and predictable, but revenues and profitability are tightly linked to occupancy, staffing costs, and health-care regulations or reimbursement rules that can change the business outlook quickly.

power alert service technical

"customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service"

A power alert service is a system that notifies customers and operators about electricity issues—such as outages, restorations, planned maintenance, abnormal consumption, or grid warnings—using texts, calls, apps or automated messages. Investors care because the service affects customer satisfaction, operational costs, regulatory compliance and outage response speed; like a smoke alarm for the electric grid, it helps limit damage, preserve revenue and signal how well a utility or energy business manages reliability and risk.

outage tracker technical

"Customers can also stay up to date on outages with CenterPoint's Outage Tracker"

An outage tracker is a tool or report that monitors and records when a company’s services, systems, or infrastructure stop working and how long and how widely the disruption lasts. Investors use it like a public scoreboard: repeated or long outages can signal revenue loss, customer churn, regulatory trouble or reputational damage, so tracking frequency and severity helps assess operational risk and potential impact on a company’s stock value.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Ice and freezing conditions from winter storm are impacting Greater Houston overnight and this morning; Precipitation expected to clear by mid-to-late morning

Hard freezes around 20 degrees are forecasted Sunday night and Monday night and can impact electric equipment as well

3,300+ workers are fully mobilized and conducting damage assessments and restoring power safely and as quickly as possible.

Less than 2,000 electric customers currently impacted; Approximately 27,000 customers already restored since Saturday 6:00 AM

HOUSTON, Jan. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With the winter storm impacting the Greater Houston area overnight and additional waves of winter weather this morning, CenterPoint Energy expanded restoration workforce is actively deployed throughout the area to assess weather-related damages, repair critical electric equipment damaged by the storm, and restore customers' electric service safely and quickly. Winter weather conditions including winds, precipitation, some ice accumulation and freezing temperatures impacted the electric system overnight. As of 6 a.m., approximately 2,000 customers are experiencing weather-related outages which represents less than 1% of the 2.9 million customers that CenterPoint serves across 12 counties. Since Saturday at 6 a.m., approximately 27,000 customers have already been restored.

"Any outage is one too many for us and that's why our expanded team of 3,300 workers remain focused on our customers and communities and restoring anyone who may be out of service due to the winter weather impacts. We would like to thank all of our customers for their patience and support, our local agency partners for all their efforts during these weather impacts, and all the dedicated frontline personnel who are braving extreme conditions to help our communities. We won't stop until everyone's power service is restored," said Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint Energy Vice President of Resilience and Capital Delivery.

Safety reminder: Wires down
The company reminds customers and community members to always assume downed lines or wires are energized and potentially dangerous if contacted. Stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or fallen wires and a similar safe distance from objects touching downed lines (tree limbs, vehicles, fences, etc.) and immediately report downed power lines to CenterPoint. 

Actions CenterPoint is taking to respond
CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center on January 21, and has been actively preparing for the impacts caused by winter storm, including:

• Deploying restoration electric workforce: Readying 3,300-person expanded workforce to support winter storm response and address potential equipment damage and outages.
• Staging more than 700 frontline natural gas workers to respond safely and quickly around the clock to any gas emergency calls and service interruptions;
• Keeping customers informed: Sharing safety and preparedness information and resources with CenterPoint customers through direct outreach, social media and other channels.
• Inspecting and testing critical electric equipment, including all 270 electric substations, executing enhanced tree trimming and conducting inspections to prepare for wintery precipitation and cold temperatures;
• Prepping and pre-staging electric restoration equipment at staging sites, including
  • More than 9,200 distribution poles;
  • More than 11,500 transformers;
  • More than 100,000 cable splices; and
  • More than 1,500 vehicles;
• Conducting outreach to Critical Care customers: Reaching out to identified Critical Care Residential and Chronic Condition Residential electric customers by email, phone or text.
• Coordinating with government officials: Providing regular updates to government officials on preparation activities and closely coordinating on customer support.
• Providing operational updates for media and public: Conducting daily press briefings to provide important updates related to its pre-storm activities and readiness posture; additional briefings may be held to provide operational updates on response and restoration efforts following the storm.

These emergency preparedness actions build on the winter readiness activities that CenterPoint conducted since the fall of 2025, including annual weatherization requirements from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Railroad Commission to prepare for winter storms. These actions include:

• Donated and installed more than 20 emergency backup generators at key locations across Greater Houston to improve local emergency preparedness and response efforts;
• Positioning 17 compressed natural gas (CNG) trailers to provide additional supply for our customers, if needed, adding an additional trailer today to help strengthen preparedness;
• Inspecting nearly 200 natural gas regulator stations and installing heaters on equipment to prevent ice damage; and
• Conducted more than 19,000 total hours of emergency training in 2025 for hundreds of operational, emergency response and other personnel and contractors to strengthen severe weather preparation and response efforts.

Stay informed with Power Alert Service^®
CenterPoint electric customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service® to receive winter storm outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates by phone call, text or email.

Track what's happening in your neighborhood on Outage Tracker
Customers can also stay up to date on outages with CenterPoint's Outage Tracker, available in English and Spanish. The Outage Tracker is built to handle increased traffic during storms, is mobile-friendly, accessible for those with disabilities and allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code.

Customers can get storm-related electric and natural gas safety tips and the latest information at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter.

About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
 As the only investor owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of September 30, 2025, the company owned approximately $45 billion in assets. With approximately 8,300 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

For more information, contact:
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

FAQ

How many CenterPoint Energy (CNP) customers were still without power on Jan 25, 2026?

As of 6:00 AM Jan 25, 2026, about 2,000 customers were experiencing weather-related outages.

What restoration resources did CenterPoint Energy (CNP) deploy for the Jan 2026 winter storm?

CenterPoint deployed an expanded workforce of 3,300 restoration workers and staged >1,500 vehicles, >100,000 cable splices, poles and transformers.

How many customers had CenterPoint Energy (CNP) restored since Saturday morning during the storm?

The company reported approximately 27,000 customers restored since Saturday at 6:00 AM.

How can CenterPoint Energy (CNP) customers get outage updates during the winter storm?

Customers can enroll in Power Alert Service® and view real-time information on the company's Outage Tracker (English and Spanish).

Did CenterPoint Energy (CNP) take preparatory winterization steps before the Jan 2026 storm?

Yes; preparations included inspections since fall 2025, installing >20 backup generators, inspecting nearly 200 regulator stations, and additional weatherization measures.