{"id":341164,"date":"2026-06-18T10:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/341164\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T10:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:34:16","slug":"need-a-break-from-the-texas-heat-reliant-offering-free-cooling-centers-and-assistance-across-houston-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/341164\/","title":{"rendered":"Need a break from the Texas heat? Reliant offering free cooling centers and assistance across Houston area"},"content":{"rendered":"

As temperatures climb across Southeast Texas, Reliant is once again helping residents beat the heat by providing access to cooling centers and other resources throughout the Houston area.<\/p>\n

The energy company\u2019s annual Beat the Heat program offers relief for seniors, people with disabilities, and families who may not have adequate cooling at home. The initiative includes cooling centers, portable air conditioner assistance programs, and financial support for eligible customers struggling to pay electricity bills.<\/p>\n

In Houston, residents can find cooling centers through partnerships with the Houston Health Department, Harris County Precinct 2, Community Family Centers and Tejano Center. The locations provide air-conditioned spaces where people can cool off during periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n

According to Reliant, its portable air conditioner program helps eligible seniors, individuals with disabilities and families who do not have the means to cool their homes. Houston residents can also sign up for AlertHouston notifications to receive updates when emergency cooling centers open.<\/p>\n

Some Houston-area cooling center locations<\/a> include:<\/p>\n

Additional cooling locations are available through Harris County Precinct 2 community centers<\/a> in Houston, Pasadena, Baytown, Channelview and Seabrook.<\/p>\n

Residents in need of an air conditioning unit may also qualify for assistance through Harris County Precinct 2\u2019s air conditioner program. Information is available by calling 713-274-2222.<\/p>\n

Reliant also offers financial assistance through its CARE program, which helps qualifying customers facing hardship pay their electricity bills. Since 2002, the company says it has provided more than $18 million in statewide assistance through agency partners.<\/p>\n

Heat safety tips<\/p>\n

Officials recommend taking precautions during periods of extreme heat, including:<\/p>\n

Drinking plenty of water<\/p>\n

Limiting outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day<\/p>\n

Wearing lightweight, light-colored clothing<\/p>\n

Taking cool showers or baths<\/p>\n

Checking on elderly relatives, neighbors and friends<\/p>\n

Monitoring how medications may be affected by heat exposure<\/p>\n

Residents can find a complete list of cooling center locations and eligibility information through Reliant\u2019s Beat the Heat program.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As temperatures climb across Southeast Texas, Reliant is once again helping residents beat the heat by providing access…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[114179,3205,27,29,28,172],"class_list":["post-341164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-cooling-centers","tag-heat","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}