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CenterPoint Energy Outlines Plan to Minimize May 2024 Derecho Storm Bill Impact for Electric Customers

2024-11-08T06:00:00Z

Company plans to spread emergency Derecho response costs of approximately $450 million across 15 years; Customer bill impact expected to be about $1 per month
Financial method expected to save customers more than $50 million in interest charges
Derecho storm caused more than an estimated $5 billion in damages across the Greater Houston area unrelated to CenterPoint infrastructure

HOUSTON, Nov. 8, 2024 - As part of its commitment to keeping customer bills more affordable, CenterPoint Energy today filed the first phase of a securitization plan (a lower cost way of financing recovery costs over a longer time period time) with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) that would minimize the customer impact of the major May 2024 Derecho and late May storms, that resulted in approximately $450 million in repair, equipment and emergency response costs outside of CenterPoint's normal annual rates as set by the PUCT. Using this method of financing is expected to save customers more than $50 million in interest charges over the 15-year period.

The May 16^th Derecho caused more than an estimated $5 billion in damages across the Greater Houston area not related to CenterPoint's infrastructure. As reported by numerous media outlets, the Derecho was a "once-in-a-generation wind event" and included wind gusts over 100 miles per hour and multiple tornadoes across the region, shattering thousands of downtown office windows, destroying homes and businesses, knocking down thousands of power poles, and impacting hundreds of miles of power lines and other critical electric equipment across the Greater Houston area.

The fast-moving storm required CenterPoint to activate its emergency operation plan and mobilize over 7,700 employees, contractors, and mutual aid partners to assess damage, repair downed equipment, and restore power.

"The Derecho that struck the Houston region in the spring was an unprecedented and extreme weather event that caused billions in damage to our communities and a significant portion of our electrical infrastructure. This proposed cost recovery plan reflects our commitment to minimize the impact on our customers' electric bills while addressing the significant costs related to mobilizing thousands of frontline workers to repair and rebuild the damaged portions of the energy system and restore power for our customers as safely and as quickly as possible," said Jason Ryan, CenterPoint Energy's Executive Vice President, Regulatory Services and Government Affairs.

Scope of CenterPoint Emergency Response
In response to the Derecho, CenterPoint mobilized thousands of frontline crews and critical resources and coordinated with government, community and utility partners to address the significant damage to the electrical system. As a result, CenterPoint restored power to more than 80 percent of impacted customers within 72 hours. The scope of the company's emergency response included:

Mobilizing over 7,700 frontline electrical workers, contractors and mutual aid resources from eight states to assess system damage and repair equipment;
Replacing more than 400 miles of primary electrical wires, more than1,600 transformers, and approximately 1,600 power poles on its distribution system;
Deploying 13 emergency generation units to provide temporary power to critical facilities including hospitals, cooling centers, first responder sites, schools and senior centers;
Establishing nine multi-city staging sites to efficiently deploy crews and equipment for customer restoration efforts to impacted areas of Greater Houston;
Restoring power to approximately 340,000 impacted customers within the first 24 hours; 550,000 within 48 hours; and 750,000 within 72 hours; and
Restoring 98 percent of all CenterPoint customers within five days of the Derecho.

CenterPoint Commitment to Customer Affordability: Securitizing for Lower Cost Impact
CenterPoint's plan follows the standard electric sector industry practice used in Texas and across all Gulf Coast states for financing and recovering costs after extreme weather and other one-time events. The company plans to spread the costs over a period of up to 15 years to help minimize the impact on customers using securitization, which is a less expensive method to finance those costs. Securitization has been used 10 times for large named storm-related events in the previous 25 years in Texas. It was also used by CenterPoint for the benefit of customers following Hurricane Ike in 2008.

By securitizing the cost recovery following major storms, hurricanes or other one-time events, CenterPoint is able spread cost impacts over several years and at a lower cost when compared to traditional financing, which results in a significantly lower monthly impact to customers. CenterPoint's filing will include costs associated with its emergency response for the May storm events, which includes the mobilization of frontline workers, repair and replacement of critical equipment, crew supplies, fuel and other materials.

Today's filing does not include any costs associated with CenterPoint's 2024 Hurricane Beryl response.

