HOUSTON, Feb. 28, 2019 - CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) today reported full-year income available to common shareholders of $333 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared with $1,792 million, or $4.13 per diluted share in 2017.
On a guidance basis, full-year 2018 earnings were $1.60 per diluted share, excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger (the merger). Full-year 2017 earnings, on a guidance basis, were $1.37 per diluted share, excluding a one-time tax benefit of $1,113 million related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) federal income tax rate reduction.
Fourth quarter 2018 earnings were $0.18 per diluted share, compared to $2.99 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2017. On a guidance basis, fourth quarter 2018 earnings were $0.36 per diluted share, excluding impacts associated with the merger. Excluding the TCJA tax benefit, on a guidance basis, fourth quarter 2017 earnings were $0.33 per diluted share.
"I am very pleased with our 2018 results as they represent another solid year of meeting the financial goals we set," said Scott M. Prochazka, president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy. "Our recently completed merger expands our utility businesses to eight states, provides opportunities to leverage and expand our competitive energy businesses across a larger U.S. footprint, and gives us greater confidence in putting forward long-term financial targets."
Business Segments
Electric Transmission & Distribution
The electric transmission & distribution segment reported full-year 2018 operating income of $623 million, consisting of $568 million from the regulated electric transmission and distribution utility operations (TDU) and $55 million related to securitization bonds. Operating income for 2017 was $636 million, consisting of $561 million from the TDU and $75 million related to securitization bonds.
Operating income for the TDU benefited primarily from rate relief, customer growth and higher equity return related to the annual true-up of transition charges. These benefits were partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expenses, lower revenues reflecting the lower federal corporate income tax rate due to the TCJA, and higher depreciation and amortization expense.
The retrospective adoption of the accounting standard for compensation-retirement benefits (ASU 2017-07) resulted in an increase to TDU operating income and a corresponding decrease to other income of $26 million for 2017.
Natural Gas Distribution
The natural gas distribution segment reported full-year 2018 operating income of $266 million, compared with $348 million in 2017.
Full-year 2018 operating income for natural gas distribution improved primarily as a result of rate relief and customer growth. These increases were more than offset by lower revenues reflecting the lower federal corporate income tax rate due to the TCJA, higher operation and maintenance expenses and higher depreciation and amortization expense.
The retrospective adoption of ASU 2017-07 resulted in an increase to natural gas distribution operating income and a corresponding decrease to other income of $20 million for 2017.
Energy Services
The energy services segment reported a full-year operating loss of $47 million, which included a mark-to-market loss of $110 million, compared with operating income of $126 million for 2017, which included a mark-to-market gain of $79 million. Excluding mark-to-market adjustments, operating income was $63 million in 2018 compared to $47 million in 2017. Operating income increased primarily due to improved margin and volumes. This increase was partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expenses primarily associated with growth.
Midstream Investments
The midstream investments segment reported full-year 2018 equity income of $307 million, compared with $265 million in 2017.
Other Operations
The other operations segment reported an operating loss of $11 million for full-year 2018, compared with operating income of $26 million in 2017. This decrease is primarily due to merger-related costs.
Earnings Outlook
- 2018 - 2023 target of 5 - 7% compound annual guidance basis EPS growth, using $1.60 as the starting EPS
- 2019 guidance basis EPS range of $1.60 - $1.70, excluding certain impacts associated with the merger:
- Integration and transaction-related fees and expenses, including severance and other costs to achieve anticipated cost savings as a result of the merger
- Merger financing impacts in January, prior to the completion of the merger, due to the issuance of debt and equity securities to fund the merger that resulted in higher net interest expense and higher common stock share count
- 2020 guidance basis EPS range of $1.75 - $1.90
Both the 2019 and 2020 guidance ranges consider operations performance to date and assumptions for certain significant variables that may impact earnings, such as customer growth (approximately 2% for electric operations and 1% for natural gas distribution) and usage including normal weather, throughput, commodity prices, recovery of capital invested through rate cases and other rate filings, effective tax rates, financing activities and related interest rates, and regulatory and judicial proceedings as well as the volume of work contracted in our infrastructure services business. The ranges also consider anticipated cost savings as a result of the merger and the estimated cost and timing of technology integration projects. The 2019 guidance range assumes Enable Midstream Partners, LP's (Enable) 2019 guidance range for net income attributable to common units of $435 - $505 million, provided on Enable's 4th quarter earnings call on February 19, 2019. The 2020 guidance range utilizes a range of CenterPoint Energy scenarios for Enable's 2020 net income attributable to common units.
