CenterPoint Energy Moves 4 Miles of Katy Lines Underground, Outages Planned for 5,600 Customers

CenterPoint Energy will bury about 4 miles of power lines in Katy, Texas, a project that involves planned outages for roughly 5,600 customers and is expected to take about eight months once construction starts, Yahoo reported on October 17, 2026. The work is part of the company's Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative.

Katy Project Details and Critical Facilities

As Community Impact reported, the Public Utility Commission approved the Katy project. Aaron Coronis, CenterPoint Energy's service area manager, said the new circuit is intended to better withstand storms, reduce outages and add capacity to meet Katy's future electricity demand. Coronis said "more than 50 critical facilities" are expected to benefit, including Katy City Hall, Fire Station No. 1, Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, and several assisted living centers. Once the underground line is in operation, CenterPoint says roughly 5,600 customers should see shorter outage times.

Residents and businesses are being warned to expect temporary disruption during construction, including planned power interruptions that CenterPoint said could last several hours. Coronis said affected entities will be given outage estimates with extra time built in. Coronis said the city will not use its funds for the project; instead, CenterPoint will spread the cost across all ratepayers, not just Katy residents. Community Impact had not received a total project cost.

CenterPoint said it is trying to reduce disruption by keeping residents informed throughout the project. Coronis said the utility will contact people "before, during and after this work" by letter, email, door hangers, texts, and Nextdoor posts, according to Community Impact. The company said its implementation plan aims to limit road closures and minimize traffic impacts. CenterPoint said crews will restore each work site before moving on, and that process will be coordinated with the city. Residents should also expect crews on-site Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

CenterPoint's Houston Grid Investment

According to akta.pro company records, CenterPoint Energy serves approximately 7 million metered customers across Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota, and its 10-year capital investment plan stands at $65.5 billion through 2035. The same records show the company increased that plan by $500 million in February 2026, accelerated by Houston load growth arriving two years ahead of its initial forecast, with 50% peak load growth by 2029. In June 2026, CenterPoint deployed Technosylva's expanded AI-driven multi-hazard operations platform across its electric and gas territories in Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota, achieving 82-99% storm prediction accuracy.

Earlier CenterPoint Grid Work

CenterPoint Energy's Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative has installed over 83,500 storm-resilient poles, cleared more than 14,000 miles of vegetation, and undergrounded over 900 miles of lines, Stock Titan reported in October 2026, with the program projected to prevent 150 million customer outage minutes in 2026. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded CenterPoint Energy $50 million to build Project TALON, an advanced transmission device for Houston's grid, with completion by late 2029, the Houston Press reported in September 2026. In October 2026, CenterPoint Energy deployed 355 workers to Florida to help restore power after Hurricane Isaias, supporting Florida Power & Light, PR Newswire reported.

What Comes Next for the Katy Work

Construction on the Katy project is expected to take about eight months once it starts, with crews scheduled on-site Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CenterPoint said it will contact residents before, during and after the work.