When severe weather hits Southeast Texas, the impact goes far beyond downed lines and damaged equipment. Power outages interrupt daily routines, affect businesses and make it harder for families to feel safe and connected when they need it most.
That’s why Entergy Texas is committed to protecting our power grid from today’s extreme weather challenges and recovering faster when storms do cause damage. At the heart of that effort is the Texas Future Ready Resilience Plan, a strategy designed to strengthen our poles, wires and lines so customers experience fewer outages and quicker restoration following major weather events.
What resiliency really means
Put simply, resiliency is the ability to prepare for, adapt to and recover from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and winter storms.
Through Phase I of the Texas Future Ready Resilience Plan, we’re making targeted investments in a thoughtful way to balance affordability and modernize infrastructure. These investments are expected to reduce future storm restoration costs by approximately $68.5 million and cut outage duration by an estimated 1.02 billion minutes over the next 50 years.
To help keep these upgrades affordable, Entergy Texas regularly pursues federal and state funding to offset construction costs. The company was awarded $54 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to strengthen the grid in Port Arthur, with a portion supporting Phase I resiliency work. We also received an additional approx. $200 million from the non-ERCOT Texas Energy Fund, a state program that helps support grid-hardening projects across the Lone Star State.
“We’re focused on making the grid stronger before storms hit, and we’re doing it in a way that helps manage costs for our customers,” said Stuart Barrett, Entergy Texas Vice President of Customer Service. “By securing outside funding, we can make significant infrastructure improvements without putting the full cost on our customers. That means fewer outages, faster restoration times and a tougher power grid that our communities can count on.”
Resiliency upgrades near you
Strategic projects are underway across Southeast Texas, with approximately 800 poles already modified and replaced to stand up to the modern challenges posed by Mother Nature.
Rather than simply replacing aging equipment, upgrades to the system include stronger, more storm-resilient designs built to meet today’s standards. For example, in Dayton, crews replaced or modified 142 poles to withstand winds up to 100 MPH.
A key feature of the project was the use of vertical construction with standoff insulators, a design choice that offers greater resilience against vegetation-related damage and lower construction and maintenance costs. That means when a storm blows through your neighborhood, the poles and lines serving your home are better equipped to stay standing. Similar upgrades have already been made to nearly 800 poles in Cleveland, Conroe, Navasota and The Woodlands.
Pictured: Entergy Texas and United Utilities crews following the installation of modern, resilient utility poles in Dayton, Texas.
Looking ahead
As progress continues for Phase I of the Texas Future Ready Resilience Plan, communities in Conroe and Daisetta will benefit from nearly 400 pole upgrades in 2026. Additional work in New Caney and Orange will begin in 2027. Each project is targeted based on local conditions and risk, helping ensure investments deliver meaningful reliability benefits where they’re needed most.
Entergy Texas is taking steps today to help communities across Southeast Texas better withstand tomorrow’s storms, strengthening the grid to support customers when it matters most.
Learn more about Entergy Texas’ year-round storm readiness efforts and access our hurricane season checklist to stay prepared during hurricane season.