In providing this guidance, CenterPoint Energy uses a non-GAAP measure of adjusted diluted earnings per share that does not consider other potential impacts, such as changes in accounting standards or unusual items, including those from Enable, earnings or losses from the change in the value of the ZENS securities and the related stocks, or the timing effects of mark-to-market accounting in the company's Energy Services business, which, along with the certain excluded impacts associated with the merger, could have a material impact on GAAP reported results for the applicable guidance period. CenterPoint Energy is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of forward looking adjusted diluted earnings per share because changes in the value of ZENS and related securities and mark-to-market gains or losses resulting from the company's Energy Services business are not estimable as they are highly variable and difficult to predict due to various factors outside of management's control.
| Quarter Ended
|
|
| December 31, 2018
|
| December 31, 2017
|
|
| Dollars
in millions
|
| Diluted EPS
|
| Dollars
in millions
|
| Diluted EPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated income available to common shareholders and diluted EPS
| $ 90
|
| $ 0.18
|
| $ 1,296
|
| $ 2.99
|
|
Midstream Investments
| (67)
|
| (0.13)
|
| (551)
|
| (1.27)
|
|
Utility Operations (1)
| 23
|
| 0.05
|
| 745
|
| 1.72
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timing effects impacting CES(2):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mark-to-market (gains) losses (net of taxes of $9 and $20)(3)
| 30
|
| 0.06
|
| (36)
|
| (0.09)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ZENS-related mark-to-market (gains) losses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marketable securities (net of taxes of $19 and $33) (3)(4)
| 69
|
| 0.13
|
| 64
|
| 0.15
|
|
Indexed debt securities (net of taxes of $18 and $38) (3)
| (66)
|
| (0.13)
|
| (70)
|
| (0.16)
|
|
Utility operations earnings on an adjusted guidance basis
| $ 56
|
| $ 0.11
|
| $ 703
|
| $ 1.62
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjusted income and adjusted diluted EPS used in providing earnings guidance:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility Operations on a guidance basis
| $ 56
|
| $ 0.11
|
| $ 703
|
| $ 1.62
|
|
Midstream Investments
| 67
|
| 0.13
|
| 551
|
| 1.27
|
|
Consolidated on a guidance basis
| $ 123
|
| $ 0.24
|
| $ 1,254
|
| $ 2.89
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impacts associated with the Vectren merger:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Merger impacts other than the increase in share count (net of taxes of $2) (3)
| 37
|
| 0.07
|
| -
|
| -
|
|
Impact of increased share count on Utility EPS
| -
|
| 0.03
|
| -
|
| -
|
|
Impact of increased share count on Midstream EPS
| -
|
| 0.02
|
| -
|
| -
|
|
Total merger impacts
| 37
|
| 0.12
|
| -
|
| -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain from tax reform(5)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility
| -
|
| -
|
| (599)
|
| (1.38)
|
|
Midstream
| -
|
| -
|
| (514)
|
| (1.18)
|
|
Total gain from tax reform
| -
|
| -
|
| (1,113)
|
| (2.56)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility Operations on a guidance basis, excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| $ 93
|
| $ 0.21
|
| $ 104
|
| $ 0.24
|
|
Midstream Investments excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| 67
|
| 0.15
|
| 37
|
| 0.09
|
|
Consolidated on a guidance basis, excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| $ 160
|
| $ 0.36
|
| $ 141
|
| $ 0.33
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) CenterPoint earnings excluding Midstream Investments
|
(2) Energy Services segment
|
(3) Taxes are computed based on the impact removing such item would have on tax expense
|
(4) As of June 14, 2018, comprised of AT&T Inc. and Charter Communications, Inc. Prior to June 14, 2018, comprised of Time Warner Inc. and Charter Communications, Inc.
|
Results prior to January 31, 2018 also included Time Inc.