Estimated Monthly Customer Bill Impact
CenterPoint's filing seeks stakeholder and PUCT review of approximately $450 million of storm and emergency response-related costs. The next phase of the recovery plan will propose to collect those costs over up to 15 years to minimize the impact on customers and is expected to initially result in an average residential customer surcharge of just over $1 per month starting in the second half of 2025, and then dropping below a $1 per month in the second half of 2026. Both today's filing and the next phase will undergo a thorough, open and transparent review process at the PUCT with a final decision expected in 2025.

About CenterPoint Energy
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, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 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 including statements regarding securitization, customer bill impacts and timing of approvals, 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 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 pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and legislative decisions; and (5) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and CenterPoint's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information, contact
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com

SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

Recent News

CenterPoint Energy’s 2026 Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) first quarter milestones bring strengthened reliability and resiliency to Greater Houston electric customers and communities

HOUSTON, April 17, 2026 – Today, CenterPoint Energy announced key first quarter progress in achieving its 2026 milestones for the company's Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), a multi-year effort to strengthen resiliency and improve reliability for its 2.9 million electric customers and help build the most resilient coastal grid in the nation.

Building upon the historic GHRI progress achieved to date, in the first quarter of 2026, CenterPoint has installed 10,000+ storm resilient poles, cleared 1,600+ miles of higher-risk vegetation, completed 99 miles of power line undergrounding, and hardened 220+ miles of power lines. With these reliability improvements, CenterPoint is well on its way to achieving its 2026 GHRI goals, which include: installing 35,000 stronger, storm-resilient poles, clearing high-risk vegetation from 8,000 miles of power lines and hardening 500 transmission structures against storms. By the end of 2026, these infrastructure improvements are expected to improve day-to-day reliability for customers, reduce the impact of storm-related outages and save customers from experiencing over 50 million outage minutes this year.

“We are proud of the progress made in 2025 which helped deliver more than 100 million fewer outage minutes when compared to 2024, and we are determined to make even more progress in 2026 as we work toward our defining goal: building the nation's most resilient coastal grid. To date, we are ahead of schedule in making critical 2026 GHRI improvements, and we will continue to build the stronger, smarter infrastructure necessary to further improve systemwide reliability and strengthen resiliency, reducing the likelihood and impact of outages for our customers," said Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint's Vice President of Resilience and Capital Delivery.

2026 GHRI: key resiliency actions & goals
Throughout 2026, all across the greater Houston area, CenterPoint will be undertaking a series of GHRI-related actions to improve resiliency for its customers. Among the actions include:

2026 GHRI Actions

Launch of Community Progress Tracker
To help keep CenterPoint's 2.9 million Greater Houston-area customers better informed about the GHRI reliability and resiliency actions taken since 2024, the company recently launched the Community Progress Tracker, a new web-based map that provides direct access for customers to track progress on infrastructure improvements in their neighborhood. As part of its ongoing commitment to the community, CenterPoint will also be hosting a series of community meetings to share more information on 2026 GHRI actions, as well as engage directly with customers on how to further improve their service.

For more information about GHRI and CenterPoint's actions to strengthen the system on behalf of its customers, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/TakingAction.

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 December 31, 2025, the company owned approximately $46.5 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

CenterPoint Energy appoints Michael A. “Casey” Herman to Board of Directors

HOUSTON — April 16, 2026 — As part of the ongoing refreshment process of its Board of Directors, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) today announced that its shareholders elected a new Director, Michael A. (“Casey") Herman to its Board, effective April 16, 2026. Herman brings decades of audit, governance, and finance strategy experience in the electric and gas utility industries to CenterPoint's Board.

Herman is a senior industry executive with deep experience leading complex audits and providing consulting services for companies across the utility sector, including his 10 years of leading the U.S. Utility & Power Sector and Sustainability practices at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He has also served as a C-suite advisor and member of several utility industry-related boards, including as Chair of the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Advisory Committee and a member of the Edison Electric Institute's (EEI) Wall Street Advisory Group. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Illinois and Louisiana.

