Remember Centerpoint losing power to millions, over 40 deaths, uncovered lack of line maintenance, tree maintenance, and upgrades. Failure to put millions of dollars of generators and alternative energy sources that had been purchased online. Then whining about costs and trying to stick a fee increase up the consumer's ass through the State? And thats just last year. Could fill a page with freeze failures.
Thats your "for-profit" utility company.
Centerpoint posts increased profits over previous year
CenterPoint reported a profit of $1 billion in 2024 – the same year it left over 2.2 million customers without power during Hurricane Beryl and the summer derecho.
The energy giant's profit was an increase of $152 million from reported profits in 2023.
During the hurricane, 42 people died in the Houston area as a result of the storm, including from heat-related illnesses. The storm devastated communities with massive flooding, downed trees and power lines and created a long-lasting economic and environmental impact on the area.
Still, CenterPoint's CEO Jason Wells said the Houston metro area is booming — at "a truly remarkable pace.
"This is an incredible tailwind for the company," Wells said on an investor earnings call.
Wells said Houston's peak demand for electricity is expected to increase nearly 50 percent in the next six years, from 21 gigawatts today to nearly 31 gigawatts by 2031—the area's largest increase in over 25 years, according to a press release.
At the height of the hurricane, the energy company's handling of electricity lines became a source of contention among civilians and lawmakers.
The company's efforts to restore power during the brunt of the storm were deemed slow and confusing by residents, who were left frustrated with the Texas-based energy company's laggy restoration process.
In the aftermath of Beryl, CenterPoint faced an investigation from the state and even tried to hike up its rates by $1.25 a month before walking back that proposal.
Still, the company has maintained that there won't be a repeat of Beryl, insisting they've implemented new measures ahead of historic weather such as the January snow storm. CenterPoint released a new outage tracker in August, which was a source of frustration for customers during Beryl who said it was confusing and useless.
Thats your "for-profit" utility company.
Centerpoint posts increased profits over previous year
CenterPoint reported a profit of $1 billion in 2024 – the same year it left over 2.2 million customers without power during Hurricane Beryl and the summer derecho.
The energy giant's profit was an increase of $152 million from reported profits in 2023.
During the hurricane, 42 people died in the Houston area as a result of the storm, including from heat-related illnesses. The storm devastated communities with massive flooding, downed trees and power lines and created a long-lasting economic and environmental impact on the area.
Still, CenterPoint's CEO Jason Wells said the Houston metro area is booming — at "a truly remarkable pace.
"This is an incredible tailwind for the company," Wells said on an investor earnings call.
Wells said Houston's peak demand for electricity is expected to increase nearly 50 percent in the next six years, from 21 gigawatts today to nearly 31 gigawatts by 2031—the area's largest increase in over 25 years, according to a press release.
At the height of the hurricane, the energy company's handling of electricity lines became a source of contention among civilians and lawmakers.
The company's efforts to restore power during the brunt of the storm were deemed slow and confusing by residents, who were left frustrated with the Texas-based energy company's laggy restoration process.
In the aftermath of Beryl, CenterPoint faced an investigation from the state and even tried to hike up its rates by $1.25 a month before walking back that proposal.
Still, the company has maintained that there won't be a repeat of Beryl, insisting they've implemented new measures ahead of historic weather such as the January snow storm. CenterPoint released a new outage tracker in August, which was a source of frustration for customers during Beryl who said it was confusing and useless.