|
(5) Tax reform legislation informally called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Twelve Months Ended
|
| December 31, 2018
|
| December 31, 2017
|
| Dollars
in millions
|
| Diluted EPS
|
| Dollars
in millions
|
| Diluted EPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated income available to common shareholders and diluted EPS
| $ 333
|
| $ 0.74
|
| $ 1,792
|
| $ 4.13
|
Midstream Investments
| (223)
|
| (0.49)
|
| (675)
|
| (1.56)
|
Utility Operations (1)
| 110
|
| 0.25
|
| 1,117
|
| 2.57
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timing effects impacting CES(2):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mark-to-market (gains) losses (net of taxes of $26 and $29)(3)
| 84
|
| 0.18
|
| (50)
|
| (0.12)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ZENS-related mark-to-market (gains) losses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marketable securities (net of taxes of $5 and $3) (3)(4)
| 17
|
| 0.04
|
| (4)
|
| (0.01)
|
Indexed debt securities (net of taxes of $49 and $17) (3)(5)
| 183
|
| 0.40
|
| (32)
|
| (0.07)
|
Utility operations earnings on an adjusted guidance basis
| $ 394
|
| $ 0.87
|
| $ 1,031
|
| $ 2.37
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjusted income and adjusted diluted EPS used in providing earnings guidance:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility Operations on a guidance basis
| $ 394
|
| $ 0.87
|
| $ 1,031
|
| $ 2.37
|
Midstream Investments
| 223
|
| 0.49
|
| 675
|
| 1.56
|
Consolidated on a guidance basis
| $ 617
|
| $ 1.36
|
| $ 1,706
|
| $ 3.93
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impacts associated with the Vectren merger:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Merger impacts other than the increase in share count (net of taxes of $12) (3)
| 81
|
| 0.18
|
| -
|
| -
|
Impact of increased share count on Utility EPS
| -
|
| 0.04
|
| -
|
| -
|
Impact of increased share count on Midstream EPS
| -
|
| 0.02
|
| -
|
| -
|
Total merger impacts
| 81
|
| 0.24
|
| -
|
| -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain from tax reform(6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility
| -
|
| -
|
| (599)
|
| (1.38)
|
Midstream
| -
|
| -
|
| (514)
|
| (1.18)
|
Total gain from tax reform
| -
|
| -
|
| (1,113)
|
| (2.56)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utility Operations on a guidance basis, excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| $ 475
|
| $ 1.09
|
| $ 432
|
| $ 0.99
|
Midstream Investments excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| 223
|
| 0.51
|
| 161
|
| 0.38
|
Consolidated on a guidance basis, excluding impacts associated with the Vectren merger and gain from tax reform
| $ 698
|
| $ 1.60
|
| $ 593
|
| $ 1.37
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) CenterPoint earnings excluding Midstream Investments
|
(2) Energy Services segment
|
(3) Taxes are computed based on the impact removing such item would have on tax expense
|
(4) As of June 14, 2018, comprised of AT&T Inc. and Charter Communications, Inc. Prior to June 14, 2018, comprised of Time Warner Inc. and Charter Communications, Inc.
|
Results prior to January 31, 2018 also included Time Inc.
|
(5) 2018 includes amounts associated with the acquisition of Time Warner Inc. by AT&T Inc. as well as the Meredith tender offer for Time Inc. common stock
|
(6) Tax reform legislation informally called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
|
Filing of Form 10-K for CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
Today, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. A copy of that report is available on the company's website, under the Investors section. Other filings the company makes with the SEC and certain documents relating to its corporate governance can also be found under the Investors section.
Webcast of Earnings Conference Call
CenterPoint Energy's management will host an earnings conference call on Thursday, February 28, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. Central time/10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Interested parties may listen to a live audio broadcast of the conference call on the company's website under the Investors section. A replay of the call can be accessed approximately two hours after the completion of the call and will be archived on the website for at least one year.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. is an energy delivery company with regulated utility businesses in eight states and a competitive energy businesses footprint in nearly 40 states. Through its electric transmission & distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution businesses, the company serves more than 7 million metered customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. CenterPoint Energy's competitive energy businesses include natural gas marketing and energy-related services; energy efficiency, sustainability and infrastructure modernization solutions; and construction and repair services for pipeline systems, primarily natural gas. The company also owns 54.0 percent of the common units representing limited partner interests in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops strategically located natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With approximately 14,000 employees and nearly $30 billion in assets, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements 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 earnings, and future financial performance and results of operations, including, but not limited to earnings guidance, targeted dividend growth rate and any other statements 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.
