CenterPoint Energy reaches settlement agreement on landmark Systemwide Resiliency Plan to strengthen Houston electric system against extreme weather threats and future hazards

Rhea-AI Summary

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) has reached a settlement agreement for its 2026-2028 Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP), marking the largest grid resiliency investment in company history at over $3 billion. The plan aims to reduce storm-related outages by nearly 1 billion minutes for 2.8 million customers by 2029. Key improvements include installing 130,000 storm-resilient poles, achieving 100% automation on major lines, and maintaining 50% underground system coverage. The investment will cost average residential customers approximately $1.40 per month from 2026-2028, with a final $0.60 increase in 2030. To offset costs, customers will see reductions from emergency generation unit removal ($2/month by 2027) and a recent rate case settlement ($1/month from 2025-2028). The plan addresses Houston's growing energy needs, with customer base expanding 2% annually, while strengthening infrastructure against extreme weather threats.

Positive

• Historic $3 billion investment in grid resiliency to reduce storm-related outages by 913 million minutes
• Cost-effective implementation with minimal customer impact ($1.40/month) and offsetting bill reductions
• 100% of major lines will have self-healing automation devices
• Installation of 130,000 stronger, storm-resilient poles rated for high winds
• Over 50% of system will be underground for improved resilience
• Strong customer growth of 2% annually in service area

Negative

• Additional monthly costs for customers despite spreading over four years
• Deferment of $240 million in SRP costs until 2029
• Extended timeline for full implementation (completion by 2029)
• Significant capital expenditure may impact company's financial flexibility

Insights

Utility Infrastructure Analyst

CNP's $3B grid resiliency plan strengthens infrastructure, minimizes customer bill impact, and positions for Houston's growth.

CenterPoint Energy's landmark $3 billion Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP) represents a strategic infrastructure investment that goes beyond mere maintenance. This settlement agreement, which requires PUCT approval, establishes the foundation for what the company aims to position as the most resilient coastal grid in the nation.

The four-year implementation structure (versus the initially proposed three years) demonstrates financial engineering that benefits both shareholders and ratepayers. By deferring $240 million in costs until 2029, CNP has created a more gradual rate impact of approximately $1.40 per month for average residential customers annually from 2026-2028, with a final $0.60 increment in 2030. This structure helps maintain affordability while allowing the company to execute all planned improvements within the 2026-2028 timeframe.

The technical specifications are impressive: 130,000 stronger poles rated to withstand 110-132 mph winds, automation devices on 100% of lines serving the most customers, and upgrading 20,150 spans of underground cables. These improvements target a projected reduction of 913 million outage minutes by 2029, representing substantial reliability enhancement for the utility's 2.8 million customers.

The strategic timing of this investment aligns with Houston's 2% annual customer growth rate. By building capacity ahead of demand while simultaneously addressing climate resilience, CNP is positioning itself for both regulatory approval and sustainable returns. Furthermore, the company has structured the rate impact to coincide with the expiration of temporary generation charges, effectively neutralizing much of the customer bill impact—a politically savvy approach that demonstrates regulatory relationship management.

This comprehensive plan builds upon the initial Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative phases and represents a thoughtful approach to hardening infrastructure against increasingly extreme weather events while balancing shareholder returns and customer affordability.

• Largest single resiliency investment in CenterPoint history will build on Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative and help address impacts of wide range of extreme weather and other threats
• 100% of lines serving the most customers will have automation devices capable of self-healing
• 130,000 stronger, more storm-resilient poles and braces to be installed or replaced
• This historic investment will reduce storm-related outages by nearly 1 billion minutes
• Spreading investments over four years vs. three years will minimize bill impacts and help keep customer bills more affordable

HOUSTON, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to build and operate the most resilient coastal grid in the country, CenterPoint Energy (CenterPoint) announced yesterday that it has reached a settlement agreement with parties to its 2026-2028 Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP). Subject to Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) review and approval, the SRP represents the largest single grid resiliency investment in CenterPoint's history and is expected to reduce the impact of storm-related outages by nearly 1 billion (more than 913 million minutes) for its 2.8 million customers by 2029.

CenterPoint's 2026-2028 SRP will build on the progress made during the first two phases of the company's Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) and is designed to further address the impacts of a wide range of extreme weather threats, including more powerful storms, hurricanes, wind events like derechos, flooding, extreme temperatures, tornadoes, wildfires and winter storms.

"We are committed to continuing critical system resiliency work to help provide an electric system for the Greater Houston area that is safe, reliable, cost-effective and resilient when our customers need it most. Following constructive discussions with the Commission and intervening parties, this plan represents a landmark investment and suite of resiliency actions that will provide customers with clear benefits now and in the future," said Jason Wells, President and Chief Executive Officer of CenterPoint Energy.

"Our plan is cost-effective and will build on the progress we've made to date through the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative. Taken together, we believe that these resiliency actions will help create a future with fewer outages that impact smaller clusters of customers, coupled with faster restoration times for our Greater Houston communities. This is another major step on our strategic roadmap to building and operating the most resilient coastal grid in the nation," said Wells.

Key improvements in CenterPoint's Systemwide Resiliency Plan
This settlement agreement reflects discussions with intervening parties following the filing of CenterPoint's enhanced SRP with the PUCT in January 2025. It includes a revised, agreed-upon investment of more than $3 billion in CenterPoint's electric distribution system. The agreement also includes the deferment of more than $240 million in SRP costs until the second half of 2029, which will help reduce the bill impact for customers by spreading costs over a four-year period instead of three years. Once approved, and while some cost recovery would be deferred into 2029, all SRP work will be completed in the proposed 2026-2028 timeframe.

