Texas-based utility provider CenterPoint Energy has said it will have nearly 3,500 distribution line workers on standby around Houston to deal with any power outages caused by Tropical Storm Francine which is due to lash southeastern parts of the state from Tuesday evening.

Though Tropical Storm Francine's projected path shows it will likely miss Houston, local agencies are still preparing for the potential arrival of severe weather. As of Tuesday morning, the storm was still gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico as it headed toward the coast of Louisiana,

When word broke over the weekend that Tropical Storm Francine was developing and might make landfall in Texas this week, CenterPoint Energy reassured its clients that it was ready to act. However, Houstonians couldn't help but be a bit apprehensive about the claim,

Alyssia Oshodi, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Outreach & Engagement for CenterPoint Energy, talks with CW39's Sharron Melton about the company's storm preparation efforts, Power Alert Service and new and improved Outage Tracker as Tropical Storm Francine lurks in the Gulf.

Though Francine is not expected to directly impact Houston, the storm will put to test CenterPoint's improvements in communications and infrastructure, including its new Outage Tracker.

The old power outage map went offline in the wake of Hurricane Beryl as millions of Houstonians were left with no power and little to no information from CenterPoint about when it would be restored.