Risks Related to CenterPoint Energy
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 performance of Enable Midstream Partners, LP (Enable), the amount of cash distributions CenterPoint Energy receives from Enable, Enable's ability to redeem the Enable Series A Preferred Units in certain circumstances and the value of CenterPoint Energy's interest in Enable, and factors that may have a material impact on such performance, cash distributions and value, including factors such as: (A) competitive conditions in the midstream industry, and actions taken by Enable's customers and competitors, including the extent and timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets served by Enable; (B) the timing and extent of changes in the supply of natural gas and associated commodity prices, particularly prices of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), the competitive effects of the available pipeline capacity in the regions served by Enable, and the effects of geographic and seasonal commodity price differentials, including the effects of these circumstances on re-contracting available capacity on Enable's interstate pipelines; (C) the demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGLs and transportation and storage services; (D) environmental and other governmental regulations, including the availability of drilling permits and the regulation of hydraulic fracturing; (E) recording of goodwill, long-lived asset or other than temporary impairment charges by or related to Enable; (F) changes in tax status; and (G) access to debt and equity capital; (2) CenterPoint Energy's expected benefits of the merger with Vectren Corporation (Vectren) and integration, including the outcome of shareholder litigation filed against Vectren that could reduce anticipated benefits of the merger, as well as the ability to successfully integrate the Vectren businesses and realize anticipated benefits and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what CenterPoint Energy expects; (3) industrial, commercial and residential growth in CenterPoint Energy's service territories and changes in market demand, including the demand for CenterPoint Energy's non-utility products and services and effects of energy efficiency measures and demographic patterns; (4) timely and appropriate rate actions that allow recovery of costs and a reasonable return on investment, including Houston Electric's anticipated rate case in 2019, the outcome of which may not result in expected rates or recovery of costs; (5) future economic conditions in regional and national markets and their effect on sales, prices and costs; (6) weather variations and other natural phenomena, including the impact of severe weather events on operations and capital; (7) state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments affecting various aspects of CenterPoint Energy's and Enable's businesses, including, among others, energy deregulation or re-regulation, pipeline integrity and safety and changes in regulation and legislation pertaining to trade, health care, finance and actions regarding the rates charged by our regulated businesses; (8) tax legislation, including the effects of the comprehensive tax reform legislation informally referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (which includes any potential changes to interest deductibility) and uncertainties involving state commissions' and local municipalities' regulatory requirements and determinations regarding the treatment of excess deferred income taxes and CenterPoint Energy's rates; (9) CenterPoint Energy's ability to mitigate weather impacts through normalization or rate mechanisms, and the effectiveness of such mechanisms; (10) the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, particularly natural gas, and the effects of geographic and seasonal commodity price differentials; (11) actions by credit rating agencies, including any potential downgrades to credit ratings; (12) changes in interest rates and their impact on CenterPoint Energy's costs of borrowing and the valuation of its pension benefit obligation; (13) problems with regulatory approval, construction, implementation of necessary technology or other issues with respect to major capital projects that result in delays or in cost overruns that cannot be recouped in rates; (14) the availability and prices of raw materials and services and changes in labor for current and future construction projects; (15) local, state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments relating to the environment, including those related to global climate change; (16) the impact of unplanned facility outages; (17) any direct or indirect effects on CenterPoint Energy's or Enable's facilities, operations and financial condition resulting from terrorism, cyber-attacks, data security breaches or other attempts to disrupt CenterPoint Energy's businesses or the businesses of third parties, or other catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, leaks, floods, droughts, hurricanes, pandemic health events or other occurrences; (18) CenterPoint Energy's ability to invest planned capital and the timely recovery of CenterPoint Energy's investments; (19) CenterPoint Energy's ability to control operation and maintenance costs; (20) the sufficiency of CenterPoint Energy's insurance coverage, including availability, cost, coverage and terms and ability to recover claims; (21) the investment performance of CenterPoint Energy's pension and postretirement benefit plans; (22) commercial bank and financial market conditions, CenterPoint Energy's access to capital, the cost of such capital, and the results of CenterPoint Energy's financing and refinancing efforts, including availability of funds in the debt capital markets; (23) changes in rates of inflation; (24) inability of various counterparties to meet their obligations to CenterPoint Energy; (25) non-payment for CenterPoint Energy's services due to financial distress of its customers; (26) the extent and effectiveness of CenterPoint Energy's and Enable's risk management and hedging activities, including but not limited to, financial and weather hedges and commodity risk management activities; (27) timely and appropriate regulatory actions, which include actions allowing securitization, for any future hurricanes or natural disasters or other recovery of costs, including costs associated with Hurricane Harvey; (28) CenterPoint Energy's or Enable's potential business strategies and strategic initiatives, including restructurings, joint ventures and acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses (including a reduction of CenterPoint Energy's