“Casey is a well-respected thought leader in our industry having served numerous companies in the investor-owned utility space and he has a wealth and variety of experience that will greatly benefit CenterPoint's Board," said Jason P. Wells, Chair of CenterPoint's Board of Directors. “He brings decades of governance, audit, strategic planning, and long-term financing strategy expertise, especially when it comes to driving long-term strategic plans for Fortune 500 companies. We could not be more pleased to have him join us at this time."

Consistent with its growth-focused strategy and 10-year, $65.5 billion capital investment plan, CenterPoint continues to deliver on its objective to invest in the resilience, reliability and safety of its system and to fuel the company's long-term growth potential, for the benefit of its customers and communities across the service areas it serves.

Regarding his appointment, Herman said, “I am honored to be joining CenterPoint's Board and bringing my perspective to the table. As we all work together to support the company's goals of building and operating the most resilient coastal grid in the in the nation and the safest gas system in the country, I look forward to leveraging my experience and providing insights to the Board to help advance the company's long-term strategy."

About Michael A. “Casey" Herman
A former senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Casey Herman brings nearly four decades of experience advising companies across the energy, utility, and power sectors. During his tenure at PwC, he served as U.S. Utility and Power Sector Leader, where he led complex audits and provided strategic advisory services to Fortune 500 utility and energy companies. A licensed certified public accountant, Casey served as lead engagement partner for numerous large external audits, providing deep expertise in financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and SEC filings.

Casey holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University where he also sits on the board. He also serves on the board of Dragos, Inc., a provider of cybersecurity for operational technology in the energy and industrial sectors.

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 December 31, 2025, the company owned approximately $46.5 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

Forward-Looking Statement

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, which include statements regarding our strategic, growth and capital plans, longer-term resiliency plans, and future performance and financial results, 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 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 or the date that such statement is made, as applicable. 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) business strategies and strategic initiatives; (2) CenterPoint Energy's ability to fund and invest planned capital, and the timely recovery of its investments; (3) financial market and general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory, legislative and political actions or developments; and (5) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CenterPoint Energy celebrates National Lineman’s Appreciation Day by honoring frontline workers and their critical role in delivering safe, reliable energy to communities across southwestern Indiana

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — April 17, 2026 — Observed annually on April 18, by designation of the United States Congress, the nation recognizes the profession of linemen and expresses support for the brave men and women who serve as frontline electric workers across the country. These highly skilled professionals serve their communities year-round through extreme heat, severe cold and challenging conditions to deliver safe and reliable electric service every day. Beyond serving their local areas, linemen also answer the call for mutual assistance from utilities across the country, traveling to the hardest-hit areas to help restore power following hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, winter storms and other major weather events and natural disasters.

“National Lineman's Appreciation Day gives us the opportunity to recognize our remarkable and highly trained professionals who keep our system operating safely and reliably," said Shane Bradford, Vice President of CenterPoint's Indiana Electric Business. “From strengthening infrastructure and restoring power after severe weather, our linemen are the backbone of safe and reliable electric service in southwestern Indiana."

CenterPoint's Evansville frontline electric workers serve approximately 154,000 metered customers across 6 counties in southwestern Indiana, maintaining approximately 1,050 circuit miles of transmission lines and approximately 7,170 miles of distribution lines. In addition to installing, maintaining and repairing electric infrastructure such as transmission towers, distribution poles, substations, transformers and wires, these linemen also educate the public on electric wire safety and adhere to rigorous safety standards to protect themselves and the communities CenterPoint serves.

In 2025, these men and women played a critical role in helping the company improve on key measures, including:

Fewer outages: The average number of outages customers experienced dropped by nearly 10% compared to 2024, continuing a trend of year-over-year improvement since 2022.
Shorter outages: When outages did occur, the system's average duration decreased by 14%, meaning power was restored sooner for customers across the service territory.
Fewer repeat outages: The number of customers who experienced four or more outages in a year dropped by 10%, driven by a targeted program that identifies areas with repeated outages and prioritizes improvements.

Additionally, outage minutes attributed to equipment failure have dropped 57% since 2019 as the company has continued to replace and upgrade infrastructure through its grid modernization program.

Ongoing commitment to customers

CenterPoint's prudent investments in reliability are part of a broader commitment to southwestern Indiana customers that includes prioritizing affordability. Over the past year, the company has taken a series of actions to manage costs for customers, including cancelling nearly $1 billion in generation projects that were no longer economical, saving residential customers approximately $18 per month in avoided costs through 2027.

