Centerpoint Energy Inc Stock Price, News & Analysis

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is implementing precautionary measures to address elevated wildfire risks in the Greater Houston area during a Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 p.m. on March 15, 2025. The company has mobilized approximately 1,000 line and vegetation workers to respond to potential emergencies.

Key actions include inspecting power lines and natural gas facilities, clearing hazardous vegetation, adjusting power line safety settings in high-risk areas, and proactively communicating with 330,000 customers in the Cypress, Fort Bend, and Katy areas about possible temporary safety outages. The company has enhanced its emergency response capabilities and is coordinating with local emergency partners.

Customers are encouraged to enroll in the Power Alert Service® for real-time updates and can track outages through CenterPoint's improved cloud-based Outage Tracker, available in English and Spanish.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is actively preparing for potential wildfire risks as the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch for large portions of Texas, including the Greater Houston area, effective Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. The alert warns of strong winds, dry conditions, and low humidity.

The company is implementing several preventive measures including:

• Pre-inspecting and hardening power lines
• Adjusting power line safety settings
• Clearing hazardous vegetation
• Positioning additional crews for rapid response
• Coordinating with local emergency agencies

CenterPoint will notify customers in the Cypress, Fort Bend, and Katy areas about possible temporary safety outages through their Power Alert Service. The company emphasizes its commitment to restore power safely and quickly if outages occur during these extreme weather conditions.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) has achieved over 50% completion of its Phase Two Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) critical actions ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. Key accomplishments include:

• Installation of 14,200+ stronger, storm-resilient poles
• Clearing of 2,200+ miles of high-risk vegetation
• Implementation of 2,170+ automated reliability devices
• Undergrounding of 280+ miles of power lines

The initiative, launched in September 2024, aims to strengthen grid resiliency and is expected to reduce outages by over 125 million minutes annually. The company is also installing 100 new weather monitoring stations across Greater Houston, with completion scheduled before June 1, 2025.

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.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) reported Q4 2024 earnings of $0.38 per diluted share and full year earnings of $1.58 per share on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP EPS was $0.40 for Q4 and $1.62 for full year 2024, showing an 8% increase over 2023.

The company forecasts nearly 50% increased electric load growth demand at its Houston Electric service territory by 2031. CenterPoint increased its 10-year capital plan through 2030 to $47.5 billion, a $500 million increase focused on grid resiliency in the Houston Region.

The company reiterated its 2025 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $1.74-$1.76, representing 8% growth over 2024, and maintains a growth target of 6-8% annually through 2030. Q4 results were driven by growth, regulatory recovery, lower O&M costs, and favorable weather conditions, partially offset by increased interest expenses.

CenterPoint Energy is implementing its cold weather readiness plan as ERCOT issues a Weather Watch for February 19-21, 2025, due to forecasted extreme cold temperatures across Texas. The watch indicates expectations of higher electrical demand and potential lower reserves, though grid conditions are expected to remain normal.

The company's Emergency Response and Meteorology teams are actively monitoring weather conditions and preparing to maintain reliable energy delivery. CenterPoint has performed pre-winter preparedness actions to strengthen and winterize its electric and natural gas infrastructure, including inspecting critical equipment. The company is also preparing to deploy cold weather mitigations and mobilize emergency response resources.

To assist customers, CenterPoint offers a Winter Energy Guide with safety and energy-saving tips, and encourages enrollment in their Power Alert Service® for outage updates. Customers can also access their improved Outage Tracker system in English and Spanish.

CenterPoint Energy has reported significant progress in its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) Phase Two, deploying 750 automated reliability devices in January 2025, with plans to install 4,500 devices by June 1, 2025. These 'self-healing' devices will help reduce outage frequency and duration during storms.

In the past five months, the company has achieved several milestones including: installation of over 11,000 storm-resilient poles, clearance of high-risk vegetation along power lines, and undergrounding of power lines. Recent four-week achievements include installing 1,800 additional storm-resilient poles, clearing 400 miles of power lines, undergrounding 40 miles of lines, and installing 13 Intelligent Grid Switching Devices.

The initiative, running through May 31, 2025, will also include 100 new weather monitoring stations before the 2025 hurricane season. When completed, GHRI Phase Two is expected to reduce customer outage minutes by more than 125 million annually.

CenterPoint Energy has announced its enhanced Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP) for 2026-2028, representing the largest grid resiliency investment in company history at $5.75 billion. The plan aims to reduce storm-related outage impacts by over 1.3 billion minutes for its 2.8 million customers into 2029.

Key improvements include: automation devices on 100% of major lines, raising 99% of substations above the 500-year flood plain, undergrounding more than 50% of the system, and installing 130,000 stronger storm-resilient poles. The plan is expected to strengthen overall system resiliency by at least 30% over three years and save customers approximately $50 million in annual storm-related costs.

The SRP builds upon the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative launched in 2024, which has already installed 10,600 resilient poles, cleared 3,400 miles of hazardous vegetation, added 370 self-healing automation devices, and undergrounded 200 miles of power lines.

CenterPoint Energy has reached a settlement agreement in its 2024 Houston Electric Rate Case that will result in approximately $50 million less annual revenue through roughly 2029. The settlement, pending PUCT approval, will reduce customer bills by about $1 monthly, representing a 2% decrease for residential customers using 1,000 kWh per month.

The company has invested $8 billion in grid improvements since 2019, including 2,200 miles of new distribution lines, 100+ miles of transmission lines, and eight new substations. The settlement includes CenterPoint's proposal to relocate 15 large emergency generation units to San Antonio for two years starting Spring 2025, helping address ERCOT's regional energy shortfall without generating profit for CenterPoint.

Notable achievements include installing 437 Intelligent Grid Switching Devices, resulting in over 80 million minutes of avoided customer outages in 2023. CenterPoint's rates have remained relatively flat over the last decade, staying below annual inflation of 2.8%, and were the lowest among Texas peer utilities in 2024.