interests in Enable, if any, whether through CenterPoint Energy's decision to sell a portion of the Enable common units it owns in the public equity markets or otherwise, subject to certain limitations), which CenterPoint Energy and Enable cannot assure will be completed or will have the anticipated benefits to CenterPoint Energy or Enable; (29) acquisition and merger activities involving CenterPoint Energy or its competitors, including the ability to successfully complete merger, acquisition and divestiture plans; (30) CenterPoint Energy's or Enable's ability to recruit, effectively transition and retain management and key employees and maintain good labor relations; (31) the outcome of litigation; (32) the ability of retail electric providers (REPs), including REP affiliates of NRG Energy, Inc. and Vistra Energy Corp., formerly known as TCEH Corp., to satisfy their obligations to CenterPoint Energy and its subsidiaries; (33) changes in technology, particularly with respect to efficient battery storage or the emergence or growth of new, developing or alternative sources of generation; (34) the timing and outcome of any audits, disputes and other proceedings related to taxes; (35) the effective tax rates; (36) the effect of changes in and application of accounting standards and pronouncements; and (37) other factors discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures by CenterPoint Energy in Providing Guidance
In addition to presenting its financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), including presentation of income available to common shareholders and diluted earnings per share, CenterPoint Energy also provides guidance based on adjusted income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, which are non-GAAP financial measures. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's historical or future financial performance that excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. CenterPoint Energy's adjusted income and adjusted diluted earnings per share calculation excludes from income available to common shareholders and diluted earnings per share, respectively, the impact of ZENS and related securities and mark-to-market gains or losses resulting from the company's Energy Services business. CenterPoint Energy's guidance for 2019 also does not reflect certain impacts associated with the Vectren merger, which are integration and transaction-related fees and expenses, including severance and other costs to achieve anticipated cost savings as a result of the merger and merger financing impacts in January, prior to the completion of the merger due to the issuance of debt and equity securities to fund the merger that resulted in higher net interest expense and higher common stock share count. CenterPoint Energy is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of forward looking adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share because changes in the value of ZENS and related securities and mark-to-market gains or losses resulting from the company's Energy Services business are not estimable as they are highly variable and difficult to predict due to various factors outside of management's control. These excluded items, along with the excluded impacts associated with the merger, could have a material impact on GAAP reported results for the applicable guidance period.
Management evaluates the company's financial performance in part based on adjusted income and adjusted diluted earnings per share. Management believes that presenting these non-GAAP financial measures enhances an investor's understanding of CenterPoint Energy's overall financial performance by providing them with an additional meaningful and relevant comparison of current and anticipated future results across periods. The adjustments made in these non-GAAP financial measures exclude items that Management believes does not most accurately reflect the company's fundamental business performance. These excluded items are reflected in the reconciliation tables of this news release, where applicable. CenterPoint Energy's adjusted income and adjusted diluted earnings per share non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, income available to common shareholders and diluted earnings per share, which respectively are the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures also may be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. and Subsidiaries
|
|
Statements of Consolidated Income
|
|
(Millions of Dollars)
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
Recent News
CenterPoint Energy Readies Electric and Gas Systems for FIFA World Cup Nearly 700 electric projects completed and nearly 250 miles of natural gas pipeline inspected around critical event venues ahead of seven World Cup matches in Houston Heightened readiness and close coordination efforts with City of Houston, FIFA Host Committee, and emergency management agencies to continue from June 11 through July 4 HOUSTON – June 9, 2026 – As the city of Houston prepares to welcome fans from around the world for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, CenterPoint Energy has spent the past year executing a series of targeted actions to strengthen its overall preparedness and readiness efforts for this historic global sporting event. To date, CenterPoint has completed nearly 700 electric resiliency projects spanning over 100 miles of electric lines, which included repairing or replacing equipment on all circuits providing power to World Cup priority locations like key venues, transit corridors, hotels, airports and others across Greater Houston. In addition, CenterPoint has completed inspections on nearly 250 miles of natural gas pipeline surrounding key venues.
With seven World Cup matches scheduled in Houston between June 14 and July 4, CenterPoint will operate at a heightened readiness posture, which includes the activation of its Emergency Operations Center before, during and after each match. CenterPoint will continue to work closely with City of Houston officials and other local, state and federal agencies as part of a combined response effort.
“Preparing for seven World Cup matches is like preparing for seven Super bowls. For over a year, our teams have worked to strengthen the electric and gas systems around all critical venues and to closely coordinate with all our emergency management partners to help prepare our great city. All of us at CenterPoint are proud to do our part to support this global event, and we are excited for our city and the world to enjoy this historic sporting event," said Jesus Soto, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, CenterPoint Energy.
