Entergy Texas Announces Resiliency Plan to Strengthen Southeast Texas Electric Grid

Entergy Texas has filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) for approval of Phase I of its Texas Future Ready comprehensive resiliency plan to protect the Southeast Texas electric grid from extreme weather and improve service reliability.

Investments included in Phase I are expected to help customers by reducing future storm restoration costs by approximately $129 million and minimizing the duration of power outages following significant weather events by 4.5 billion minutes over the next fifty years, following receipt of approval.

Phase I of the company’s resilience plan is a multi-year proposal with six actions to prevent, withstand and recover from damage caused by major storms.

· Distribution Feeder Strengthening: Reconstruction of main feeder lines to a storm-resistant overhead design standard.

· Lateral hardening: reconstruction of neighborhood distribution lines according to a storm-resistant aerial design.

· Transmission line refurbishment: replacing poles with more wind-resistant structures and equipment on high-voltage lines.

· Lateral burial: Burial of certain overhead neighborhood lines.

· Substation control station renovation: strengthening the substations by modernizing the roofs to meet wind standards.

· Targeted vegetation management: proactive inspections and pruning to mitigate vegetation-related failures and wildfire risks.

The accelerated reinforcement projects included in Phase I represent a total investment of $335 million in the Southeast Texas electric grid. Entergy Texas plans to apply for $198 million in non-ERCOT grants from the Texas Energy Fund to help finance these projects and minimize the impact on customers’ monthly bills.

The company has also applied for federal funding through the Department of Energy’s Grid Innovation and Resiliency Partnerships program to invest more than $107 million to strengthen the Port Arthur grid, a portion of which would offset the cost of the reinforcement projects included in Phase I. It also plans to explore an accelerated storm securitization process, which is expected to allow customers to reduce their long-term expenses compared to traditional financing methods.

The accelerated resilience efforts proposed in Entergy Texas’ Resiliency Plan are a key component of the company’s Southeast Texas Energy Plan, also known as the STEP Ahead Plan. This strategic initiative aims to add 1,600 MW of generating capacity to the Southeast Texas electric grid by 2028 at affordable rates, build more generation, invest in a diverse mix of generating resources and strengthen the grid to withstand extreme weather.