CenterPoint just raised its 10-year spending plan to $70.7 billion to wire up data centers and other big loads. Here is how that money finds its way onto the delivery charges in Houston power bills.
If you live in the Houston area, part of every power bill goes to CenterPoint Energy for the poles, wires and substations, no matter which retail provider you pick. On Tuesday, CenterPoint told investors it now plans to spend $70.7 billion over the next 10 years, up $4.0 billion from the $66.7 billion plan it set out in the summer. Most of that is for the electric system, and customers pay for that system through delivery charges.
What changed Tuesday
With its third-quarter results, CenterPoint lifted its 10-year plan by $4.0 billion and moved $1.5 billion of work up into 2026-2030. Its investor slides put the five-year plan at about $38.7 billion, up from $34.2 billion, and show about $51.5 billion of the 10-year total going to electric and $19.0 billion to gas. The company also said it sees at least $10 billion more in possible projects through 2035.
Why: the load is coming
The reason is big new customers, mostly data centers. Houston Electric’s peak today is about 21 GW. Under ERCOT’s new Batch Zero process for loads of 75 MW or more, CenterPoint has about 12 GW of Batch Zero load in its 2030 forecast, and about 14 GW of load growth in all. The company calls that more than a 55% increase in peak demand. Across Texas, ERCOT says it is tracking more than 438,000 MW of large-load requests, nearly 89% of them data centers.
How it reaches your bill
CEO Jason Wells told analysts CenterPoint plans to recover the new transmission and distribution spending through its existing capital trackers. Those are the riders on your bill. At today’s residential rates, CenterPoint’s delivery charges come to about $70.23 a month for a home using 1,000 kWh, by our math. The largest piece is the transmission charge, about $30.81, or 44%. The distribution rider (DCRF) was set at $0.006137 per kWh on Sept. 30 on an interim basis, about $6.14 a month at 1,000 kWh. CenterPoint’s DCRF request at the Texas PUC seeks about $72.9 million a year in added revenue, and the interim rate is subject to refund. CenterPoint filed a settlement in the case on Oct. 1, and a final PUC order was still pending as of Oct. 27. Its last base rate case, Docket 56211, ended in a March 2025 settlement that cut revenue by about $50 million, and no new case is pending.
What it means for you
For households, the wires debate is about who carries the cost. CenterPoint says growth will spread fixed costs over more kWh. Its CEO said “the path to affordable rates is through growth”, and the company expects about $5 billion in savings for Texas customers over the next decade. Those are company projections, not a PUC finding. Watch the DCRF and transmission riders on your provider’s bill.
For investors, CenterPoint kept rate base growth at more than 14% a year through 2030 and raised its 2027 earnings guidance to $2.07-$2.09 a share. It also raised its equity needs by $1.6 billion, which means more new shares.
Caveats
- Load forecasts can slip. ERCOT’s final transmission plan for Batch Zero is due in fall 2027, and about 2 GW of studied load has already withdrawn.
- The $70.23 figure is an illustration at 1,000 kWh. Retail providers package these charges in different ways, and the energy charge comes on top.
- Utility Dive reported CenterPoint submitted 17 GW of projects to ERCOT’s large-load process, with about 12 GW expected to be eligible. On the call, CenterPoint cited about 14 GW submitted as eligible load (10 GW baseload) and at least 14 GW energized by 2030, including smaller customers. We use the company’s figures.
Stu’s Take…