Houston Boom Leads CenterPoint to Grow Capex Plan Again
The leaders of CenterPoint Energy Inc. have again added to their capital spending plans, citing the “incredible and explosive growth” in Houston, which they say is driving annual rate base growth of 14% through 2030.
Chairman, President and CEO Jason Wells and his team now plan to plan to devote $28.0 billion to CenterPoint’s electric operations from this year to 2030. That’s an increase of $4.5 billion from three months ago, which was itself about $1 billion higher than executives’ forecast from early this year, and all of the latest increase will go to Houston Electric projects.
“We expect to energize at least 14 gigawatts by the end of 2030. This incredible demand is creating a powerful multiplier effect as large industrial expansions drive broader commercial growth across our service territory,” Wells said on an Oct. 27 conference call discussing CenterPoint’s third-quarter earnings. “Notably, industrial and commercial leasing activity in the Houston area is up more than 30% from last year. We are seeing that momentum firsthand, with nearly 1 gigawatt of distribution level load request received in the last year.”
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0626entergyThe newly added $4.5 billion in planned spending is outside of the $10 billion of possible investments CenterPoint executives have identified for the next eight years.
CenterPoint’s five-year capex plan now totals $38.7 billion and its 10-year plan calls for investing $70.7 billion in various growth projects. Of that latter figure, $51.5 billion is dedicated to electric operations. The roughly $19 billion allotted to CenterPoint’s gas utilities, however, could come down as Wells and his lieutenants, who just wrapped up the $2.6 billion sale of an Ohio gas utility to National Fuel, look to further streamline their portfolio.
“We’re going to continue to evaluate those opportunities,” Wells said when asked if other divestitures could help fund the projected capex. “They’re highly efficient for our customers and stakeholders as we’ve executed those in the past. We continue to be supportive of running excellent businesses but you saw recently the benefits from the Ohio close as well.”
Wells said his team is clear about its top priority of meeting Houston’s boom with electricity. The company’s customer count grow by 2% year over year to 3.06 million as of Sept. 30 and forecasts have 3 gigawatts being energized next year to be followed by about 5 gigawatts in 2028.
“Our focus is on enabling the incredible and explosive growth that we’re experiencing and doing so efficiently for our shareholders,” Wells said.
Shares of CenterPoint (Ticker: CNP) rose nearly 2% to $41.97 after executives’ earnings report and climbed another 1.5% on Oct. 29, closing at $42.21. They are essentially flat over the past six months, which leaves the company’s market capitalization at roughly $28 billion.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications T&D World, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, FleetOwner and Oil & Gas Journal. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.
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