World Cup Preparedness & Readiness Efforts: Key Actions As part of its overall preparedness and readiness efforts for the nearly month-long World Cup schedule, in October 2025, CenterPoint began undertaking a series of actions to prepare the electric and natural gas systems to support the City of Houston and all critical event locations. Among the critical actions taken include:
- Completing Nearly 700 Reliability Projects: Completing nearly 700 electric system projects around critical event venues and other priority locations to help strengthen reliability.
- Conducting Critical Grid Inspections: Inspecting primary and alternate circuits serving World Cup priority locations, with initial inspections beginning in July 2025 and follow-up inspections identifying issues for repair ahead of the event.
- Completing Targeted Work at Key Locations: Focusing critical preparedness work around key World Cup-related locations, including NRG Park, Shell Energy Stadium, the EaDo Fan Festival area, airports, transit routes, hotels and training-related sites.
- Inspecting Nearly 250 Miles of Natural Gas Pipeline: completed additional gas facilities surveys across 140 miles of gas main lines and more than 100 miles of service lines around key event venues.
- Developing an Action Plan: Building an event-specific action plan to define staffing, response objectives, escalation criteria and resource coordination during the World Cup matches.
- Coordinating with Local Emergency Partners: Coordinating with the City of Houston, emergency managers and external partners on planning, emergency response and operational readiness.
- Participating in a Local Emergency Exercise: Participating in a World Cup tabletop exercise facilitated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and hosted by the City of Houston to test coordination and response capabilities.
- Pre-Staging Resources: Preparing additional operational support and response resources to be staged near priority areas to support faster restoration if issues occur.
- Activating our Emergency Operations Center: CenterPoint will be activating its new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center in advance of and during each match to help prepare for and coordinate CenterPoint's event support.
About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
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, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of March 31, 2026, the company owned approximately $47.8 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
CenterPoint Energy teams monitoring severe storms forecasted for southwestern Indiana and preparing for potential impacts The company is executing preparedness actions ahead of storms
Customers encouraged to stay safe and prepare emergency plans
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – June 8, 2026 – CenterPoint Energy is monitoring forecasts for potentially severe thunderstorms across the region and preparing for potential impacts as storms are expected to move through southwestern Indiana this week. According to the National Weather Service, strong, damaging winds are possible. CenterPoint's preparedness actions include: - Monitoring weather forecasts and conditions
- Preparing crews and equipment across its service territory
- Coordinating with local government officials and other stakeholders on storm readiness
- Sharing safety and preparedness information directly with customers
“Our Emergency Preparedness and Response team has been monitoring the potential for severe storms and our teams are fully prepared and stand ready to respond," said Mike Roeder, President of CenterPoint Energy Indiana. “We encourage our customers to stay alert in anticipation of changing weather conditions and take steps now to prepare." CenterPoint encourages customers to prepare for severe weather: CenterPoint Energy Announces “Hurricane Readiness Week” to Highlight Resiliency and Readiness Actions with Official Start of Hurricane Season
With National Weather Service forecasting 8 - 14 named storms this year, CenterPoint highlights Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) improvements, enhanced weather monitoring and opening a new Emergency Operations Center to better prepare and ready its response for customers this hurricane season CenterPoint encourages customers to sign up for its Power Alert Service® to receive real-time updates about their service throughout hurricane season HOUSTON – June 2, 2026 – Today, with the start of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, CenterPoint is kicking off its “Hurricane Readiness Week," building on Governor Greg Abbott's proclamation last week recognizing May 25 - 30 as Hurricane Preparedness Week in Texas, and sharing a series of critical actions completed to date and underway to strengthen the energy system and keep customers informed. This season, the National Weather Service predicts 8 to 14 named storms for the Atlantic basin, with 3 - 6 forecast to become hurricanes. To prepare, CenterPoint has prioritized critical resiliency and storm preparedness actions, and throughout the summer will continue to coordinate with local emergency officials and local stakeholders and help customers better prepare for potential severe weather by hosting community events across Greater Houston. “Preparing for emergencies, like hurricanes, is a year-round priority for our 8,800-strong CenterPoint team. From leveraging state-of-the art weather models and our own network of weather stations, to enhancing how we stage personnel and resources, our teams are prepared with the advanced tools and technology needed to perform at our best for our customers. We're also making critical investments in Houston's energy grid to improve storm resiliency and prepare our crews to respond safely and efficiently when storms strike. Together with local emergency leaders, we stand ready to support our communities before, during and after any severe weather event," said Don Daigler, CenterPoint's Senior Vice President, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Preparing for the 2026 Hurricane Season: Critical Actions
CenterPoint has taken a series of actions to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season, including: - Completing critical resiliency upgrades, including installing storm-resilient poles, clearing higher-risk vegetation and undergrounding power lines across the system to improve system reliability and preventing 150 million customer outage minutes by the end of 2026.
