CenterPoint Energy

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CenterPoint Energy

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: CNP S&P 500 Component
Industry	Utilities
Founded	1882
Headquarters	CenterPoint Energy Tower Downtown Houston, Texas, USA
Key people	David M. McClanahan, CEO & President
Revenue	$8.785 billion[1] USD (2010)
Operating income	$1.249 billion[2] USD (2010)
Net income	$442 million[3] USD (2010)
Employees	8,843[4] (2010)
Website	www.centerpointenergy.com

Centerpoint Energy Plaza, CenterPoint Energy headquarters in Downtown Houston

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) is a Fortune 500 electric and natural gas utility serving several markets in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. It was formerly known as Reliant Energy (from which it is now separated), NorAm Energy, Houston Industries, and HL&P. The company is headquartered in the CenterPoint Energy Tower at 1111 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston.^[5][6] Some of its notable subscribers include Retail Electric Providers (REPs), such as Reliant Energy, Dynowatt, Texas Power, Bounce Energy, MXenergy, Direct Energy, Stream Energy, First Texas Energy Corporation, Gexa Energy and Cirro Energy.

History

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Until December 15, 2004, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessors operated in its various markets under these names; they were used separately prior to Reliant Energy, and later in conjunction with the Reliant Energy and CenterPoint Energy names:

• Minnegasco (Natural gas throughout parts of Minnesota)
• Houston Lighting and Power (or HL&P) Houston-Galveston electric provider
• Entex (Natural gas throughout South and East Texas, Southern Louisiana and Mississippi)
• Arkla (Natural gas throughout Northern Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas)

In late 2004, four private equity firms—the Texas Pacific Group, the Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Hellman & Friedman—combined forces to purchase Texas Genco from Centerpoint. Later in 2006, Texas Genco was sold to NRG Energy of Princeton, N.J.

September 2008 power outage

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A CenterPoint Energy facility in Downtown Houston.

Hurricane Ike caused great disruption of service in the Greater Houston Area, wiping out 2.1 million of CenterPoint Energy's 2.26 million clients' electricity. This was the largest power outage in the company's 130 year history, and the largest in the state's history.

Smart meter pilot program

In March 2009, the company’s five-year smart meter deployment began, delivering enhanced smart meter functionality to Retail Electric Providers (REPs). The company worked with the Department of Energy for a pilot program in Texas centered around energy consumption.^[7]After working with 500-residential electricity customers in the Houston area, it was found that by using a smart meter, consumers cut down on energy use for the home.^[7]The pilot program was funded in part by the $200 million it received from the federal stimulus act.^[7]

Criticism

In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized CenterPoint Energy for spending $2.65 million on lobbying and not paying any taxes during 2008-2010, instead getting $284 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $1.9 billion, and having an executive pay between $12 and $13 million for its top 5 executives.^[8]

See also

Houston portal

• Deregulation of the Texas electricity market
• Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
• Sheffield Nelson

References

External links

• CenterPoint Energy web site
• Company timeline