For more information contact:
Media Pager (Minnesota)
(612) 538-1234 
Rolf Lund
(612) 321-4879          

Minneapolis – October 2, 2007 – With only one week until low temperatures in Minnesota  typically dip below freezing for the first time, nearly 153,000 CenterPoint Energy customers still have past-due natural gas bills – totaling $49 million.

Customers with past-due bills need to pay their bill in full or make a payment plan to avoid disconnection. If their service has already been disconnected, it will not be turned on until customers pay their bill in full or make a payment plan. Service restoration could take up to five days.

For customers who need help, contact CenterPoint Energy to learn about energy assistance programs, including federal funds that became available this month. Assistance is limited, so customers should call immediately.

To make a payment, call CenterPoint Energy at 612-321-4680 or 1-800-729-6164, or visit the company’s Web site at CenterPointEnergy.com.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Assets total over $17 billion. With about 8,600 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 130 years. In Minnesota, CenterPoint Energy is the state’s largest natural gas distribution utility, serving nearly 790,000 customers in 259 communities. The utility also operates a non-regulated business in Minnesota called Home Service Plus®. For more information, visit the Web site at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.