ERCOT Board approves moving ahead to finalize CenterPoint Energy's emergency generation proposal; Company's actions will lower bills for Houston-area customers and help avoid regional energy shortfall

Rhea-AI Summary

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) received ERCOT Board approval for its emergency generation proposal to address Texas' energy shortfall. The company will deploy 15 large emergency generation units (27MW-32MW each) to the San Antonio region by Summer 2025 for up to two years, providing approximately 450MW of power.

Key aspects of the proposal include:

• CNP will make no revenue or profit from these units during the ERCOT service period
• Greater Houston-area customers will see approximately $2 monthly bill reduction by 2027
• Each unit can power about 30,000 homes
• The units will be located at San Antonio substations

The proposal represents a solution to help meet Texas' immediate energy needs while providing bill relief to Houston-area customers through rate reductions and cost foregoing. After the two-year ERCOT service period, CNP will explore future market opportunities, including sub-leasing these units to third parties.

Positive

• Bill reduction of $2/month for Houston customers by 2027
• Addition of 450MW emergency power capacity to Texas grid
• No additional costs to customers for future unit operations
• Future revenue potential through sub-leasing units after ERCOT period

Negative

• No immediate bill relief (reductions start by 2027)
• Temporary solution to two years
• No revenue generation from units during ERCOT period

CenterPoint's 15 large emergency generation units will help ERCOT meet current and future energy needs for the San Antonio region for up to two years starting in Summer 2025

Greater Houston-area customers will see bill relief related to this transaction of approximately $2 less per month by 2027

Subject to final approvals, CenterPoint will make no revenue or profit off the proposal to help ERCOT and the State of Texas

HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a commitment to help meet the State of Texas' immediate energy needs, CenterPoint Energy welcomed today's approval by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Board to move ahead with finalizing CenterPoint's proposal to utilize 15 large emergency generation units to help address the state's generation shortfall concerns. Under its proposal, CenterPoint will make no revenue or profit from these 15 units while helping ERCOT and the State of Texas. CenterPoint's 2.8 million Greater Houston-area electric customers will also benefit from the arraignment by seeing lower monthly bills related to this transaction by 2027.

As outlined before the ERCOT Board today, and subject to finalization of mutually agreed upon documentation among the relevant parties, including ERCOT and the service provider/operator of the emergency generation units, CenterPoint will send the 15 large emergency generation units to the San Antonio area by summer 2025, for up to two years, which will help the state and ERCOT offset a projected energy shortfall.

As an outcome of this proposal, CenterPoint would make its Houston Electric customers whole for the portion of the units that they have been billed for to date through a combination of rate reductions and foregoing other costs (such as some 2024 storm and vegetation management costs).

The cost of these large temporary generation units will be removed from CenterPoint's Houston Electric rates once they leave the CenterPoint service area in the coming months. The average Houston Electric customer (who uses 1,000 kWh/month) will see a reduction in bills of an estimated $2/month related to this transaction by 2027.

The 15 units (ranging from 27MW to 32MW) can each power approximately 30,000 homes and were originally acquired to help protect customers against the impacts of extreme weather like Winter Storm Uri.

"All of us at CenterPoint work hard every day to find solutions that benefit our many different stakeholders. This proposal is an unprecedented contribution of value to the state at a key inflection point in the Texas energy market. This unique, commonsense, Texas-driven solution will reduce our customers' electric bills and address the state's projected power needs for the next few years. We want to especially thank the ERCOT board, and all our state and local elected leaders for their strong support as we continue to work together to finalize this smart and forward-looking solution that provides bill relief to our customers while helping meet the ever-growing energy needs of our vibrant Texas economy," said Jason Wells, President and Chief Executive Officer of CenterPoint Energy.

Working Together Toward a Commonsense, Texas-Focused Solution
Over the last six months, CenterPoint engaged in discussions with ERCOT staff, elected leaders and other parties on the role of large temporary generation units, which culminated in this unique proposal.

Important Facts: CenterPoint's Texas Solution for Emergency Generation Units
CenterPoint's leased 15 large emergency generation units will help provide up to approximately 450MW of power to be dispatched by ERCOT to serve Texans in the San Antonio region. Important facts related to the proposal include the following:

• Lowering Bills for CenterPoint Customers: Costs associated with these units will start to come out of rates for Houston Electric customers in the coming months. Going forward, bills will be reduced by an estimated $2/month by 2027 (for the average customer) related to this transaction. This is based on an average customer who uses approximately 1,000 kWh. Final timing and agreement on the rate reduction must be approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas in Spring 2025.
• Supporting EROCT/Texas Energy Needs: CenterPoint will send the 15 large (27MW -32MW) units to the Greater San Antonio area in the coming months. By Summer 2025, these units will be located at substations around San Antonio. These units will be available to serve ERCOT for up to two years.  This approximately two-year timeframe could be shortened if transmission projects planned in the South Texas area are completed ahead of schedule.
• Helping Texas: The Texas-driven solution will provide critical generation capacity for the San Antonio region, avoiding the risk of possible shortfalls. 
• Forgoing Revenue and Profit for Units: CenterPoint will receive no revenue or profit from the 15 large units for an up to two-year period based on the proposal with ERCOT.
• Seeking Future Market Opportunities: After the up-to-two-year ERCOT service period, CenterPoint will seek future market opportunities, including sub-leasing these units to third parties.  CenterPoint will continue to not charge customers for these units relating to this future period.

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. As of December 31, 2024, the company owned approximately $44 billion in assets. 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 a potential transaction with ERCOT, future bill impacts, and future potential transactions regarding the large emergency generation units, including effectiveness, timing and related matters, 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, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors and others should note that we may announce material information using SEC filings and the Investor Relations page of our website, including press releases, public conference calls, webcasts. In the future, we will continue to use these channels to distribute material information about the company and to communicate important information about the company, key personnel, corporate initiatives, regulatory updates, and other matters. Information that we post on our website could be deemed material; therefore, we encourage investors to review the information we post on the Investor Relations page of our website. 

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

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

FAQ

How much will CenterPoint Energy's emergency generation proposal save Houston customers on their monthly bills?

Houston-area customers using 1,000 kWh/month will see approximately $2 monthly bill reduction by 2027.

When will CenterPoint Energy's emergency generation units be operational in San Antonio?

The 15 emergency generation units will be operational in San Antonio by Summer 2025 for up to two years.

How many homes can each of CNP's emergency generation units power?

Each unit can power approximately 30,000 homes, with capacities ranging from 27MW to 32MW.

What is the total power capacity of CenterPoint Energy's emergency generation units for ERCOT?

The 15 units will provide approximately 450MW of power to the San Antonio region.

How will CenterPoint Energy profit from the emergency generation units during the ERCOT service period?

CenterPoint Energy will make no revenue or profit from these units during the up to two-year ERCOT service period.