CenterPoint Energy Announces Leadership Promotions and Appointments
2021-12-13T06:00:00Z

​Houston – Dec. 13, 2021 – In conjunction with the CenterPoint Energy Board of Directors' continued focus on a comprehensive succession planning process to support the company's long-term growth, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) today announced leadership promotions and appointments that will further strengthen its existing management capabilities.

"I am proud that CenterPoint Energy continues to have a strong team of committed and experienced utility professionals at its helm. These leadership promotions and appointments highlight our focus on succession planning as we execute on our long-term growth strategy," said Martin Nesbitt, Board Chair. "As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we are excited about the future of our company and the strength and depth of our leadership."

President and CEO Dave Lesar said, "As we continue to transform CenterPoint Energy into an industry-leading, premium utility company, consistent performance will require a strong, diverse and talented team that is committed to delivering quality results to our customers, shareholders and communities. These leaders, as well as our entire workforce, are well prepared to take on the opportunities for CenterPoint Energy as we execute our strategy, which includes increasing our five-year capital plan to more than $18 billion and our first-ever 10-year capital plan of more than $40 billion. These capital investments will be dedicated to safety, reliability, growth and enabling clean energy investments to benefit our customers and our investors. I am confident that today's announcement will better position us to achieve our strategic priorities."

The following promotions and appointments to CenterPoint Energy's Executive Committee, which is responsible for the company's strategic direction, planning and execution, are effective on January 1, 2022. These individuals will continue to report to Lesar.

Scott E. Doyle, who currently serves as Executive Vice President, Natural Gas, has been named Executive Vice President, Utility Operations. In addition to leading the company's natural gas operations utility footprint, natural gas supply, natural gas engineering, and operations support, Doyle will now also lead CenterPoint Energy's electric business that serves more than 2.7 million metered customers in the greater Houston area and southwestern Indiana, as well as 1,300 megawatts of electric generation capacity in Indiana.

Lynne Harkel-Rumford, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. In addition to her current responsibilities, which include talent, compensation and benefits, labor relations, learning and organizational development, communications and community relations, and corporate security, Harkel-Rumford will now also lead the company's safety and technical training organization.

Monica Karuturi, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, has been promoted to Executive Vice President and General Counsel. In addition to her current responsibilities, which include legal, claims, environmental, insurance, enterprise risk management and ethics, compliance and privacy, Karuturi will now also lead CenterPoint Energy's procurement, materials and logistics organization, which will be instrumental in the company's $40 billion-plus capital program over the next 10 years.

Jason M. Ryan, who currently serves as Senior Vice President, Regulatory Services and Government Affairs, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Regulatory Services and Government Affairs. Ryan will be responsible for leading state and federal legislative initiatives to support enterprise-wide goals, as well as managing the company's rate cases and relationships with its regulators.

Gregory E. Knight, Executive Vice President, Customer Transformation and Business Services, will continue in his current role and lead customer operations, information technology, marketing, economic development, and CenterPoint Energy's two competitive businesses – Energy Systems Group (ESG) and Home Service Plus (HSP) North and South. In addition, he will also add to his responsibilities the leadership of the company's facilities management organization where he will be developing a new enterprise-wide multi-year facilities strategy and plan.  

Jason P. Wells, Executive Vice President and CFO, will continue in his current role, while adding responsibility for the execution of the company's industry-leading goals for reducing carbon emissions attributable to its operations and customer usage. In this capacity, Wells will now also lead the execution of the company's long-term generation transition plan to significantly change the way the company generates power and delivers on its commitment to provide a cost-effective, well-balanced energy mix for its customers in southwest Indiana.

Kenneth M. Mercado, Executive Vice President, Electric Utility, will retire from CenterPoint Energy after more than 36 years of service. Mercado began his career with the company and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility until becoming a member of CenterPoint Energy's Executive Committee in 2020. Mercado will remain in his current position through January 1, 2022 and then remain with the company through the second quarter 2022 to support the transition of his responsibilities.

Lesar said, "I want to thank Kenny for his many contributions over the course of his career with CenterPoint Energy and his outstanding leadership within our company, across our industry and in our communities. He has been a valued member of our leadership team and played an instrumental role in guiding the successful performance and growth of our electric business. I wish Kenny the very best in his retirement."

