Awards and Recognition

Inaugural Corporate Philanthropy Award - Houston Business Journal, 2017

Top 20 Sponsor - Memorial Blood Centers, 2016

March of Dimes Legacy Award - Central Arkansas March of Dimes March for Babies, 2016

youthCARE Distinguished Volunteer Service Award - Bonnie Creason, 2016

UNCF Champion Award - Janette Hammond, 2016

Live United Award - United Way of Southeast Louisiana, 2016

Ally for Literacy - Houston Center for Literacy, 2016

Excellence in Employee Engagement - American Red Cross, Arkansas, 2016

Jack Yates Award - Antioch Baptist Church (Houston) for Agencies in Action, 2016

Houston's 50 Most Influential Women of 2015 - Houston Woman Magazine - Diane Englet, 2015

Eagle of the Year - Military Affairs Council at Barksdale Air Force Base (Shreveport, LA), 2015

BBB Awards for Excellence - Better Business Bureau of Minnesota Education Foundation, 2015

2015 University of Houston's Distinguished Service Award - Laurie Rutherford, 2015

Bronze Service Award - American Red Cross Greater Houston, 2015

Bronze Sponsor Award - March of Dimes, Little Rock, Ark., 2015

Community Partnership Award - Galveston Fire Department, 2015

Community Spirit Awards - Angela Cox and Dominic Robinson - Fort Bend Youth in Philanthropy, Texas, 2015

Corporate Partner of the Year - Habitat for Humanity, Texas, 2015

Corporate Partner Award - Crime Stoppers of Houston, 2015

R.I.S.E.S Award - Memorial Blood Centers, Minnesota, 2015

Winner of Distinction - Better Business Bureau Education Foundation Greater Houston and South Texas, 2015

The Civic 50, Points of Light Initiative - one of the country's top community-minded companies and the top utility, 2014

Community Outreach Recognition - Rebuilding Together-Houston, 2013

Champion of Diversity - Our Mississippi Magazine /MS Honors, 2019, 2020

America’s Top Corporation of the Year - WBENC (Summit & Salute), 2019, 2020

Best of the Decade - Minority Business News -Texas, 2020

Outstanding Commitment to Diversity in Business - Subcontracting USA /Texas Journal, 2018, 2019

Rigel Award - Houston MSDC, 2017, 2018, 2019

Middle Market Engagement - Houston MSDC, 2019

Corporate MBE Spend Award - Mid States MSDC, 2019

Outstanding Spend Award - WBEA Houston, 2019

Top Veteran-Friendly Company - Best of the Best U.S. Veterans Magazine, 2018

The Helping Hand Award (Jewel Smith) - Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, 2018

Accountability Champion Award - Houston Supplier Development Council, 2018

Corporation of the Year - Houston Women's Business Enterprise Alliance, 2017

Buyer of the Year (Alan Valicek) - Houston Women's Business Enterprise Alliance, 2017

Corporate Advocate of the Year (Jewel Smith) - Women's Business Enterprise Alliance, 2017

Exemplary Leadership in Minority Business Development - Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, 2017

Cutting Edge Award for Outstanding Utilization of WBEA WBEs - Women's Business Enterprise Alliance, 2017

Sponsor - Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum, Recognition Week, 2017

The Rigel Award MBE Procurement Award - Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, 2017

Accountability Champion Award - Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, 2017

2018 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award - U.S.Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy, 2018

2016 Newsweek Green Rankings (#345 out of 500 largest publicly traded companies) - Newsweek Green Rankings, 2016

Tree Line USA Award - Arbor Day Foundation, 2016

ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year - Environmental Protection Agency, 2016

Climate Leadership Award - Environmental Protection Agency, 2016

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification - 505 Nicollet Mall building, Minneapolis, 2016

Project of the Year Award for Energy Saving Trees program - Houston Area Urban Forestry Council, 2015

Gold Leaf Award, Arboricultural Project of the Year - Tree Planting Competition - International Society of Arboriculture, 2015

Mayor's Proud Partner Award - City of Houston, 2015

Utility Environmental Champion - Cogent Report™ study, 2015

Keep Texas Beautiful Award - "Ebby Halliday & Maurice Acers Business/Industry Award", 2014

Mayor's Proud Partner Award - "William Jackson 'Jack' Bowen Chairman's Award", 2014

Highest Rated in Overall Customer Satisfaction (Large South Segment) – J.D. Power Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, 2019