- Introducing a new way for customers to track GHRI upgrades and enhancements through a new online Community Progress Tracker.
- Opening a new Emergency Operations Center to support CenterPoint's year-round situational awareness and emergency response readiness and coordinate closely with emergency response partners, local and state officials, media and other key stakeholders.
- Enhancing real-time weather monitoring with 150 new advanced weather stations and state-of-the art models to enhance storm prediction and preparedness.
- Executing a full-scale emergency exercise to practice a cross-functional response to a simulated category 3 hurricane with more than 400 CenterPoint team members participating and approximately 100 state and local officials in attendance.
- Leveraging advanced technology including improved weather tracking, improved damage models and crew resource management to restore power for customers more efficiently following a storm.
- Completing more than 25,000 hours of FEMA trainings across more than 800 employees.
- Improving the damage assessment and restoration process to support faster damage identification and power restoration.
- Leveraging mutual assistance and vendor partnerships to expand our frontline workforce, when necessary, by up to 20 times to support our future storm or emergency response.
Keeping Customers Informed
During its Hurricane Readiness Week and throughout the 2026 hurricane season, CenterPoint will share updates and resources to help customers stay informed and prepare via social media, advertisements, direct-to-customer emails and through a series of community hurricane preparedness events. Important preparedness and safety information will also be shared before, during and after any major storm or hurricane. As part of its hurricane preparedness campaign, CenterPoint encourages its customers to enroll in Power Alert Service® (PAS) to receive outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates via free texts, phone calls or emails. For example, during the storm period from May 21 to May 27, CenterPoint sent more than 1,383,987 PAS alerts to customers with restoration information to keep them informed in real-time. PAS is critical to provide updates to customers, as well as family and friends. 90% of CenterPoint's customers are enrolled in PAS, and utilizing a variety of communication tools, CenterPoint will be encouraging all unsubscribed customers to sign up to ensure they receive timely updates. Customers can visit CenterPointEnergy.com/PowerAlertService to sign up and learn more.
During emergencies, CenterPoint's Outage Tracker provides customers with outage information and the estimated time of restoration by address, via an interactive map. Customers can also report an outage or hazard with a few simple clicks and is available at CenterPointEnergy.com/OutageTracker. To help its Critical Care customers prepare, regardless of the weather, CenterPoint performs regular outreach, including phone calls, texts, emails and direct mail, throughout hurricane season. Customers can visit CenterPointEnergy.com/CriticalCare to register or learn more. For more about CenterPoint's preparedness actions and critical resiliency improvements across Greater Houston, visit: CenterPointEnergy.com/TakingAction. For b-roll of CenterPoint's full-scale emergency exercise in preparation for the 2026 hurricane season, undergrounding efforts, pole replacements and other resiliency work, click HERE. CenterPoint Energy Advances Extreme Weather Preparedness and Response Efforts with Integrated, AI‑Driven Planning Platform from Technosylva HOUSTON – June 1, 2026 – As extreme weather events grow more frequent and complex, CenterPoint Energy is continuing to strengthen how it plans, prepares for and responds to severe weather across its electric and gas service territory in Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota, where the company serves approximately 7 million metered customers. To support faster service restoration for customers following storms, CenterPoint is leveraging a new, integrated planning and operations platform developed in collaboration with Technosylva to deliver better outcomes for its customers and communities. Technosylva is a leading provider of wildfire, flooding, and extreme weather modeling and decision‑support software used by utilities, insurers, and public agencies to better anticipate risk and support operational response.
