Cover and table of contents

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Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K


(Mark One)
☑			ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

			FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023
OR
☐			TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

			FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO


	Registrant, State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization
Commission file number	Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code and Telephone Number			I.R.S. Employer Identification No.

1-31447	CenterPoint Energy, Inc.			74-0694415
	(a Texas corporation)
	1111 Louisiana
	Houston,	Texas	77002
	(713)	207-1111

1-3187	CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC			22-3865106
	(a Texas limited liability company)
	1111 Louisiana
	Houston,	Texas	77002
	(713)	207-1111

1-13265	CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.			76-0511406
	(a Delaware corporation)
	1111 Louisiana
	Houston,	Texas	77002
	(713)	207-1111


Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Registrant	Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Common Stock, $0.01 par value	CNP	New York Stock Exchange
			NYSE Chicago

CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	6.95% General Mortgage Bonds due 2033	n/a	New York Stock Exchange
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	6.625% Senior Notes due 2037	n/a	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	Yes	þ	No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Yes o	No	þ
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	Yes o	No	þ
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	Yes o	No	þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	Yes	þ	No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	Yes	þ	No o
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	Yes	þ	No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


	Large accelerated filer	Accelerated filer	Non-accelerated filer	Smaller reporting company	Emerging growth company
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	þ	o	o	☐	☐
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	o	o	þ	☐	☐
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	o	o	þ	☐	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.						o
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC						o
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.						o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.						o
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC						o
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.						o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	Yes	☐	No þ
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	Yes	☐	No þ
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	Yes	☐	No þ

The aggregate market values of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrants as of June 30, 2023 are as follows:


CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (using the definition of beneficial ownership contained in Rule 13d-3 promulgated pursuant to Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and excluding shares held by directors and executive officers)						$18,251,183,835
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC						None
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.						None

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuers’ classes of common stock as of February 12, 2024:


CenterPoint Energy, Inc.	631,594,706	shares of common stock outstanding, excluding 166 shares held as treasury stock
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC	1,000	common shares outstanding, all held by Utility Holding, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.	1,000	shares of common stock outstanding, all held by Utility Holding, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC and CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. meet the conditions set forth in general instruction I(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K and are therefore filing this Form 10-K with the reduced disclosure format specified in General Instruction I(2) of Form 10-K.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of CenterPoint Energy, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference in Item 10, Item 11, Item 12, Item 13 and Item 14 of Part III of this Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


PART I
		Page
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	18
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	38
Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	38
Item 2.	Properties	40
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	43
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	43
PART II
Item 5.	Market for Registrants’ Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	43
Item 6.	[Reserved]	44
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	44
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	82
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	84
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	172
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	172
Item 9B.	Other Information	175
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	175
PART III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	176
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	176
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	177
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	177
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	177
PART IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	178
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	178


GLOSSARY
ACE						Affordable Clean Energy




AFUDC						Allowance for funds used during construction
AGC						Alcoa Generating Corporation, a subsidiary of Alcoa, Inc.
AI						Artificial intelligence

AMAs						Asset Management Agreements

AMS						Advanced Metering System



Arevon						Arevon Energy, Inc., which was formed through the combination of Capital Dynamics, Inc.’s U.S. Clean Energy Infrastructure business unit and Arevon Asset Management
ARO						Asset retirement obligation
AROK Asset Purchase Agreement						Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2021, by and between CERC Corp. and Southern Col Midco, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of Summit Utilities, Inc.
ARP						Alternative revenue program
ASC						Accounting Standards Codification
ASU						Accounting Standards Update

AT&T						AT&T Inc.
AT&T Common						AT&T common stock


ATM Forward Purchasers						Bank of America, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank, N.A., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC, MUFG Securities EMEA plc and Royal Bank of Canada
ATM Forward Sellers						BofA Securities, Inc. Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC
ATM Managers						BofA Securities, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Bcf						Billion cubic feet


Board						CenterPoint Energy’s Board of Directors
Bond Companies						Bond Company IV and Restoration Bond Company, each a wholly-owned, bankruptcy remote entity formed solely for the purpose of purchasing and owning transition or system restoration property through the issuance of Securitization Bonds


Bond Company IV						CenterPoint Energy Transition Bond Company IV, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston Electric

BTA						Build Transfer Agreement
CAMT						Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax
CARES Act						Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
CCN						Certificate of Convenience and Necessity
CCR						Coal Combustion Residuals

CECA						Clean Energy Cost Adjustment

CEIP						CenterPoint Energy Intrastate Pipelines, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CERC Corp.
CenterPoint Energy						CenterPoint Energy, Inc., and its subsidiaries
CERC Corp.						CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp.
CERC						CERC Corp., together with its subsidiaries
CERCLA						Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended
CES						CenterPoint Energy Services, Inc. (now known as Symmetry Energy Solutions, LLC), previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of CERC Corp. until its divestiture on June 1, 2020