CenterPoint Energy expands affordability efforts with no-cost smart thermostats to help southwestern Indiana customers

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – April 16, 2026 – As part of its continued focus on customer affordability, CenterPoint Energy customers can lower their energy usage by ordering a smart thermostat at no cost through the company's Online Energy Efficiency Store, with eligible rebates applied automatically at checkout.

How smart thermostats help customers save
Smart thermostats give customers more control over their cooling and heating by allowing them to:

Set schedules based on daily and weekly routines
Adjust temperatures remotely
Track cooling and heating activity to identify ways to save

“Our customers have told us managing energy costs is their top priority. That is why we are focused on helping them take control of their energy use and lower their bills," said Mike Roeder, President of CenterPoint Energy Indiana. “A smart thermostat is one of the most practical steps a customer can take to start saving, and it's one of the many ways we're working to help customers manage their energy costs."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostats save an average of 8% on cooling and heating costs annually.

Customers can also monitor their overall energy use through CenterPoint's mobile app, available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, to identify usage patterns and find additional ways to save.

Bill credits through Smart Cycle
CenterPoint Indiana Electric customers who have a smart thermostat can take an additional step to lower their bills by enrolling in Smart Cycle, a voluntary program that provides bill credits while helping support grid reliability during periods of high demand.

Enrolled customers can earn:

A one-time $75 credit after registering
A $7.50 monthly bill credit across the nine-month season from March through November ($67.50 total)

That’s up to $142.50 in potential first-year savings per device, on top of the cooling and heating savings a smart thermostat provides.

Customers can check eligibility and enroll at CenterPointEnergy.com/SmartCycle.

Additional offerings through the Online Energy Efficiency Store
The Online Energy Efficiency Store offers customers multiple ways to reduce energy costs. The store also offers discounted LED lighting and water-saving fixtures. For a limited time, customers who purchase a qualifying dehumidifier will receive a free tabletop air purifier while supplies last.

Customers can browse all available products and seasonal deals at CenterPointEnergy.com/Shop.

Continued focus on customer affordability
CenterPoint's Online Energy Efficiency Store, launched in November 2024, is one of several resources available to help customers manage energy costs. Since announcing its initial Community Affordability Actions in October 2025, the company has continued to expand programs and bill management tools for southwestern Indiana customers.

Those additional resources are available through the Resource Hub at CenterPointEnergy.com/ResourceHub.

Local governmental agencies and first responder organizations within CenterPoint Energy’s footprint encouraged to apply for a Community Safety Grant

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – April 9, 2026 – Local governmental agencies across CenterPoint Energy's service areas in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas are invited to apply for the company's annual Community Safety Grant Program. Grants support local safety equipment and safety‑related projects that aim to make a meaningful difference within the communities the company serves. Applications are now open online through April 30, 2026.

CenterPoint awards grants of up to $2,500 to eligible local governmental agencies to support community safety needs within its service areas. Since launching the program in 2003, CenterPoint has awarded approximately $3.5 million in grants to help fund nearly 1,700 safety projects, supporting communities in enhancing public safety and wellbeing.

“At CenterPoint, safety is our top core value, and this drives every effort we take for the customers and communities we are privileged to serve. We know that safer communities are stronger communities, and that's why we appreciate being able to give back to enhance the safety of the locations where we live and work," said Jesus Soto, CenterPoint's Chief Operating Officer. “Through our Community Safety Grant Program, we're proud to support our local governmental agencies, emergency responders and local officials who work every day to improve the health and safety of our neighbors across the communities we serve."

Community Safety Grants have enabled a wide range of projects to enhance public safety, including installing public automated external defibrillators (AEDs), upgrading emergency communication equipment, purchasing personal protective equipment for first responders, enhancing a community's disaster preparedness efforts and purchasing utility locating devices.

Each community CenterPoint serves that is interested in this program should submit a grant application with information outlining a community safety project and how grant funding would help address that need.

To learn more about CenterPoint's commitment to the communities it serves and to apply for a Community Safety Grant, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/Community.

About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.