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State: Texas
Number of Customers: 2.3 million
Main Service Areas: Greater Houston Metro Area
Contact Information: 1-877-570-5770
Address: P.O. Box 4981 Houston, Texas 77210-4981

CenterPoint is a locally-run, Texas-based electric utility that provides energy services to approximately 2.3 million customers throughout the greater Houston metro area. With service areas in some of the most populated areas of TX, CenterPoint provides electricity services for a lot of Texas? population. The following communities fall under the utility?s official service area:

CenterPoint Energy is headquartered in the heart of Houston, Texas and is a regulated wires utility.  The company delivers energy for 85 different electric retailers over a 5,000 square mile service area. With more than 80 years in the utility business, CenterPoint Energy has been helping customers from all over the state of Texas get the assistance they need to receive both the electricity and gas they require for their commercial and residential properties.

An ever-growing company, CenterPoint Energy has expanded over their decades in the business to provide energy services not only to their Houston customers, but to provide natural gas distribution to residents in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

CenterPoint Facilities and Equipment

CenterPoint Energy currently manages more than 28,280 pole miles, 3,700 overhead transmission miles and 22,400 underground circuit miles of distribution wires throughout the state. The company also collectively manages 236 substations and 14 service centers throughout the state of Texas. In 2014 alone, this utility delivered more than 82 million megawatt hours of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Since CenterPoint is the area?s appointed utility, the company is in charge of keeping power lines and other equipment up and running. This includes providing maintenance on the thousands of miles of wires they already manage and creating new wires, power lines and poles to serve their customers.

Consumers in the greater Houston area who do have an issue with poles or power lines, should call the utility immediately. CenterPoint Energy is in charge of handling all electricity related emergencies, including outages, for the entire service area, even for customers who receive their energy from an individual retail energy supplier.

CenterPoint?s Energy Efficiency Program

CenterPoint Energy offers their customers with access to a variety of energy saving programs, thanks to their partnerships with different energy efficient service providers and local agencies. The utility?s featured programs are aimed to help both residential and commercial customers make energy efficient upgrades, save money, reduce energy consumption and benefit the environment. These programs include:

– A/C Distributor Program that provides incentives for distributors who install energy efficient air conditions.
– Advanced lighting programs that offer discounts for customers who choose efficient options.
– Programs for low-income customers to help them receive assistance to make their homes more energy efficient.
– CoolSaver AC Tune-Up Program that optimizes cooling and saving options for customers
– Incentives and training for homebuilders to encourage the construction of new ENERGY Star homes
– Incentives for approved contractors who make qualified energy efficiency upgrades to their homes

Comparing CenterPoint Electricity Rates

Texas operates in an entirely deregulated energy market.

What’s this mean?  This means that consumers have the power to shop for individual electricity plans from local retail energy providers in their area instead of paying their utility for their energy services. However, it doesn?t mean that CenterPoint doesn?t fulfill an important role for area customers.  Those who choose not to shop for a new energy plan can still receive electricity directly from CenterPoint. The utility is also still in charge of managing the facilities and equipment in their service area, as well.

While other retailers may provide more incentives and options with their electricity services, some customers may choose to keep their electricity plan with CenterPoint. Those who do choose to leave their energy plans with the utility can still enjoy competitive pricing, as the state still governs the energy prices that the utility offers. Approximately 85% of the state of Texas is deregulated — those who fall within this portion of the state are encouraged to shop around for their available options, both with their utility and independent providers, before signing up for a service.