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
