Canada-based Resilient Structures builds plant in Humble, Texas, to make power poles capable of withstanding severe weather.
A Canada -based company that manufactures power poles, which it says are better able to withstand severe weather better than traditional wooden ones, has opened a 400,000-square-foot distribution and production facility in Texas.
Resilient Structures, also known as RS Technologies, makes poles from a proprietary resin formula and glass that “have never failed in a weather event,” CEO John Higgins said. Damaged power poles are a common cause of localized power outages, and in extreme circumstances, they can lead to wildfires, prompting utilities nationwide to seek stronger alternatives to wood as they evaluate aging infrastructure. A Texas Legislature committee determined that a decayed utility pole that broke, causing power wires to fall on dry grass in the Texas Panhandle, sparked the Smokehouse Creek wildfire — the state’s largest in history. Hundreds of thousands of Resilient Structures poles have been installed in 30 countries since the company deployed its first pole in 2003, Higgins said. Of Resilient Structures’ hundreds of utility customers, CenterPoint Energy is the largest, he said. The new factory in Humble — the company also has facilities in Utah and Ontario — was built in anticipation of greater demand for Resilient Structures’ product from utilities in the Gulf Coast region as climate change fuels increasingly frequent and severe weather, Higgins said. “We actually built this plant ahead of demand. … We’re that confident in the adoption of our poles going forward,” Higgins told local officials touring the factory recently, including representatives from CenterPoint and Entergy, another electric utility in Southeast Texas. ALSO READ: ERCOT admits Texas grid faces risk of ‘cascading outages’ in wait for new CPS transmission line The Humble facility will be a hub for delivering Resilient Structures poles manufactured at other sites, as company leaders said they are waiting for its other facilities to reach capacity before starting production here. At full capacity, the Texas plant could make 20,000 to 25,000 poles each year and employ up to 450 people, Higgins and Houston plant director Edgar Castro said. Transmission lines carry power over long distances, while distribution lines bring electricity closer to consumers. Resilient Structures poles most often support distribution lines, though its taller poles can be used for transmission, Higgins said. Resilient Structures poles cost about $5,000 per pole, compared to about $1,500 to $2,000 for a traditional wooden pole, said Vernon Broussard, senior territory manager for Oberlender Co., which coordinates sales between manufacturers and utilities. But a Resilient Structures pole has an 80-year life, compared to 30 years for a wooden pole, he said. “We’re building poles today that will outlive all of us,” said Ed Rushing, Resilient Structures chief operating officer. Resilient Structures poles in the region can be found along Texas 288 and in Freeport, Fulshear and Tomball, Broussard said. Its poles have been installed in Galveston to improve the area’s resiliency against hurricanes, said Jason Ryan, CenterPoint’s executive vice president of regulatory services and government affairs. Ryan said storms can have dramatically different impacts on infrastructure along the coast. “Storm comes through, all the transmission towers are still standing, but literally on the same road, all the distribution poles are on the ground. So one of the reasons behind using the RS poles is we just want the poles to still stay up. We know that poles can stay up because they’re up on one side of the road,” Ryan said. Some brown Resilient Structures poles installed outside the Humble facility are nearly indistinguishable from the adjacent wooden poles, though some characteristics can help in telling them apart. A CenterPoint employee noted that Resilient Structures poles are pointy at the top, while wooden poles are flat. And “when you’re driving at night,” Rushing said, “if you see a shiny pole, that’s us.”
Centerpoint Energy ERCOT Oberlender Co. RS Technologies Texas Legislature Entergy CPS Humble John Higgins Humble Ed Rushing Vernon Broussard Edgar Castro Jason Ryan Southeast Texas Gulf Coast Canada Texas Panhandle Smokehouse Creek Ontario Utah Houston Galveston Texas 288 Tomball Fulshear Freeport
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
North Texas Native Post Malone Announces Tour and Leaves Out TexasThe artist will not be playing Texas on this tour. We'll have to wait for Posty Fest.
Read more »
Schlossnagle apologizes to Texas A&M as he's introduced as the Longhorns' new baseball coachBreaking: Texas Baseball Hires Jim Schlossnagle, Took Texas A&M Aggies to College World Series Final
Read more »
Jim Schlossnagle Shares Thoughts on Future of Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M RivalryThe former Texas A&M head coach will have to face his new rival in Austin and College Station for the upcoming season, a reality he says he's preparing his team for.
Read more »
Cavaliers take Jaylon Tyson with 20th pick in NBA draftThe Plano native also spent time at Texas Tech and Texas before transferring to Cal.
Read more »
Bijan Robinson Takes Playful Jab at Texas A&M After Texas Hires Jim SchlossnagleThe Texas Longhorns made headlines in the college sports world Tuesday with the hiring of new head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle less than a day after he and
Read more »
Report lists top-performing Texas schools; Dallas Co. leads North Texas with 71The two people killed in the crash have yet to be identified.
Read more »