Settlement expected to result in approximately
$50 million less revenue annually and
a reduction in electric customer bills by about $1 a month for most customers while also
continuing to deliver support for significant local economic growth
and upgrades across Greater
Houston area
Combination of rate case revenue reduction and
other financial commitments, including some 2024 foregone storm
recovery costs, would roughly equal the same amount that has been
billed to CenterPoint customers for the temporary generation costs
since 2021
Company would make no revenue or profit off of
the temporary emergency generator proposal to help ERCOT and
State of Texas which would have
otherwise been paid by all customers across the state including
CenterPoint customers
HOUSTON,
Jan. 29,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy (CenterPoint)
announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with
parties to its 2024 rate case for its CenterPoint Energy Houston
Electric business (Houston Electric), including the City of Houston and other regional
municipalities. Subject to Public Utility Commission of
Texas (PUCT) review and approval,
the settlement is expected to result in approximately $50 million less annual revenue to CenterPoint
through roughly 2029, and an average decrease of approximately
$1 a month for most customers or
approximately 2 percent of the monthly bill of residential
customers that use 1,000 kWh per month.
A rate case for Houston Electric occurs
approximately once every four years and is part of an open and
transparent regulatory process in which rates are set by the
PUCT.
"All of us at CenterPoint are committed to
continuing to work to meet the needs of our customers and providing
the reliable, safe, and affordable service that they expect and
deserve. Our settle agreement with these parties would reduce the
amount of revenue that CenterPoint receives, and customer bills
would decrease, while also addressing the significant investments
we have made to strengthen our system for the benefit of our
customers. Following customer feedback and constructive discussions
with intervening parties over the last several months, this plan
keeps our customers at the forefront and supports CenterPoint's
ultimate goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the
country," said Jason Ryan, Executive
Vice President of Regulatory Services and Government Affairs.
CenterPoint requested to temporarily withdraw its
rate case in August to focus on the company's Greater Houston
Resiliency Initiative in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
The company resumed talks in the fall and this settlement agreement
reflects discussions with intervening parties. It also includes
both an expected rate reduction for customers and a proposal for
CenterPoint to reduce its overall revenue by approximately
$50 million until the next rate case.
Residential customer bills will be lower by approximately
$0.82 a month. Small business
customer bills will be lower by approximately $1.28 a month.
Over the last decade, CenterPoint's rates have
remained relatively flat on an average annual basis, well below
annual inflation, which averaged around 2.8 percent during that
timeframe. The portion of customers' electric bills that covers
CenterPoint's system was just under $50 a decade ago, and it remains approximately
$50 today. In 2024, CenterPoint's
rates were the lowest among its peer utilities in Texas.
Investing in the Greater Houston Area's Electric
Grid
CenterPoint's 2024 rate case is intended to support the
capital investments that the company has made to expand and improve
the Greater Houston area's
electric system. To help meet the region's growing electric demand,
CenterPoint has invested approximately $8
billion in its grid since the most recent rate case in 2019.
Among these investments were:
- Installing nearly 2,200 miles of new distribution lines and
more than 100 miles of new transmission lines to meet the needs of
a strong economy;
- Constructing six new distribution substations and two new
transmission substations to support regional growth and increased
load needs;
- Interconnections for 25 new generation resources for the
grid;
- Elevating 11 substations to aid in flood mitigation and improve
the resiliency of CenterPoint Energy's system; and
- Installing 437 Intelligent Grid Switching Devices to help
prevent and reduce sustained outages, resulting in more than 80
million minutes of customer outages avoided in 2023.
These investments preceded the actions that
CenterPoint has taken to strengthen the grid, improve
communications and expand local and emergency partnerships as part
of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative launched in
August 2024. For more information
about CenterPoint Energy's electric rates and investments in the
Greater Houston area grid, please
visit CenterPointEnergy.com/FactsMatter.
CenterPoint's proposal to help ERCOT would
also help reduce customer bills
In December 2024, CenterPoint Energy proposed a
unique solution to help mitigate the Electric Reliability Council
of Texas's (ERCOT) regional energy
shortfall in Central Texas which
is projected to begin in the summer 2025 while also lowering
Greater Houston-area electric
customer bills. CenterPoint's proposal would send all 15 large
emergency generation units to the San
Antonio region for two years starting in Spring 2025. During that time, the company
would make no revenue or profit off the proposal to help ERCOT and
the State. Greater Houston Area
electric customer bills would be reduced around that same time.
This proposal is subject to ERCOT board approval.
To be clear, CenterPoint would receive no revenue
or profit from ERCOT for the time period after the units are in
San Antonio being dispatched by
ERCOT. CenterPoint would also not charge Houston-area customers for costs associated
with these units after the time period when they are in
San Antonio being dispatched by
ERCOT.
The combination of rate case revenue reduction and other
financial commitments, including some 2024 foregone storm recovery
costs, would roughly equal the same amount that has been billed to
CenterPoint customers for the temporary generation costs since
2021.
The company would make no revenue or profit off
of the temporary emergency generator proposal to help ERCOT and
State of Texas which would have
otherwise been paid by all customers across the state including
CenterPoint customers.
CenterPoint's Role in the Texas Electricity
Market
CenterPoint is an electric transmission and
distribution company in the Texas
market. The Company does not own any power plants in the
state; does not generate any electricity in the state; and
does not purchase electricity on behalf of customers in
Texas. It also does not have any
electric customers in Texas
outside the 12-county Greater
Houston area.
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, 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," "would" or other similar words are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding
expected annual revenue decreases and future bill impacts, 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
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy
