Cold front triggers brief power outage for 30,000 CenterPoint customers in north Houston suburbs
More than 30,000 CenterPoint Energy customers lost electricity early Tuesday across the Houston area, mainly in northern suburbs, after an equipment problem coincided with one of the coldest mornings of the season.
CenterPoint’s online outage maps showed that the largest concentrations of outages were in northern Harris County, including Spring, Klein and Tomball. In Harris County alone, the utility initially reported about 28,600 affected customers, with additional, smaller outages in Fort Bend, Chambers and Montgomery counties.
Crews restored most service within a few hours. By about 8:30 a.m., the number of customers without power had dropped to roughly 4,000, and CenterPoint projected full restoration by around 11 a.m. The company later said all affected customers were back online by 9 a.m.
The outages hit as temperatures dipped into the upper 30s and low 40s, according to Space City Weather, making for a cold start to the morning commute. Forecasters said a ridge of high pressure would build through the day, clearing skies and pushing afternoon temperatures into the low 50s.
In Tomball, at least one high school canceled classes as a precaution while power was out. Residents whose electricity returned quickly reported that the short duration of the outage reduced the impact on homes and businesses.
In a statement to Chron, CenterPoint said the service interruption occurred while workers conducted planned upgrade work Tuesday morning and encountered an equipment issue that temporarily cut power to about 30,000 customers.
“The outage lasted less than an hour for most customers and crews continued safely repairing and restoring customers as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson said. “As of 9:00 a.m., all customers impacted by this outage have been restored. Ninety-nine point eight percent of CenterPoint’s 2.9 million customers in the Greater Houston area did not experience any interruption in service. We appreciate customers’ patience and again apologize for the inconvenience.”
The incident comes as utilities in the region prepare for additional cold fronts and potential storms through the winter. Local officials and energy providers are reminding residents who rely on electric heat, medical equipment or other power-sensitive services to monitor forecasts, review backup plans and stay informed about possible weather-related disruptions.