Highest Rated in Overall Customer Satisfaction (Large South Segment) – J.D. Power Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, 2018

Culture Transformation Award - Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), 2018

Customer Champion – South – Cogent Energy Reports/Marketing Strategies International Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement Study (Residential), 2018

Customer Champion – Midwest – Cogent Energy Reports/Marketing Strategies International Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement Study (Residential), 2018

Natural Gas Marketer Study Performance Benchmarking Award - Mastio & Company, Exceeded Industry Average in North America, 2017

Highest Rated in Overall Customer Satisfaction (Large South Segment) - J.D. Power Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, 2017

Customer Champion - South - Cogent Energy Reports/Marketing Strategies International Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement Study (Residential), 2017

Customer Champion - Midwest - Cogent Energy Reports/Marketing Strategies International Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement Study (Residential), 2017

Highest Ranked Overall Engaged Customer Relationship Index Score - Cogent Energy Reports/Marketing Strategies International Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement Study (TX TDSP), 2017

Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Resourcefulness Best Practice Award - for Smart Grid, 2016

National Association of Industrial and Office Properties’ Award of Excellence - Golden Valley Office Expansion, 2016

Houston Business Journal Best Corporate Counsel Award - Best General Counsel of a large legal department – Dana O’Brien, 2016

Site Selection Magazine Top Utility - for economic development, 2016

Texas TDSP Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement study - Cogent Energy Reports, #1 Texas electric transmission and distribution service provider, 2016

2016 Residential Customer Champion - Cogent Energy Reports™, 2016 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™ Residential study of U.S. natural gas utilities

International Smart Grid Action Network –Award of Excellence - for Grid Reliability, 2016

Global Smart Grid Federation –Smart Grid Project of the Year - 2016

Silver Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service - Natural Language IVR automated phone system, 2016

EPRI Power Delivery and Utilization Technology Transfer Award - Maria DeArizon, 2016

AESP Energy Awards - Pricing & Demand Response Award Residential Demand Response from CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, 2016

POWERGRID International – Project of the Year - for grid optimization, 2016

SEE Industry Excellence Award - Cable Life Extension Program, 2016

Minneapolis International Facility Management Association award - Adaptive Reuse of an Existing Building -- 505 Nicollet Mall building, 2015

Smart Energy IP –National Smart Grid Customer Education Award - 2015

Greentech Media –GridEdge 20 Award - honorable mention, 2015

J.D. Power 2015 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study - Customers ranked us fourth in the Midwest Region

J.D. Power 2015 Gas Utility residential Customer Satisfaction Study - Customers ranked us second in the South Region

2015 Customer Champion by Cogent Energy Reports - A survey of 52,000 residential ratepayers across the country awarded us the title

Utility of the Year Award - SAP, 2014

Top Innovation Award for Customer Engagement - SAP, 2014

HANA Innovation Award - SAP, 2014

National Smart Grid Customer Education Award - SAP, 2014

CLEAR Consumer Education Award - Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative, 2014

Torch Awards for Ethics - Better Business Bureau, 2014

Crystal Awards - Quantitative Research Project - Website B2B Most Improved, American Marketing Association, 2014

Marketing Excellence Award - Southern Gas Association, 2014

International Lineman’s Rodeo - 2016

o 3rd place – Journeyman Team, Investor Owned Utilities - Brandon Rustin, Patrick Huff, Clint King

o 3rd place – written exam, Shawn Wassgren

o 4th place - slack block eye splice competition, Shawn Wassgren

o 4th place - Transformer Change Out, Clint King, Patrick Huff, Brandon Rustin

o 5th place - Investor Owned Utilities, Shawn Wassgren

o 5th place - slack block eye splice competition, Justin Sommerfeld

Texas Lineman's Rodeo - 2016

o 1st place - Investor Owned Utilities, Patrick Huff, Brandon Rustin, Clint King

o 1st place - overall apprentice and apprentice written test, Shawn Wassgren

o 2nd place - Investor Owned Utilities, Mykel Sparacino, Chad Albert, Chris Sandoval

o 3rd place - Investor-Owned Utilities, Marcus Schexnayder, Matt Sanders, Brad Wagner

Meritorious Award - Rick Koite, Southern Gas Association, 2016

Leaders Make a Difference - Tal Centers, Southern Gas Association, 2016

City of Houston Proclamation - City of Houston, 2015

Safety Video Excellence Award - Southern Gas Association, 2015