Separate from the 2026-2028 SRP which is focused on the electric distribution system, CenterPoint will continue its nearly $2 billion investments planned for the electric transmission system, including rebuilding or upgrading more than 2,200 structures to better withstand extreme weather.

Customer bill impacts
Pending approval from the PUCT, CenterPoint's historic SRP investment in the electric distribution system would add approximately $1.40 per month for an average residential customer each year from 2026 through 2028, with a final $0.60 per month added in 2030 to help lessen bill impacts in previous years.

The impacts of these investment in Greater Houston's electric infrastructure are reduced over the next three years, other key components of the average residential customer bill will go down during the same period including:

• Costs associated with the large temporary emergency generation units will start coming out of rates for Houston Electric customers this summer, and by 2027, bills will be reduced by an estimated $2 per month for the average customer.
• As a result of the recently settled, four-year Houston Electric rate case, CenterPoint will receive approximately $50 million less revenue annually which means a reduction in electric customer bills by about $1 a month for most customers from 2025 through 2028 while also continuing to deliver support for significant local economic growth and upgrades across Greater Houston area.

Building the stronger, more resilient, self-healing electric system of the future
The investments outlined in CenterPoint's SRP are designed to benefit customers across the entire 12-county service area, with a specific focus on customers in higher-risk areas. When complete, this array of resiliency actions, combined with CenterPoint's normal operations, will achieve the following:

• Automation Devices: 100% of lines serving the most customers will include automation devices capable of self-healing to reduce the impact of outages;
• Stronger Distribution Poles: 130,000 stronger, more storm-resilient poles (rated to 110 mph and 132 mph) will be either installed new or replaced or braced to withstand stronger storms;
• Vegetation Management: CenterPoint will deploy an industry-leading, three-year vegetation management cycle for transmission and distribution lines, with 100% of power lines cleared of hazardous vegetation every three years;
• Undergrounding: More than 50% of CenterPoint's system will be undergrounded to improve resiliency; and
• Modernized Cables: 20,150 spans of underground cables will be modernized to reduce the frequency and impact of outages.

Addressing growing energy needs and weather challenges
The resiliency actions outlined by the SRP will also help meet the energy needs of the growing population across CenterPoint's Greater Houston service area. The number of customers is expected to continue growing by approximately 2 percent annually for the foreseeable future – the equivalent of adding a city the size of Waco, Texas, every year. As Greater Houston's population, economy and energy needs continue to grow, CenterPoint's SRP will help address the increasing risk that this fast-growing region faces from extreme weather.

A Systemwide Resiliency Plan shaped by experts, stakeholders and customer feedback
The SRP incorporates important feedback from customers, elected leaders, emergency management agencies and independent experts. In preparation for filing the SRP, CenterPoint conducted 30 community meetings and listening sessions and solicited feedback on the plan during the draft stages. As part of CenterPoint's commitment to long-term affordability, the SRP is designed to provide the greatest dollar value to customers now and in the future by prioritizing proven, cost-effective resiliency actions that will ultimately prove vital to reducing future storm-related costs for the communities CenterPoint serves.

CenterPoint GHRI Phase One and Phase Two resiliency actions
Since launching GHRI in response to Hurricane Beryl last summer, CenterPoint has made progress on the historic series of critical resiliency improvements across both Phase One and Phase Two. When combined, the company has completed the following actions:

• Installed or replaced more than 26,000 stronger, more storm-resilient poles built to withstand extreme winds;
• Undergrounded more than 400 miles of power lines to improve overall resiliency;
• Installed more than 5,150 more automated reliability devices and intelligent grid switching devices to reduce the impact of outages and improve restoration times;
• Cleared more than 6,000 miles of higher-risk vegetation near power lines to reduce storm-related outages; and
• Installed 100 weather monitoring stations to improve situational awareness and storm preparation.  

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 March 31, 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 Statements  
This news release, as well as the website pages related to the GHRI, 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 the Systemwide Resiliency Plan and the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative, including their respective benefits, 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 or the website pages related to the GHRI regarding future events that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news release or the website pages related to the GHRI 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) business strategies and strategic initiatives, restructurings, joint ventures, 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 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 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centerpoint-energy-reaches-settlement-agreement-on-landmark-systemwide-resiliency-plan-to-strengthen-houston-electric-system-against-extreme-weather-threats-and-future-hazards-302481612.html

SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

FAQ

What is CenterPoint Energy's Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP) investment amount and timeline?

CenterPoint's SRP involves over $3 billion investment in the electric distribution system from 2026-2028, with some cost recovery deferred to 2029.

How much will CNP's Systemwide Resiliency Plan cost customers monthly?

Customers will pay approximately $1.40 per month each year from 2026-2028, with a final $0.60 increase in 2030.

What are the main improvements in CenterPoint's SRP for Houston?

Key improvements include 130,000 storm-resilient poles, 100% line automation for major lines, three-year vegetation management cycle, and over 50% underground system coverage.

How many outage minutes will CenterPoint's SRP reduce by 2029?

The plan is expected to reduce storm-related outages by nearly 1 billion minutes (over 913 million minutes) for its 2.8 million customers by 2029.

What offsetting bill reductions will CNP customers receive during SRP implementation?

Customers will see $2/month reduction by 2027 from emergency generation removal and $1/month reduction from 2025-2028 due to rate case settlement.

How is CenterPoint addressing Houston's growing energy needs?

The SRP accommodates customer growth of 2% annually (equivalent to adding a Waco-sized city yearly) while strengthening infrastructure against extreme weather.