CenterPoint

Energys Smart Grid Solutions Improve Operating Efficiency and Customer

Participation
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric (CenterPoint), a transmission and distribution service
provider (TDSP) in Texas, is deploying smart metering technology and distribution automation
equipment to make its operations run more efficiently, lower costs and environmental
emissions, and provide the opportunity for consumers to better manage both their electricity
use as well as costs. Along with other TDSPs in Texas, CenterPoint is uploading 15-minute
electricity consumption data to a statewide web portal, helping consumers better understand
their consumption patterns and electricity cost drivers. Thanks to $200 million in funding from
the U.S. Department of Energy through the Smart Grid Investment Grant program (SGIG),
CenterPoint has been able to accelerate by two years the installation of smart meters for all of
its 2.2 million residential and small commercial customers as well as enabling CenterPoint to
deploy intelligent grid distribution automation technologies that will enhance system reliability
for critical infrastructure facilities in its service territory.
Smart Meters and Operational Efficiencies

Smart meters are generating vast amounts of data,

enabling n ew customer products and services.

By January 2012, SGIG funding enabled

CenterPoint to install 2.0 million smart
meters. As a result, the new meters are no
longer read manually each month, nor does a
technician need to visit the home to
disconnect or reconnect service. Since the
beginning of the project, we have successfully
executed 2.3 million service orders
electronically. Each one of these automated
remote activities translates into an avoided
truck roll for CenterPoint, which means cost
savings for our consumers, says Jeff Myerson,
CenterPoints Director of Smart Grid
Integration.

Automatic notification of outages is another advantage of the new meters. This capability can
reduce the duration of electricity outages by pinpointing outage locations faster so crews can
make repairs and restore power more quickly. When fully operational, CenterPoint will no
longer need to wait to hear from customers to know when outages occur or where trucks need

Case Study--CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric

to be dispatched. Smart meters also help CenterPoint to identify what type of an outage it is
dealing with and how many customers are impacted. We can get the right crew to the right
location faster, which helps us to resolve the outage more quickly, Myerson says.
Smart Meters Enable Electricity Savings
TDSPs in Texas, such as CenterPoint, own and operate the electricity delivery equipment
leading to customer premises, including the electric meters. More than 100 retail electricity
providers (REPs) compete with each other to sign-up customers to sell them electricity. The
REPs bill customers for electricity use, but they rely on TDSPs for electricity delivery and
consumers consumption data. The Smart
Meter Texas (SMT) web portal enables
consumers access to their detailed
consumption data, provides REPs the ability to
offer prepay or time of use rate programs, and
enables both parties to connect home area
network devices to the meter for real time
usage data.
15-minute interval consumption data collected
by CenterPoint is uploaded daily on SMT. By
February 2012, more than 4.7 million electric
Smart Meter Texas web portal,
meters from four Texas TDSPs were feeding
[Link].
data into the portal, and approximately 30,000
customers have registered an account with the site to view their own data directly, while more
than 500,000 receive their consumption data indirectly from SMT. Right now, the portal is
allowing CenterPoint and other Texas TDSPs to work with 60 retail providers who are accessing
the meter data daily, says Tom Olinger, Director of CenterPoints Program Management Office.
Many of the REPs are further analyzing the data and sending the information out to their
customers. All this value-added information helps customers understand and manage their
electricity consumption and costs better.
For example, some retail electric providers send the data in an email directly to their customer.
Having access to this detailed consumption data enables customers to take action to manage
their electricity consumption and lower their electricity bills.
Reliant Energy Retail Services, a Texas REP, is also involved in the SGIG program. (View Reliants
SGIG project description on [Link] for more information.)

Case Study--CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric

Distribution Automation Systems Protect Critical Infrastructure

SGIG funding is helping CenterPoint upgrade its distribution system by introducing Intelligent
Grid infrastructure to its distribution grid. In the first phase of the project, these upgrades are
being implemented in areas serving the Texas Medical Centerthe worlds largest medical
centerand petrochemical infrastructure facilities along the Houston ship channel that are vital
to the nations fuel supply.
By December 2011, seven substations had been upgraded and more than 200 intelligent grid
distribution switching devices had been installed. The new devices are being operated remotely
to isolate faulted circuit sections, which will help CenterPoint restore service more quickly. This
will help critical facilities to continue their operations with fewer and shorter outages. Once the
new distribution management system is fully deployed, the system will have the capability to
automatically operate the switches and isolate faults, resulting in even faster system recovery.
Paving the Way for More Innovation
CenterPoint believes its new technologies and the data from them make Texas ripe for even
more innovations. For example, CenterPoint expects that various home energy management
products and services will be offered to Texas consumers, making it even easier for them to
manage consumption and costs. Data generated by smart meters and distribution automation
devices are also expected to lead to more sophisticated tools to improve system reliability.
With the billions of pieces of data we get, we hope to develop predictive engines that will help
us anticipate areas of failure. Such tools would help us maintain the system more intelligently
and further improve reliability, Olinger says. These types of enhancements and new products
would not be possible without the investments CenterPoint is making in smart grid
technologies.
Learn More
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided DOE with $4.5 billion to fund projects
that modernize the Nations electricity infrastructure. For more information visit [Link] or
[Link]. There are five recent reports available for download:

Smart Grid Investment Grant Progress Report, July 2012
Demand Reductions from the Application of Advanced Metering Infrastructure, Time-Based
Rates, and Customer Systems Initial Results, December 2012
Operations and Maintenance Savings from the Application of Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Initial Results, December 2012
Reliability Improvements from the Application of Distribution Automation Technologies and
Systems Initial Results, December 2012

Case Study--CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric

Application of Automated Controls for Voltage and Reactive Power Management Initial
Results, December 2012