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 Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. As of September 30, 2021, the company owned approximately $37 billion in assets. With approximately 9,500 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 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, such as the Company's succession planning, rate base growth and the Company's ability to achieve it, the Company's ability to execute on its 10-year plan within a certain timeframe or at all, 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. 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 COVID-19; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and legislative decisions; (5) effects of competition; (6) weather variations; (7) changes in business plans; and (8) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, CenterPoint Energy's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 Recent News

 

 
Energy efficiency improvements at Blue Lake Water Resource Recovery Facility help save money, while reducing energy use and emissions

​Images are available here

MINNEAPOLIS – May 13, 2026 – The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, in collaboration with CenterPoint Energy and Synagro, has completed a major energy efficiency project at the Blue Lake Water Resource Recovery Facility in Shakopee. The project incorporates more renewable biogas into plant operations and earned the Metropolitan Council a rebate of $152,690 through CenterPoint's energy efficiency programs.

As designed, this project, identified by Synagro, is expected to save energy equivalent to the annual emissions generated by 225 Minnesota homes and achieve approximately $162,000 in energy cost savings per year.

“We work to connect our customers with energy efficiency projects to help them save money, energy, and reduce emissions attributed to their energy use," said Brad Steber, CenterPoint's Vice President of Minnesota Gas. “The Blue Lake custom biogas project represents the possibilities that exist for achieving emissions reductions through strategic collaboration and commitment to creative innovation for the benefit of our shared customers and communities throughout Minnesota.

For wastewater treatment, solids are processed into fertilizer pellets through a drying system that also produces biogas, a renewable fuel that can be leveraged for operations. These energy efficiency improvements allow the facility to safely use biogas to reduce emissions. 

"Millions of gallons of wastewater flow to our facilities daily, carrying an enormous, untapped energy resource — and we're unlocking it," said Leisa Thompson, General Manager, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. "From raw wastewater heat to stored energy in biosolids, this project transforms how we think about treatment. We aren't just cleaning water; we're turning treatment facilities into energy generators — reducing our operational region's reliance on natural gas and building a more sustainable future."

Blue Lake, the second-largest Metropolitan Council water resource recovery facility and the third largest in Minnesota, treats an average of 27 million gallons of wastewater each day, helping protect public health and the environment.

“This energy-efficiency project has been a true collaborative effort between Synagro, the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services and CenterPoint, providing sustainable benefits for our customer and the community," said Nick Davern, Senior Plant Manager, Synagro Technologies, Inc.

Customer participation in CenterPoint's Minnesota energy efficiency programs has reduced emissions by nearly 18.8 million metric tons over the last 32 years and saved customers approximately $2.6 billion. To learn more about CenterPoint's Minnesota energy efficiency programs, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/SaveEnergy.

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.


Approximately 97.5% of CenterPoint Energy customers experienced no impacts during overnight thunderstorms as crews responded safely and quickly to address localized impacts to system

Since 1 a.m., CenterPoint frontline workers and contractors have restored approximately 60,000 customers

As of 4:45 a.m., approximately 14,500 of CenterPoint's customers are without power

Less than 1% of CenterPoint customers impacted at any one time since storms began at 1 a.m.

HOUSTON – May 11, 2026 – During the overnight thunderstorms, approximately 97.5% of CenterPoint Energy customers experienced no service interruptions. Where there were localized impacts to service as a result of the overnight storms, crews continue to make steady progress in the field responding to isolated outages. Across the Greater Houston area, weather impacts included pockets of frequent lightning, wind gusts up to 45 mph and scattered rainfall. The company's frontline crews and contractors were pre-positioned ahead of weather and began responding to outages as soon as it was safe to do so, and they will continue working safely and quickly until every customer is restored. 

CenterPoint's Emergency Operations Center remains activated as crews continue supporting restoration efforts this morning.

Scattered thunderstorms began impacting parts of the Greater Houston area overnight, with the strongest activity taking place between 2 and 3 a.m. Since 1 a.m., across CenterPoint's 150 weather station network, peak rain totals between 1 - 2" and wind gusts up to 45 mph have been observed. Crews continue restoring customers experiencing outages in the areas most impacted, including northern parts of the company's electric service territory in Montgomery County and the Cypress, Spring Branch and Greenspoint areas of Harris County.

