The City of Houston has created a collaborative framework – Resilient Now – with the aim of developing a regional master energy plan to enhance local power resilience. Resilient Now – which was launched in partnership with CenterPoint Energy – is a 10-year project with a number of goals, including: optimizing infrastructure investments and advancing new energy solutions to address the challenges of inclement weather; increasing electric transportation; and increasing the use of renewable energy sources.
“My administration set out to make resilience a foundational priority because, as the past six years have shown us, we continue to face increasingly challenging weather events of an unprecedented magnitude,” said Sylvester Turner, mayor of Houston. “We must all work together to address power vulnerability and insecurity across every community in our area. Resilient Now will include additional infrastructure investments to support our community in a manner that helps businesses grow, and even thrive, in our changing environment.”
Resilient Now centers on three core pillars critical to its success: infrastructure modernisation; outcome-based investments; and inclusive and continuous communication. This public-private collaboration – which also includes Houston’s Airport System, Public Works, the Office of Emergency Management, and Metro – plans to develop programs to advance residential weatherization and economic development in vulnerable communities. It will also provide the training needed to create a new sustainable energy workforce.
“As the fourth largest US city, Houston endeavors to be a global leader in innovation and establish a model of resilience for cities everywhere,” added Turner. “The City of Houston is committed to this higher purpose and believes making these improvements today will position us to continue our global leadership in energy, space exploration and healthcare innovation.”