HOUSTON – If you are a CenterPoint Energy customer, your bill is about to go up.
Customers will see an increase of $2 over the next 15 years. This is for CenterPoint to recover the costs associated with damage to the company’s infrastructure from recent storms, like Hurricane Beryl, the 2024 derecho, and the January 2025 winter storm.
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The $2 surcharge comes following a proposed rate increase CenterPoint Energy presented before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). After negotiations, the PUCT approved the proposal, clearing the way for the rate increase.
To put things into context, CenterPoint said the recent storms caused nearly $1.5 billion in damages to it’s infrastructure.
The company says the proposal which they presented to the PUCT allows them to spread out their repair and recovery costs, which is lower than it would be if the company had used traditional financing.
“To get the full picture, it’s important to remember that the storm restoration costs settlement does add about $2 per month to the average customer’s bill, customers have also had $1 per month subtracted from rates as part of the rate case settlement earlier this year. Additionally, costs associated with the large temporary emergency generation units (all 12 of which are now in the San Antonio area serving statewide backup energy needs) are now coming out of rates for Houston electric customers and bills will be reduced by an estimated $2 less per month for the average customer by 2027,” the company explained.