At the peak of this morning's storm activity around 2:30 a.m., less than one percent (approximately 28,600) of customers were without service at any one time. About 2.5% of CenterPoint's 2.9 million customers have experienced service interruptions since 1 a.m., with over 60,000 of those customers restored as of 4:45 a.m. The average restoration time per outage is approximately 26 minutes. As of 4:45 a.m., approximately 14,500 are currently without power — approximately half of one percent of CenterPoint's customers.

“Our CenterPoint teams worked through the night to restore power safely and as quickly as possible to customers affected by isolated and localized outages," said John Cornelius, CenterPoint's Vice President of Distribution Operations and Incident Commander. “Our crews were staged and ready to go, responding safely throughout the storms overnight. We're grateful to our customers for their patience as we work through the final stretches of the storm front and our focused efforts to restore the remaining outages."

What customers should do:

  • Sign up for Power Alert Service®: Get outage updates and restoration times.
  • Track outages: Bookmark the Outage Tracker (available in English & Spanish and mobile-friendly) to see outage information in your area.
  • Stay safe: Visit Ready.gov for storm safety tips.

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 provides new option for in-person customer service and bill payment with Customer Connect pilot

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – May 11, 2026 – CenterPoint Energy today announced the launch of a new weekly in-person customer service and payment option at the CenterPoint Energy Plaza in Downtown Evansville. Through the Customer Connect pilot, southwestern Indiana customers can now walk in, pay a bill in person and sit down with a customer service representative for personalized assistance, answers to questions and help resolving any account issues. The Customer Connect pilot is part of the company's expanding Community Connect program.

“Listening to our customers and addressing their feedback, we are excited to offer this new pilot which allows us to continue engaging with our customers while increasing accessibility to resources and account support," said Mike Roeder, President of CenterPoint Energy Indiana. “We remain committed to transparency and developing new ways to help customers based on their feedback. This new tool is yet another way to connect with customers and provides them with the ability to make a payment and talk through their account with a real person. It's a standing invitation to walk in, sit down and get the support they need."

What customers can do at Customer Connect
Customers can now pay in person at CenterPoint Energy Plaza, located at 211 NW Riverside Drive in Downtown Evansville, every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. No appointment is needed.

CenterPoint customer service representatives are available to help customers with a full range of account needs, including:

  • Making a payment in person
  • Getting answers to billing-related questions
  • Managing Budget Bill enrollment, which will be known as Levelized Billing starting July 1
  • Setting up flexible payment options
  • Learning about additional resources to save energy and manage bills

The next Customer Connect will be held on Wednesday, May 13. Customers can pay by checking or savings account, credit card, debit card or Apple Pay. Cash is not accepted. CenterPoint will continuously evaluate this new pilot program for the next several weeks.

Building on Community Connect
Customer Connect is the newest addition to CenterPoint's Community Connect program, which has expanded from five events in fall 2025 to a year-round schedule of more than 30 community touchpoints planned for 2026. Community Connect events bring CenterPoint teams into neighborhoods, workplaces and community spaces across southwestern Indiana to connect with customers face-to-face. Customer Connect brings that same commitment to the Plaza on a weekly, recurring basis. CenterPoint is also the first Indiana utility to bring back regular walk-in service back to customers. Additional in-person offerings may be added based on customer interest and feedback from the pilot.
 
Ongoing commitment to affordability and customer experience
Customer Connect joins a series of actions CenterPoint has taken over the past six months to prioritize affordability and expand support for southwestern Indiana customers. In October 2025, CenterPoint launched its initial series of Community Affordability Actions, including a commitment to keeping electric rates stable through 2027 and the CenterPoint Energy Foundation's $5 million Community Energy Improvement Fund. Since then, the company has introduced additional bill management tools, expanded customer support programs and implemented additional protections such as annual late-fee waivers upon request, reduced reconnection fees and safeguards for medically vulnerable customers as part of the Indiana Electric rate case settlement.

For more information about Customer Connect, including hours of operation and the Community Connect event schedule, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/CommunityConnect.