The platform brings together outage forecasting, high‑wind and winter storm modeling, flood risk insights, and wildfire intelligence into a single, system‑wide view. This integrated approach allows CenterPoint teams to monitor evolving conditions days in advance, align the right crews and resources ahead of impact, and improve restoration planning and response - while keeping customer safety at the forefront and helping reduce outage duration and restoration costs. “Preparing for extreme weather today requires earlier insight and better coordination than ever before," said Jason Wells, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of CenterPoint Energy. “Our goal is to build the most resilient coastal grid in the nation to benefit our customers and communities. Technosylva's product gives us much clearer visibility into where impacts are most likely and allows us to mobilize crews more efficiently, support neighboring utilities when possible, and restore service faster for our customers." CenterPoint's electric and natural gas systems are exposed to a wide range of weather‑related threats, including hurricanes, flooding, high winds, extreme heat and cold, and winter storms. The platform supports the company's long‑term strategy to strengthen grid resilience, improve operational readiness, and better prepare for increasingly complex weather events, all while reinforcing CenterPoint's continued commitment to its customers who depend on safe, reliable electric and natural gas service. During recent weather events, CenterPoint teams used the platform's multi‑day outage forecasts and storm impact modeling to assess potential system impacts ahead of time, set appropriate emergency response levels, and pre‑position crews. In high‑wind events, outage forecasts closely aligned with actual system impacts, helping teams translate weather data into actionable response plans with greater confidence. "CenterPoint Energy's leadership is visionary, investing to get ahead of extreme weather risk, not just to respond to it," said Bryan Spear, CEO of Technosylva. "Serving customers and communities who face the full spectrum of extreme weather, this enhanced risk intelligence platform helps CenterPoint to anticipate and prepare for events, including hurricanes, flooding, severe winds, and wildfire. We are grateful to them for their collaboration in developing our AI-powered platform, which delivers outage forecasting, restoration planning, flood insights, and wildfire intelligence, to help keep the lights on and restore power faster when it matters most." Beyond immediate storm response, the platform also supports longer‑term planning by improving how flood and extreme weather risk are incorporated into infrastructure and capital investment decisions. As weather patterns evolve and infrastructure ages, asset‑level risk visibility is increasingly important for investments to deliver resilience benefits for customers over time. About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
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, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of March 31, 2026, the company owned approximately $47.8 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. About Technosylva Technosylva is the leading provider of wildfire and extreme weather modeling, risk mitigation, and operational response software. Technosylva's market-leading solutions, enhanced by AI and machine learning capabilities, provide real-time and predictive insights into developing wildfire and extreme weather risks to support electric utility, insurance, and government agency customers. Founded in 1997, Technosylva has offices in La Jolla, CA, León, Spain, and Calgary, Canada. Learn more at www.Technosylva.com.
CenterPoint Energy restores power to 122,000 customers impacted by overnight and early morning storms across the Greater Houston area CenterPoint restores customers impacted by severe overnight thunderstorms, on average, in less than 100 minutes CenterPoint has returned to normal operations and the Emergency Operations Center has been demobilized HOUSTON – May 27, 2026 – CenterPoint has taken action to restore power to 122,000 customers impacted by the overnight and early morning thunderstorms across the Greater Houston area with an average restoration time of approximately 100 minutes. While crews are continuing to work to restore power safely and as quickly as possible, CenterPoint's Emergency Operations Center has been demobilized and electric business has returned to normal operations. “Our customers expect and deserve reliable power, and our teams worked around the clock through significant rainfall to safely and quickly restore service to customers who were impacted by the severe storms. We will continue to prioritize restoring power to the remaining impacted customers, many of whom live in areas that experienced significant weather-related damage, until service has been returned to all of our customers in the Greater Houston area," said Jason Fabre, CenterPoint's Vice President of Special Response and Incident Commander.
Restoration & Response Actions (as of 5 p.m.) CenterPoint's response today followed thunderstorms moving through parts of the Greater Houston area in the early morning hours, with the strongest activity taking place between 2 and 3 a.m. The scope of CenterPoint's storm response and restoration includes the following actions:
- Approximately 2,000 CenterPoint frontline workers and contractors have restored approximately 122,000 customers since storms arrived around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
- More than 99% of all CenterPoint electric customers currently have power.
- Since 1 a.m. Wednesday, more than 162,000 Power Alert Service® messages have been shared directly with customers.
- Across our network of 150 weather stations, we recorded the following with Wednesday's severe thunderstorms:
- Isolated strong wind gusts of up to 48 mph
- Widespread winds up to 38 mph
- Isolated rainfall totals of up to 2.65 inches
- Approximately 6,000 lightning strikes between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. across Houston were recorded via a third-party (Vaisala)
Important ways to stay connected to CenterPoint: Power Alert ServiceCustomers can enroll in the company's Power Alert Service® to receive outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates via phone call, email or text. Customers can also stay up to date with CenterPoint's Outage Tracker, which allows customers to see outages by county, city and ZIP code. About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
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, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of March 31, 2026, the company owned approximately $47.8 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
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