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Alicia Dixon, 713.207.5885, pager 713.619.5143

CenterPoint Energy linemen improve way of life for Honduras orphans

Houston – Jan. 7, 2005 – A Honduras orphanage now has electricity and the opportunity to improve the life for many homeless children thanks to five CenterPoint Energy linemen.

John Qualls, John Rush and Buchshot Weid, linemen at CenterPoint Energy’s Cypress Service Center, Fred Deluna, a lineman at CenterPoint Energy’s Sugar Land Service Center, and Danny Martinez, a lineman at CenterPoint Energy’s Bellaire Service Center, all volunteered their time to spend five long days in Honduras building an electrical line to Destino del Reino, an orphanage with no electricity.

“We fix power lines everyday and it’s just another day at work,” said Danny Martinez. “But providing electricity to these children who have nothing and seeing how much it changed their lives really made a big impact on all of us.”

The linemen used oxen and their hands to set transformers and do other heavy work because very little of the area was accessible by truck.

CenterPoint Energy donated all the materials and tools, while IBEW 66 donated funds for five linemen to stay in Honduras for a week. Now that the orphanage has electricity, it can build a second house, making room for more children. In addition, the renovation may open the door in the near future for a school and a clinic.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and sales, interstate pipeline and gathering operations and an electric generation business that the company is under a contract to sell.  The company serves nearly five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Assets total about $17 billion after giving effect to the first step in the sale of Texas Genco Holdings, Inc. With more than 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 130 years.  For more information, visit the Web site at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.

IBEW 66 is the local chapter of The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). IBEW represents approximately 750,000 members who work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government. The IBEW has members in both the United States and Canada.

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