Company has installed or replaced nearly 4,600 stronger storm-resilient poles; cleared more than 800 miles of higher-risk vegetation; undergrounded more than 100 miles of power lines; and installed dozens of new, intelligent grid switching devices

HOUSTON, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy today released the first of its public progress updates on the actions being taken throughout the Greater Houston 12-county area as part of Phase Two of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI). In the first two months of the program, and in preparation for the 2025 hurricane season, CenterPoint has installed nearly 4,600 storm-resilient poles designed to better withstand extreme winds; installed more than 100 miles of power lines underground to reduce the impact of extreme weather; cleared more than 800 miles of hazardous vegetation to improve reliability; and installed more self-healing automation devices to help improve overall restoration times. CenterPoint is taking all of these actions and enhancements as part of the company's goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the nation."This summer, we accomplished a significant level of increased system hardening in the first phase of the Greater Houston Resilience Initiative. Since then, as we have been fully engaged in delivering the additional set of actions in our second phase of GHRI, we continue to make significant progress as we work toward our ultimate goal of becoming the most resilient coastal grid in the country. Now, and in the months to come, we will remain laser-focused on completing these critical resiliency actions and building the more reliable and more resilient energy system our customers expect and deserve," said Darin Carroll, CenterPoint Energy Senior Vice President of CenterPoint Energy's Electric Business.GHRI Phase Two: Progress UpdateCenterPoint announced on September 30 the launch of Phase Two of the GHRI, which included a series of actions to strengthen resiliency, enable a self-healing grid and reduce the duration and impact of power outages. Through early November, significant progress has been made across its service area, including:

Announcement follows completion of 350 more miles of newly hardened powerlines, on top of additional resiliency and hardening actions completed during Phase One of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative.

HOUSTON, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy today announced the completion of the last of its 42 critical initial actions and commitments it made to state leaders and customers in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl to immediately strengthen the electric system and improve its storm response. All 42 actions and commitments have been achieved ahead of schedule.  

HOUSTON, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. 

HOUSTON, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy (CenterPoint) today announced its plans to proceed with settlement talks for its 2024 CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric (CEHE) rate case that the company had previously requested to withdraw on August 1, 2024. The CEHE 2024 rate case was first filed with Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and municipal regulatory authorities on March 6, 2024.

HOUSTON, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on Friday weather forecasts from the National Hurricane Center and third parties, it is expected that Hurricane Rafael's projected path will weaken and remain in the southern Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. According to current projections, there could be isolated rain and wind across parts of Texas and Louisiana. CenterPoint Energy teams will continue to diligently monitor weather forecasts over the weekend and personnel will remain on standby, ready to execute the company's emergency preparedness plans if needed.

HOUSTON, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Following Rafael's rapid intensification into a Category 3 hurricane before striking Cuba on Wednesday, CenterPoint Energy continues to diligently monitor weather forecasts and remains ready to execute its emergency preparedness plans and potential restoration efforts following any landfall impacts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

HOUSTON, Nov. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy continues to closely monitor forecasts and prepare for potential impacts from Hurricane Rafael, which has intensified into a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. The company continues to mobilize resources, conduct pre-landfall emergency preparedness protocols and implement enhanced staffing plans to support potential landfall impacts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. CenterPoint has also identified more than 13,000 mutual assistance resources to support emergency response efforts and help restore service to impacted customers if needed over the coming days.

HOUSTON, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With Tropical Storm Rafael continuing to organize today and grow stronger, CenterPoint Energy is diligently monitoring the weather and preparing for potential responses to impacts, which may occur in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The company has been coordinating closely with emergency and agency partners, sharing safety information with customers and mobilizing resources across its service area in preparation for impacts and outages across its multi-state Gulf Coast service area.  

HOUSTON, Nov. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- While fall is in full swing in many parts of the United States, CenterPoint Energy has been monitoring tropical developments over the weekend and is activating its emergency response plans. It is also making early preparations for any potential tropical storm or hurricane threats for this coming weekend. Tropical Storm Rafael, as named by the National Hurricane Center, continues to slowly become better organized south of Jamaica in the south-central portion of the Caribbean Sea. Per the National Weather Service, it is expected to continue to gain strength and could become a hurricane by midweek.

