Mobilizing AI capabilities and digital
modeling technologies will help optimize safety, reliability and
resilience while reducing the impact on CenterPoint's
customers
HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- As part of the company's ambition to become the
most resilient coastal electric grid in the country, CenterPoint
Energy (NYSE: CNP) today announced it has reached an agreement with
Neara, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered infrastructure
modeling platform for engineering-grade simulations and analytics,
to deploy Neara's AI capabilities across CenterPoint's
5,000-square-mile Greater Houston
service area.
CenterPoint will supplement its existing systems with Neara's
technology to focus its investments strategically and
cost-effectively and to continue to advance safety, reliability and
resilience for the benefit of its approximately 2.8 million
customers. Neara's AI-enabled simulation and analytics platform are
expected to help CenterPoint reduce customer outages and accelerate
restoration efforts across its system.
"Leveraging technology and AI to deliver better outcomes for our
customers and communities is a significant part of the commitment
we made after Hurricane Beryl," said CenterPoint President and
Chief Executive Officer Jason Wells.
"By simulating the potential impact of severe weather events on our
infrastructure and customers, Neara's platform and tools will
inform our plans and actions before, during and after major weather
events to help reduce the impact and duration of power outages.
Understanding how weather scenarios and their risks could affect
our operations will position us to be several steps ahead on our
preparedness and response."
Robert Brook, Neara Senior Vice President and Managing
Director of the Americas, said, "We are thrilled to collaborate
with CenterPoint as they lead the charge in addressing today's most
existential energy challenges. Our 3D digital modeling technology
will help CenterPoint proactively reduce customer outages by
simulating severe weather events, such as hurricanes, tropical
storms, heat waves and flash floods, and their potential impact on
the utility's infrastructure."
Neara's technology will also support CenterPoint's ongoing
efforts to address higher-risk vegetation along power lines, as
well as identify critical equipment upgrades, including pole
replacements or reinforcements, quickly and efficiently.
Additionally, Neara's predictive technology will help CenterPoint
prioritize specific assets and locations where grid hardening
improvements will help optimize system-wide benefit. As targeted
system upgrades are completed, CenterPoint will be able to quantify
performance increases at the individual asset level and forecast,
deliver and measure resilience improvements.
In late August 2024, CenterPoint
announced the completion, ahead of schedule, of core resiliency
actions as part of the first phase of its Greater Houston
Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), which included a series of targeted
immediate actions to improve the resiliency of CenterPoint Houston
Electric's grid. The company also announced the boldest series of
resiliency actions in its history, including a second phase of GHRI
(currently underway from September 1,
2024 – June 1, 2025) which
will include system hardening, strategic undergrounding,
self-healing grid technology and further enhancements to the
company's outage tracker, as well as a longer-term resilience plan–
which will be filed after discussions with stakeholders, elected
officials, and customers – of approximately $5 billion in resiliency investment from 2026 to
2028, potentially doubling its prior planned investment.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news
release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may,"
"objective," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projection,"
"should," "target," "will" or other similar words are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements, which include statements regarding our resiliency
investments, timing, forgoing profits and related matters, are
based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be
reasonable at the time made and are subject to significant risks
and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially
from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. Any statements in this news release regarding future
events that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news
release speaks only as of the date of this release. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated by the provided forward-looking information include
risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) the impact of pandemics,
including the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) financial market conditions;
(3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of
future regulatory and legislative decisions; and (5) other factors,
risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and CenterPoint's Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and June
30, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its
subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
About CenterPoint Energy
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, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees,
CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in
business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com.
About Neara
Neara's AI-assisted predictive modeling
software helps infrastructure owners drive critical proactive
decisions by conducting precise analyses in hours and days that
would otherwise take months or years in the field.
Engineering-grade simulation analyses reveal how assets behave in
real-world environments during any scenario — empowering better,
faster, more cost-effective decisions. The model supports
end-to-end network governance, from routine operational decisions
to emergency scenarios and major grid-hardening investments —
without verification from manual surveys. Neara's technology has
modeled >1.5 million square miles of global network territory
featuring ~10 million assets, across four continents from
California to Ireland and Australia. Neara's utility customers identify
outage risks 9x faster, restore power 3x faster, and save thousands
of field visits per year. More information is available at
www.neara.com.
Media Contacts
CenterPoint Energy
Media: media.relations@centerpointenergy.com
Investors: Jackie
Richert/Ben Vallejo,
713.207.6500
Neara
Media: neara@haymaker.co
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy
