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CenterPoint Energy and Neara Announce Post-Hurricane Beryl Collaboration to Advance Electric Resiliency Across Greater Houston Region

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Mobilizing AI capabilities and digital modeling technologies will help optimize safety, reliability and resilience while reducing the impact on CenterPoint’s customers

HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As part of the company’s ambition to become the most resilient coastal electric grid in the country, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) today announced it has reached an agreement with Neara, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered infrastructure modeling platform for engineering-grade simulations and analytics, to deploy Neara’s AI capabilities across CenterPoint’s 5,000-square-mile Greater Houston service area.

CenterPoint will supplement its existing systems with Neara’s technology to focus its investments strategically and cost-effectively and to continue to advance safety, reliability and resilience for the benefit of its approximately 2.8 million customers. Neara’s AI-enabled simulation and analytics platform are expected to help CenterPoint reduce customer outages and accelerate restoration efforts across its system.

“Leveraging technology and AI to deliver better outcomes for our customers and communities is a significant part of the commitment we made after Hurricane Beryl,” said CenterPoint President and Chief Executive Officer Jason Wells. “By simulating the potential impact of severe weather events on our infrastructure and customers, Neara’s platform and tools will inform our plans and actions before, during and after major weather events to help reduce the impact and duration of power outages. Understanding how weather scenarios and their risks could affect our operations will position us to be several steps ahead on our preparedness and response.”

Robert Brook, Neara Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Americas, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with CenterPoint as they lead the charge in addressing today’s most existential energy challenges. Our 3D digital modeling technology will help CenterPoint proactively reduce customer outages by simulating severe weather events, such as hurricanes, tropical storms, heat waves and flash floods, and their potential impact on the utility’s infrastructure.”

Neara’s technology will also support CenterPoint’s ongoing efforts to address higher-risk vegetation along power lines, as well as identify critical equipment upgrades, including pole replacements or reinforcements, quickly and efficiently. Additionally, Neara’s predictive technology will help CenterPoint prioritize specific assets and locations where grid hardening improvements will help optimize system-wide benefit. As targeted system upgrades are completed, CenterPoint will be able to quantify performance increases at the individual asset level and forecast, deliver and measure resilience improvements.

In late August 2024, CenterPoint announced the completion, ahead of schedule, of core resiliency actions as part of the first phase of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), which included a series of targeted immediate actions to improve the resiliency of CenterPoint Houston Electric’s grid. The company also announced the boldest series of resiliency actions in its history, including a second phase of GHRI (currently underway from September 1, 2024June 1, 2025) which will include system hardening, strategic undergrounding, self-healing grid technology and further enhancements to the company’s outage tracker, as well as a longer-term resilience plan– which will be filed after discussions with stakeholders, elected officials, and customers – of approximately $5 billion in resiliency investment from 2026 to 2028, potentially doubling its prior planned investment.

Forward Looking Statement
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “projection,” “should,” “target,” “will” or other similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding our resiliency investments, timing, forgoing profits and related matters, are based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news release regarding future events that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news release speaks only as of the date of this release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the provided forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) the impact of pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and legislative decisions; and (5) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and CenterPoint’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About CenterPoint Energy
As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

About Neara
Neara’s AI-assisted predictive modeling software helps infrastructure owners drive critical proactive decisions by conducting precise analyses in hours and days that would otherwise take months or years in the field. Engineering-grade simulation analyses reveal how assets behave in real-world environments during any scenario — empowering better, faster, more cost-effective decisions. The model supports end-to-end network governance, from routine operational decisions to emergency scenarios and major grid-hardening investments — without verification from manual surveys. Neara’s technology has modeled >1.5 million square miles of global network territory featuring ~10 million assets, across four continents from California to Ireland and Australia. Neara’s utility customers identify outage risks 9x faster, restore power 3x faster, and save thousands of field visits per year. More information is available at www.neara.com.

Media Contacts
CenterPoint Energy
Media: media.relations@centerpointenergy.com
Investors: Jackie Richert/Ben Vallejo, 713.207.6500

Neara
Media: neara@haymaker.co

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

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CNN rings in 2025 from across the Asia Pacific, culminating with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen in New York

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HONG KONG, Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — CNN is gearing up for another unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration, leading its global audience into 2025 with music, laughter, and live coverage from around the world. At 7:00 AM ET, CNN kicks off its live reporting from various international cities as they ring in the new year in the Asia Pacific, with Kristie Lu Stout anchoring live from Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong starting at 9:00 AM ET/10:00 PM HKT to 12:00 PM ET/1:00 AM HKT. The festivities will culminate with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen from New York City’s Times Square for an eighth consecutive year.

CNN’s line-up of international correspondents will also make appearances during the broadcast, including Lynda Kinkade from Luna Park in Sydney, Hanako Montgomery in glittering Tokyo, Mike Valerio from the iconic Bosingak Belfry in the heart of Seoul and Will Ripley overlooking the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.

Joining our correspondents will be a star-studded line-up of guests from across the worlds of entertainment, fashion, arts and sports. Kristie Lu Stout has a full slate with Marie Kondo, Japanese “professional tidier”, organization expert and Konmari founder, Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, Chinese-American fashion designer Vivienne Tam, the Philippines’ double gold medalist, Carlos Yulo, viral Japanese dance troupe Avantgardey, Pakistani actor and filmmaker Usman Mukhtar, Indian-American comic Zarna Garg, and Panda keeper at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, Matt Leung.

In Australia, Lynda Kinkade chats with music legend Sting, Colin Hay from 80’s band Men at Work, fashion designer Rebecca Vallance, and actress and voice of Chilli from Bluey, Melanie Zanetti.

Thailand will provide the backdrop as Will Ripley talks to international rapper, singer, dancer and style icon, LISA, Chinese-American double gold medalist in freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu, Pakistani actress Hania Aamir and Taiwanese-American drag performer and winner of season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind.

From Japan, Hanako Montgomery speaks with K-pop superstar, TAEYANG, Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe and Japanese two-time Olympic gold medalist skateboarder, Yuto Horigome, while in Korea, Mike Valerio interviews Indonesian all-female rock trio, Voice of Baceport.

CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen begins at  8:00 PM ET, with music, comedy and some surprise guests, including Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, live from his residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Meghan Trainor, Shania Twain, Diplo, Lil Jon, Mickey Guyton who will perform “Imagine” live from Times Square, Patti LaBelle, and comedians Whitney Cummings, Amy Sedaris, Sasheer Zamata, Ziwe, Adam Devine, and more.  

CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage will stream live on Max for subscribers and on CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps for pay TV subscribers.

About CNN Worldwide

CNN Worldwide is the most honored brand in cable news, reaching more individuals through television, streaming and online than any other cable news organization in the United States. Globally, people across the world can watch CNN International, which is widely distributed in over 200 countries and territories. CNN Digital is the #1 online news destination, with more unique visitors than any other news source. Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform, features CNN Max, a 24/7 streaming news offering available to subscribers alongside expanded access to News content and CNN Originals. CNN’s award-winning portfolio includes non-scripted programming from CNN Original Series and CNN Films for broadcast, streaming and distribution across multiple platforms. CNN programming can be found on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español channels, via CNN Max and the CNN Originals hub on discovery+ and via pay TV subscription on CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with over 1,000 local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of branded content across television, film, streaming and gaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com

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SOURCE CNN International

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Incheon’s Bold Return to CES 2025: Pioneering Tomorrow’s Smart Cities

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SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) will make a strong comeback at CES 2025, which will be held from January 7 to 10 in Las Vegas. Under the theme “Urban Renaissance: Building Tomorrow’s Smart Cities Today,” IFEZ will showcase its smart city vision and highlight cutting-edge technologies from 41 innovative companies.

The Incheon-IFEZ pavilion in the AI Zone of the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center will spotlight ten leading Incheon-based startups specializing in AI, urban tech, and smart city solutions. Beyond the pavilion, ten companies will join the Eureka Park Korea Pavilion, six will exhibit at the Global Pavilion, and 15 more will participate as part of a broader delegation.

This extensive representation underscores Incheon’s emergence as a tech innovation hub, reflecting its global ambitions and technological prowess.

The Incheon-IFEZ pavilion promises to be more than just an exhibition space. It will transform into a dynamic networking hub where global business leaders, investors, and innovators can explore potential collaborations with Incheon-based companies.

The pavilion’s first major event, the Unveiled Incheon Media Stage, will introduce IFEZ’s forward-thinking smart city vision to international media outlets on January 7. All Connected Incheon Night will bring together global investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to foster meaningful partnerships that evening.

The momentum continues on January 8 with the IFEZ Tech Talk, featuring industry giants like LG Electronics, Lotte Innovate, and the Stanford Center at Incheon Global Campus. They will present insights into IFEZ’s smart city projects and innovation initiatives.

On January 9, the spotlight will shift to the IFEZ Showcase, a pitching competition where Incheon’s top startups will present their groundbreaking technologies to over 30 global venture capital investors. This event aims to secure international partnerships and expand market reach.

IFEZ’s continued participation at CES reflects its commitment to driving global innovation. Established in 2003 as South Korea’s first free economic zone, IFEZ encompasses Songdo, Yeongjong, and Cheongna. Designed to stimulate economic growth, its advanced infrastructure and prime location have made it a thriving business hub over the past two decades.

By participating in CES 2025, IFEZ reaffirms its dedication to fostering innovation and connecting visionary startups with the global market. The official CES 2025 Incheon-IFEZ website, www.ces2025-ifez.com, provides more details.

Media and Interview Contact

Don Southerton, CES 2025 Incheon-IFEZ
Dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
+1 310-866-3777

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SOURCE The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority

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ANTA Unveils ANTAZERO UPCYCLE Collection

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Shanghai’s Iconic Wukang Road Hosts the Industry’s First Sustainable Sports Fashion Extravaganza

SHANGHAI, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ —  ANTA captivated audiences with a groundbreaking sustainable sports showcase on Shanghai’s iconic Wukang Road, debuting the ANTAZERO UPCYCLE collection. Co-conceived with the sustainability platform canU and renowned Chinese creative visionaries, the collection reimagines ANTA’s surplus inventory into elevated, eco-forward designs. Melding artistry with environmental responsibility, the event underscores ANTA’s trailblazing commitment to sustainable innovation.

Set against the backdrop of ANTA’s Zero-Carbon Mission Store at 98 Wukang Road, the unconventional runway blurred boundaries between fashion, sports, and daily life. Models and influencers brought the upcycled collection to life, embodying dynamic looks for diverse scenarios—from skiing and cycling to city walk, ageless style, and pet-friendly ensembles. The spirited procession spilled into the streets, inviting onlookers to witness the harmonious fusion of sustainability, inclusivity, and sports-inspired aesthetics.

The ANTAZERO UPCYCLE collection represents a pioneering collaboration with canU and four Chinese design luminaries, each infusing their unique vision into ANTA’s inventory. The canU platform’s ethos of weaving sports into everyday life is reflected throughout the collection; CHENPENG crafts bold expressions of environmental themes using surplus down materials; SANKUANZ revitalizes inventory pieces with experimental spray-painting, breathing new emotion into existing fabrics; MEGARMENTS celebrates ANTA’s basketball heritage with intricate upcycled craftsmanship; and KAIKAI explores the aspirational ideal of 100% recycled design, pushing the boundaries of sustainability. Through their innovation, dormant inventory was transformed into wearable art, embodying a circular tenor of creativity and resourcefulness.

ANTA CEO Xu Yang has articulated a clear vision: green principles must evolve into green growth engines to achieve lasting commercial sustainability. The newly unveiled ANTAZERO UPCYCLE collection exemplifies this philosophy, repurposing surplus garments and fabrics into mass-producible, market-ready designs. By minimizing energy-intensive processes such as weaving and dyeing, the collection marries environmental responsibility with fresh, contemporary aesthetics. Offering consumers innovative, eco-conscious lifestyle choices, it underscores the seamless integration of sustainability into business strategy. As Cui Dan, ANTA’s sustainability advisor and founder of the canU sustainable platform, aptly noted, “Only when brands and industries translate sustainability into tangible products can consumers truly recognize its value.”

The ANTAZERO UPCYCLE collection is now available at ANTA’s Zero-Carbon Mission Store and via the ANTA WeChat Mini Program, providing consumers with access to a new era of sustainable fashion.

Since inaugurating its Zero-Carbon Mission Store on Earth Day, April 22, ANTA has actively celebrated global sustainability milestones, including World Oceans Day and International Panda Day. Through immersive art installations, curated exhibitions, and interactive events, ANTA has collaborated with media outlets, industry partners, and its consumer base to champion eco-consciousness. The launch of the ANTAZERO UPCYCLE collection and the resounding success of the sustainable sports fashion show serve as a crowning achievement in ANTA’s year-long sustainability efforts, addressing global environmental challenges while spotlighting the ingenuity and responsibility of Chinese sports brands.

As part of its ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, ANTA continues to pioneer sustainable solutions across product development and retail operations. According to its 2023 ESG report, nearly 20% of ANTA Group’s products are now sustainable, driven by continuous advancements in eco-friendly materials and innovative design. The brand remains dedicated to mainstreaming sustainable consumption, delivering products that seamlessly blend style, functionality, and environmental stewardship.

In 2024, ANTA Group retained its top position in China’s sports industry on the “Green Supply Chain CITI Index”, published by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), for the second consecutive year. Looking ahead, ANTA reaffirms its commitment to sustainability, leveraging innovation to fuel green growth. By offering sustainable products and services to a global audience and spearheading the eco-transformation of its supply chain, ANTA is forging a path toward a low-carbon future in collaboration with consumers and partners alike.

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SOURCE ANTA Group

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