HOUSTON – With stormy weather moving into the Houston area late on Christmas Eve, it certainly doesn’t “look like Christmas,” but CenterPoint Energy says it’s standing by to ensure our holiday plans aren’t canceled.

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In a press release, the energy giant said it has continuously monitored weather changes and mobilized resources to respond to weather impacts. This means crews are scheduled to work through the holidays and a plan must be put in place (if necessary) to deploy additional crews to assist with recovery efforts.

“We continue to monitor the line of storms and the threat of severe weather expected across the greater Houston area overnight on Christmas Eve,” Matt Lanza, meteorology manager at CenterPoint and a member of CenterPoint’s emergency preparedness and response team, said in a news release. “We are paying particular attention to the possibility of outages that could arise from the forecast strong wind gusts and lightning.”

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Meteorologist Justin Stapleton noted that Christmas Eve would be warm, humid and windy, with light showers likely. Some of these storms may be strong or severe, bringing the risk of small hail and gusty winds later tonight into Christmas morning.

“Although the front doesn’t look too threatening, it appears to be coming in time for old Kris Kringle to fly over most of the greater Houston area,” Stapleton said. “The current timing makes us stormy through the night hours. With Rudolph on Santa’s team, this shouldn’t be a problem at all – they’ve seen much worse.”

Regardless, CenterPoint Energy says it’s not taking any risks.

“Because our entire electric district in Houston is located in an area with a low risk of severe weather, we do not currently anticipate widespread damage and associated outages, but we are coordinating our resources and response to any impacts,” Lanza said.

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To think that every time there is thunder, Houston residents (like me) get a little uneasy, wondering if the lights are going to go out. That’s why CenterPoint leaders hope to give people peace of mind when Mother Nature tries to cancel Christmas.

“We know how important it is for homes and businesses to have the energy they expect and deserve this holiday season,” Deryl Tumlinson, vice president of distribution operations and service delivery at CenterPoint, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re now preparing to respond to any potential impacts to our system so we can safely and quickly restore service to our customers. While it is our job to respond quickly to any outages throughout the year, we are even more focused on ensuring any potential impacts are restored this Christmas and Hanukkah holiday.”

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The move is another example of the steps CenterPoint is taking to improve customer relationships and promote transparency as part of the company’s “preparedness efforts.” This includes:

• Implementation of the expanded staffing plan for the holidays: In addition to crews working during the holidays, the company used predictive analytics based on similar storm events to improve its workforce plan for preparedness in the event of system impacts.

• Activation of additional frontline electrical crews: Providing additional full-time, local and contract frontline workers to assist with storm response efforts in the greater Houston area.

• Preparing additional materials and equipment: The operations team has prepared additional inventory for use in the event of damage to masts and other equipment.

• Passing on customer communications: Share safety and preparedness measures with CenterPoint customers via social media and other platforms to keep customers informed and prepared.

• Preparing to conduct patrols and assess damage: Once storms leave the area and it is safe to do so, CenterPoint teams will be deployed throughout the service area to assess damage.