CenterPoint Energy to invest in renewable natural gas created from Twin Cities’ metro food and yard waste
Plans to provide locally produced renewable energy to power Minnesota customers
2025-08-06T05:00:00Z

​MINNEAPOLIS – Aug 6, 2025 – CenterPoint Energy has signed an agreement with Dem-Con HZI Bioenergy, LLC (DCHZI), to purchase renewable natural gas (RNG) created from Twin Cities' area food and yard waste. This made-in-Minnesota RNG is expected to connect to CenterPoint's distribution system in Shakopee, Minn. in 2027, and provide customers with renewable energy for their homes and businesses.

RNG can be developed by recycling organic waste from farms, food scraps, wastewater treatment facilities, yard clippings and other localized methane sources that would typically vent to the atmosphere to produce pipeline-quality gas that can be used in place of conventional natural gas. Investments in RNG provide a lower-carbon alternative to natural gas and help reduce emissions attributed to customers' use of natural gas. 

“At CenterPoint, we're excited to invest in innovative efforts such as DCHZI's renewable natural gas production facility to help meet the energy needs of our customers and communities," said Brad Steber, CenterPoint Vice President, Minnesota Gas. “Adding locally produced renewable natural gas to our system can provide our customers with a lower carbon energy source that will continue to provide them with the safe, reliable service they expect from us. We support the growth of the RNG industry to strengthen regional economies and help meet the energy needs of our state."   

DCHZI's facility in Shakopee is expected to be in service in 2027 and will produce the RNG from local waste products collected from Twin Cities metro residents in an oxygen-free tank, through a process known as anaerobic digestion.

“The DCHZI facility supplied and operated by Kanadevia Inova (formerly Hitachi Zosen Inova) will be a first-of-its-kind in the country to combine an anaerobic digestion and gasification process to produce RNG and biochar from organic waste. Annually, the facility is expected to process 75,000 tons of organic waste, producing enough pipeline-quality RNG to fuel 2,500 Minnesota homes while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year," said Bill Keegan, Dem-Con Companies President.

Purchasing RNG from DCHZI is part of CenterPoint's five-year innovation plan submitted under Minnesota's Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA). The NGIA enables natural gas utilities to invest in renewable energy resources and innovative technologies to help reduce Minnesota's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

NGIA
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved CenterPoint's innovation plan in July 2024, which includes 17 pilot projects and seven research and development projects. CenterPoint plans to invest in regionally produced low- and zero-carbon gases like RNG and green hydrogen, as well as innovative efforts such as networked geothermal and hybrid heating.

CenterPoint's innovation plan is expected to advance decarbonization efforts and deliver significant benefits for its Minnesota customers, including:

  • Reducing or avoiding an estimated 1.1 million tons of carbon emissions over the lifetime of the projects – equivalent to the annual energy use of approximately 150,000 homes.
  • Creating an estimated 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the pilot projects' lifetimes.
  • Recycling and reducing waste to create renewable energy such as RNG.   ​

CenterPoint is committed to helping residential and business customers reduce GHG emissions attributable to their end-use of natural gas by 20-30% by 2035 (from a 2021 baseline). The company's innovation plan is designed to support customers in reducing emissions from their own energy use.

Visit CenterPointEnergy.com/FutureMN to learn more about CenterPoint's efforts to advance Minnesota's energy future.​

About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is a multi-state electric and natural gas delivery company serving approximately 7 million metered customers across Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The company is headquartered in Houston and is the only Texas-domiciled investor-owned utility. As of June 30, 2025, the company had approximately $44 billion in assets. With approximately 8,300 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been serving customers for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

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 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 amounts of waste processed and RNG produced pursuant to, associated extent of GHG emissions reductions relating to, other anticipated benefits of and timing relating to CenterPoint Energy's agreement with DCHZI and the connection of the associated RNG to CenterPoint Energy's distribution system, CenterPoint Energy's ability to execute on its innovation plan and its anticipated benefits, including the planned scope of projects, the associated extent of GHG emission reductions, the advancement of decarbonization efforts, the number of jobs created and the extent of recycling and waste reduction 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, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) business strategies and strategic initiatives, acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses involving CenterPoint Energy or its industry; (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, 2024 and CenterPoint's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2025 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Net Zero Disclaimer
​CenterPoint Energy's Scope 1 GHG emissions estimates are calculated from GHG emissions that directly come from its operations. CenterPoint Energy's Scope 2 GHG emissions estimates are calculated from GHG emissions that indirectly come from its energy usage, but because Texas is in an unregulated market, its Scope 2 GHG emissions estimates do not take into account Texas electric transmission and distribution assets in the line loss calculation and exclude GHG emissions related to purchased power between 2024E-2026E. CenterPoint Energy's Scope 3 GHG emissions estimates are based on the total natural gas supply delivered to residential and commercial customers as reported in the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form EIA-176 reports and do not take into account the GHG emissions of transport customers and GHG emissions related to upstream extraction.  CenterPoint Energy's analysis and plan for execution to achieve its Net Zero GHG emissions (Scope 1 and certain Scope 2) by 2035 goals and its 20-30% reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions by 2035 as compared to 2021 levels goal require it to make a number of assumptions. These goals and underlying assumptions involve risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions require updating, CenterPoint Energy's actual results and ability to make progress towards and achieve its Net Zero and GHG emissions reduction goals and the timing thereof could differ materially from its expectations. Certain of the assumptions that could impact its ability to make progress towards and meet its Net Zero and GHG emissions reduction goals and the timing thereof include, but are not limited to: GHG emission levels, service territory size and capacity needs remaining in line with company expectations (including with respect to demand for our services); the ability to appropriately estimate and effectively manage business opportunities from new customers and load growth resulting from, among other things, expansion of data centers, energy export facilities, including hydrogen facilities, electrification of industrial processes and transport and logistics in our service territories; regulatory approvals related to Indiana Electric's generation transition plan and CenterPoint Energy's ability to obtain such approvals; impacts on affordability of customer rates; customer demand for GHG emissions free or lower GHG emissions energy; impacts of regulations, executive action or legislation, including those related to the environment and tax matters (including the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Executive Order 14315 and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and any further changes to or the repeal of the IRA); impacts of future carbon pricing regulation or legislation; price, availability and regulation of carbon offsets; price of fuel, such as natural gas; cost of energy generation technologies, such as wind and solar, natural gas and storage solutions; adoption of alternative energy by the public, including adoption of electric vehicles; rate of technology innovation with regards to alternative energy resources; CenterPoint Energy's ability to implement its modernization plans for its pipelines and facilities; the ability to complete and timely implement generation alternatives to Indiana Electric's coal generation and retirement or fuel conversion dates of Indiana Electric's coal facilities by 2035; the ability to construct and/or permit new natural gas pipelines; the ability to procure resources needed to build at a reasonable cost, the lack of or scarcity of resources and labor, the lack of any project cancellations, construction delays or overruns (including as a result of tariffs, legislation, bans, potential retaliatory trade measures taken against the United States or related governmental action) and the ability to appropriately estimate costs of new generation; impact of any supply chain disruptions; changes in applicable standards, metrics, methodologies or frameworks; and enhancement of energy efficiencies. 


 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.