CenterPoint Energy installs 'TripSavers' to re-energize power lines faster after outage
TOMBALL, Texas - CenterPoint crews are working across the Houston area installing 300 TripSavers devices that should make turning on the lights easier after a storm.
The company says the TripSavers will help not only energize power lines faster after an outage but prevent customers from having to wait for crews.
"So basically, this 27-pound device right here will replace a traditional line fuse," said Brad Tutunjian, Vice President of Regulatory Policy at CenterPoint Energy.
FOX 26’s Leslie DelasBour met with Tutunjian on-site to watch the installation of the trip and was able to ask questions regarding the new improvements.
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"When you say it will restore power a lot more quickly, how quickly are we talking? Because some people were without power for days, almost two weeks at a time," DelasBour asked.
"So it’ll check about three times to make sure that fault has been cleared and for example, a tree limb blows the wind into our lines when the gusts stop those customers will be re-energized and, from their perspective, what they will see is blinking lights versus would be a long term outage" Tutunjian replied.
FOX 26’s Leslie DelasBour then asked a follow-up question regarding why these improvements were not made before.
"You talk about satellite imagery and research that you all have looked at to put these things in place, but I think the question is why now? Why wasn't this done before Hurricane Beryl or any other storms it’s more reactive versus proactive," DelasBour said.
"The truth is we have actually been doing resiliency investments for quite a bit that go back to 2010 we are though, observing a lot more storms. We’re observing them more frequently and more severity," Tutunjian replied. "Even though we have been doing these types of things, we've had $1.5 billion of investments since 2019, and doing the things we are talking about we can do more."
CenterPoint did point out that if there is a major branch that completely knocks down a line a crew will have to come out and reinstall the TripSaver, but they will be able to determine the problem much quicker with this device.