Essentially all CenterPoint Energy customers who can receive power have been restored following overnight and early morning storms across the Greater Houston area

​As of 4:00 p.m., less than 500 CenterPoint customers are without power from overnight storms

CenterPoint has returned to normal operations and the Emergency Operations Center has been demobilized

HOUSTON – May 11, 2026 – As thunderstorms traveled across CenterPoint Energy's electric service territory in the early morning hours, approximately 97% of its 2.9 million customers across the Greater Houston area experienced no impacts to their electric service. Essentially all CenterPoint customers who can safely receive power have now been restored. Approximately 87,000 customers were impacted since a line of storms arrived about 1:00 a.m. and moved through the area.  As of 4:00 p.m. today, less than 500 customers are currently without power from the overnight storms. Crews continue actively working to restore those remaining impacted customers safely and as quickly as possible.

The company's electric business has returned to normal operations and the Emergency Operations Center has been demobilized.

​Scattered thunderstorms moved through parts of the Greater Houston area in the early morning hours, with the strongest activity taking place between 2 and 3 a.m. At the peak of this morning's storm activity around 2:30 a.m., about one percent of CenterPoint's customers were without service at any one time. The average restoration time per outage was approximately 35 minutes. 

“Our customers expect and deserve reliable power, and our teams worked around the clock through significant rainfall to safely restore service to customers who were impacted by significant weather," said Jason Fabre, CenterPoint's Vice President of Special Response and Incident Commander. “We appreciate the dedication of our outstanding frontline crews and contractors, as well as our customers' patience and understanding as we worked to restore power."

CenterPoint took the following actions ahead of Monday's significant weather:

  • Activated Emergency Operations Center: To coordinate storm response efforts, the company proactively activated its Emergency Operations Center on Friday and remained ready to respond.
  • Monitored weather 24/7: The Meteorology team continued to track forecast developments, and the company updated response plans as conditions evolved.
  • Pre-positioned resources: Response teams were pre-positioned in areas where storms were forecasted to impact and remained ready to respond to any electric or natural gas service interruptions safely and as quickly as possible.
  • Coordinated with local officials: The company provided updates to local officials and emergency management partners.

Important ways to stay connected to CenterPoint: Power Alert Service

Customers 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.

Centerpoint Energy’s expanded workforce remains prepared and ready to respond to potential severe weather across the Greater Houston area this evening and overnight

Emergency Operations Center remains activated ahead of tonight's forecasted storms

Frontline workers and contractors continue executing preparedness actions across the system and remain ready to support potential restoration efforts

HOUSTON – May 10, 2026 – CenterPoint Energy's Emergency Operations Center remains activated ahead of forecasted potentially severe weather across the Greater Houston area this evening and overnight into Monday morning. The company's expanded workforce of frontline employees and contractors stands prepared and ready to respond to any impacts to electric or natural gas service.

Thunderstorms are forecasted to impact parts of the Greater Houston area this evening and continue through the early morning hours of Monday. CenterPoint's Meteorology team continues to diligently monitor evolving forecasts and help optimize response plans throughout the weekend. Frontline workers and contractors will be responding overnight and restoring any outages that may occur.  

“Our crews have remained on alert all weekend and continue to be ready to safely restore service if outages from weather occur. This evening and overnight into Monday, our teams will be out there responding and focusing on restoring service to the customers and communities we're privileged to serve," said Jason Fabre, CenterPoint's Vice President of Special Response and Incident Commander. “We have been communicating all weekend and are committed to keeping our customers informed ahead of and during tonight's storms. We urge customers to register for Power Alert Service® so that if outages from weather do occur, they can receive restoration updates directly via phone, text and email."

Prepared for Severe Weather: Key Actions
As part of its storm preparedness efforts, CenterPoint is taking the following actions:

  • Readying the company's workforce and resources: Preparing personnel to support potential restoration efforts.
  • Activating Emergency Operations Center: To coordinate storm response efforts, the company has proactively activated its Emergency Operations Center. 
  • Monitoring severe weather 24/7: The Meteorology team continues to track weather forecast developments, and the company is updating response efforts as conditions evolve.
  • Coordinating with local officials: CenterPoint is reaching out to local officials and emergency management partners to provide updates on continued preparedness efforts.

What customers should do:

  • Sign up for Power Alert Service®: Get outage updates and restoration times.
  • Track outages: Bookmark our new Outage Tracker (available in English & Spanish and mobile-friendly) to see outage information in your area.
  • Stay safe: Visit Ready.gov for storm safety tips.
  • Follow us: Real-time updates will be available on X and at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter.

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.