CenterPoint Energy Agrees to Rate Decrease Following Hurricane Beryl Criticism
Houston's largest utility company plans to reduce residential and small business bills after months of scrutiny over storm response and rate hike proposals.
- CenterPoint Energy customers in the Houston area will see an average monthly reduction of $0.82 for residential bills and $1.28 for small businesses, pending approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
- The rate decrease will result in approximately $50 million less annual revenue for the company, reversing an earlier proposal to raise rates by $60 million annually.
- The settlement follows widespread criticism of CenterPoint's response to Hurricane Beryl, which left 2.2 million customers without power and caused over $1 billion in infrastructure damage.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other officials demanded improvements to CenterPoint's emergency response and grid resiliency, prompting the company to launch the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative and other measures.
- CenterPoint also faced investigations into its use of taxpayer funds and scrutiny over its handling of emergency generators, which are now proposed to be relocated to San Antonio to address potential grid shortages.
The Texas Tribune 
Houston Public Media 