Additional senior leadership team hire underscores the company's commitment to improving emergency preparation, management and coordination after Hurricane Beryl

HOUSTON, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy announced today the hiring of a new senior leader with tested industry experience in emergency management to transform its Emergency Preparedness and Response strategy. This enterprise leadership position underscores CenterPoint's commitment to improving its emergency response and coordination following Hurricane Beryl, and represents completing another of the more than 40 commitments CenterPoint made as part of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) in August.

Expert after-action report outlines 77 recommendations to improve storm response; CenterPoint has already completed or is implementing two-thirds of the recommendations

HOUSTON, Oct. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CenterPoint Energy made public an independent expert report of its response to Hurricane Beryl, which included 77 recommendations designed to improve readiness, response and communications during future major storms and emergencies.

With more than 200 competing teams, CenterPoint earns 6th place finish among investor-owned utilities and 13th place overall

HOUSTON, Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This past weekend, CenterPoint Energy's lineworkers and apprentices competed in the 40th annual International Lineman's Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The Lineman's Rodeo attracts the best linemen from around the world to compete in events based on traditional lineman tasks. The event provides valuable opportunities for lineworkers to sharpen their abilities, stay proficient and improve productivity, all while prioritizing safety throughout the competition.

Company donating 21 backup generators and other support in designated locations across 12 counties to support community resiliency as part of a $5 million grant from the CenterPoint Energy Foundation

HOUSTON, Oct. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, at a first unveiling event in Galveston County with elected officials and community leaders, CenterPoint Energy leaders announced the donation of two backup generators to Galveston County as part of a new Community Generator Donation Program to support local community resiliency. Through the new program, the CenterPoint Energy Foundation will donate funds for 21 backup generators at key locations throughout its 12-county Greater Houston region. It is expected that there will be at least one generator or other support for each county.

Collaboration Leverages Technosylva's Advanced AI and Machine Learning to Strengthen Resilience and Prepare for Extreme Weather

HOUSTON, Oct. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, a leading electric and natural gas utility serving Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, Minnesota and Mississippi, today announced an agreement to work with Technosylva, a global leader in wildfire science and extreme weather risk mitigation solutions, to utilize predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to better prepare CenterPoint's assets in extreme weather prone regions.

Mobilizing AI capabilities and digital modeling technologies will help optimize safety, reliability and resilience while reducing the impact on CenterPoint's customers

HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the company's ambition to become the most resilient coastal electric grid in the country, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) today announced it has reached an agreement with Neara, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered infrastructure modeling platform for engineering-grade simulations and analytics, to deploy Neara's AI capabilities across CenterPoint's 5,000-square-mile Greater Houston service area.

Near-term actions will include:

Actions will be completed ahead of the 2025 hurricane season.

HOUSTON, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CenterPoint Energy announced a comprehensive suite of new actions as part of the next phase of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), including strengthening the energy system and operations over the next eight months and before the start of the 2025 hurricane season. These extensive near-term actions will: build on the work CenterPoint completed in the first phase of the GHRI, continue to strengthen resiliency, improve its communications and develop stronger partnerships, and help reinforce its electric system as it prepares for both the upcoming winter season and the 2025 hurricane season.

HOUSTON, Sept. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc.'s (NYSE: CNP) Board of Directors today declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.2100 per share on the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock payable on December 12, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 21, 2024. This quarterly dividend represents a $0.010 increase over the prior quarter and aligns with an annual dividend of $0.81 for 2024 which represents an 8% average dividend increase over the past three years.

First Day of Fall Arrives across the Gulf Coast Region, but Hurricane Season Remains in Full Force 

HOUSTON, Sept. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- While the first day of fall was ushered in across the Gulf Coast region at 7:43 a.m. central time Sunday, there are still several more weeks remaining in the 2024 hurricane season. That is why CenterPoint Energy has been closely monitoring weather forecasts in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend and following its standard preparedness protocols. Greater clarity on the weather situation is expected from the National Hurricane Center in the coming days, but CenterPoint and its frontline electric and gas crews remain ready.

Company makes internal and contractor frontline electrical workers available to other impacted utilities in Gulf Coast states

Company urges its nearly 400,000 natural gas customers in Louisiana and Mississippi to take additional safety measures; electric preparedness and response work in the Greater Houston area transitions back to normal operations