Charter Common						Charter Communications, Inc. common stock


CIP						Conservation Improvement Program

CNG						Compressed natural gas

Code						The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
CODM						Chief Operating Decision Maker
Common Stock						CenterPoint Energy, Inc. common stock, par value $0.01 per share
Compensation Committee						Compensation Committee of the Board


GLOSSARY
Convertible Notes						CenterPoint Energy’s 4.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026

COVID-19						Novel coronavirus disease 2019, and any mutations or variants thereof, and related global outbreak that was subsequently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization
CPCN						Certificate of public convenience and necessity


CPP						Clean Power Plan
CSIA						Compliance and System Improvement Adjustment



DCRF						Distribution Cost Recovery Factor
DE&I Council						Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council
DOC						U.S. Department of Commerce

DOT						U.S. Department of Transportation
DRR						Distribution Replacement Rider
DSMA						Demand Side Management Adjustment
Dth						Dekatherms

ECA						Environmental Cost Adjustment
EDF Renewables						EDF Renewables Development, Inc.

EDIT						Excess deferred income taxes
EECR						Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery
EECRF						Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor
EEFC						Energy Efficiency Funding Component
EEFR						Energy Efficiency Funding Rider


ELG						Effluent Limitation Guidelines
EIA						U.S. Energy Information Administration
Elk GP Merger Sub						Elk GP Merger Sub LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Transfer
Elk Merger Sub						Elk Merger Sub LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Transfer
Enable						Enable Midstream Partners, LP
Enable Common Units						Enable common units, representing limited partnership interests in Enable
Enable GP						Enable GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of Enable
Enable Merger						The merger of Elk Merger Sub with and into Enable and the merger of Elk GP Merger Sub with and into Enable GP, in each case on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Enable Merger Agreement, with Enable and Enable GP surviving as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Energy Transfer, which closed on December 2, 2021
Enable Merger Agreement						Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among Energy Transfer, Elk Merger Sub, Elk GP Merger Sub, Enable, Enable GP and, solely for the purposes of Section 2.1(a)(i) therein, Energy Transfer GP, and solely for the purposes of Section 1.1(b)(i) therein, CenterPoint Energy
Enable Series A Preferred Units						Enable’s 10% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Non-Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units, representing limited partner interests in Enable

Energy Services						Offered competitive variable and fixed-priced physical natural gas supplies primarily to commercial and industrial customers and electric and natural gas utilities through CES and CEIP
Energy Services Disposal Group						Substantially all of the businesses within CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s Energy Services reporting unit that were sold under the Equity Purchase Agreement
Energy Systems Group						Energy Systems Group, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vectren
Energy Transfer						Energy Transfer LP, a Delaware limited partnership
Energy Transfer Common Units						Energy Transfer common units, representing limited partner interests in Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer GP						LE GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and sole general partner of Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer Series G Preferred Units						Energy Transfer Series G Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units, representing limited partner interests in Energy Transfer
EPA						Environmental Protection Agency

Equity Distribution Agreement						Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of January 10, 2024, by and between CenterPoint Energy, the ATM Managers, the ATM Forward Purchasers and the ATM Forward Sellers
Equity Purchase Agreement						Equity Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 21, 2023, by and between Vectren Energy Services and ESG Holdings Group

iii


GLOSSARY
ERCOT						Electric Reliability Council of Texas
ERCOT ISO						ERCOT Independent System Operator
ERISA						Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
ERG						Employee Resource Group
ERO						Electric Reliability Organization
ESG Holdings Group						ESG Holdings Group, LLC a Delaware limited liability company, and an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management

FAC						Fuel Adjustment Clause
FASB						Financial Accounting Standards Board
February 2021 Winter Storm Event						The extreme and unprecedented winter weather event in February 2021 (also known as Winter Storm Uri) resulting in electricity generation supply shortages, including in Texas, and natural gas supply shortages and increased wholesale prices of natural gas in the United States, primarily due to prolonged freezing temperatures.
FERC						Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Fitch						Fitch Ratings, Inc.
Form 10-K						Annual Report on Form 10-K
FPA						Federal Power Act



General Mortgage						General Mortgage Indenture, dated as of October 10, 2002, between CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC and JPMorgan Chase Bank, as Trustee, as supplemented
GHG						Greenhouse gases

GRIP						Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program
GWh						Gigawatt-hours

HLPSA						Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979
Houston Electric						CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC and its subsidiaries
HVAC						Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
IBEW						International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

ICPA						Inter-Company Power Agreement
IDEM						Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Indiana Electric						Operations of SIGECO’s electric transmission and distribution services, and includes its power generating and wholesale power operations
Indiana Gas						Indiana Gas Company, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CERC Corp.
Indiana North						Gas operations of Indiana Gas
Indiana South						Gas operations of SIGECO
Indiana Utilities						Indiana Electric, Indiana North and Indiana South, collectively


IRA						Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
IRP						Integrated Resource Plan
IRS						Internal Revenue Service
IURC						Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
kV						Kilovolt

LAMS Asset Purchase Agreement						Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 19, 2024, by and among CERC Corp. and the LAMS Buyers
LAMS Buyers						Delta Utilities No. LA, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Delta Utilities S. LA, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Delta Utilities MS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Delta Shared Services Co., LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
LDC						Local Distribution Company
LIBOR						London Interbank Offered Rate
LNG						Liquefied natural gas
Load Shed						Curtailing the amount of electricity a TDU can transmit and distribute to its customers
LPSC						Louisiana Public Service Commission
LTIPs						Long-term incentive plans

MCRA						MISO Cost and Revenue Adjustment


GLOSSARY
M&DOT						Mortgage and Deed of Trust, dated November 1, 1944, between Houston Lighting and Power Company and Chase Bank of Texas, National Association (formerly, South Texas Commercial National Bank of Houston), as Trustee, as amended and supplemented
Merger						The merger of Merger Sub with and into Vectren on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, with Vectren continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc., which closed on the Merger Date
Merger Agreement						Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 21, 2018, among CenterPoint Energy, Vectren and Merger Sub
Merger Date						February 1, 2019
Merger Sub						Pacer Merger Sub, Inc., an Indiana corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy
MES						CenterPoint Energy Mobile Energy Solutions, Inc. (now known as Mobile Energy Solutions, Inc.), previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of CERC Corp.
MGP						Manufactured gas plant
MISO						Midcontinent Independent System Operator

MMBtu						One million British thermal units
MMcf						Million cubic feet
Moody’s						Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.




MPUC						Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

MPSC						Mississippi Public Service Corporation
Mva						Megavolt amperes
MW						Megawatts

Natural Gas						Natural gas distribution businesses
NECA						National Electrical Contractors Association
NERC						North American Electric Reliability Corporation

NGA						Natural Gas Act of 1938

NGLs						Natural gas liquids
NGPA						Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978
NGPSA						Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968

NOLs						Net operating losses
NRG						NRG Energy, Inc.

NYSE						New York Stock Exchange



OPEIU						Office & Professional Employees International Union
Oriden						Oriden LLC
Origis						Origis Energy USA Inc.
OUCC						Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor
OVEC						Ohio Valley Electric Corporation




PHMSA						Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

PIPES Act						Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020


PPA						Power purchase agreement
PRPs						Potentially responsible parties

PTCs						Production Tax Credits
PUCO						Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
PUCT						Public Utility Commission of Texas
Railroad Commission						Railroad Commission of Texas
RCRA						Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976


Registrants						CenterPoint Energy, Houston Electric and CERC, collectively

REP						Retail electric provider
Restoration Bond Company						CenterPoint Energy Restoration Bond Company, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston Electric


GLOSSARY
Restructuring						CERC Corp.’s common control acquisition of Indiana Gas and VEDO from VUH on June 30, 2022
ROE						Return on equity

ROU						Right of use
RRA						Rate Regulation Adjustment

RSP						Rate Stabilization Plan
Scope 1 emissions						Direct source of emissions from a company’s operations
Scope 2 emissions						Indirect source of emissions from a company’s energy usage
Scope 3 emissions						Indirect source of emissions from a company’s end-users
SEC						Securities and Exchange Commission


Securitization Bonds						Transition and system restoration bonds issued by the Bond Companies and SIGECO Securitization Bonds issued by the SIGECO Securitization Subsidiary
Series A Preferred Stock						CenterPoint Energy’s previously outstanding Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share
Series B Preferred Stock						CenterPoint Energy’s previously outstanding 7.00% Series B Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share
Series C Preferred Stock						CenterPoint Energy’s previously outstanding Series C Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share

SIGECO						Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vectren
SIGECO Securitization Bonds						SIGECO Securitization Subsidiary’s Series 2023-A Senior Secured Securitization Bonds
SIGECO Securitization Subsidiary						SIGECO Securitization I, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of SIGECO
SOFR						Secured Overnight Financing Rate
S&P						S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc.
SRC						Sales Reconciliation Component

TBD						To be determined

TCJA						Tax reform legislation informally called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
TCOS						Transmission Cost of Service
TCRF						Transmission Cost Recovery Factor
TDSIC						Transmission, Distribution and Storage System Improvement Charge
TDU						Transmission and distribution utility
TEEEF						Assets leased or costs incurred as “temporary emergency electric energy facilities” under Section 39.918 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act, also referred to as mobile generation
Texas RE						Texas Reliability Entity
Topic 326						Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 - Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments




TSA						Transportation Security Administration




USW						United Steelworkers Union
UWUA						Utility Workers Union of America
Utility Holding						Utility Holding, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy


Vectren						Vectren, LLC, which converted its corporate structure from Vectren Corporation to a limited liability company on June 30, 2022, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy as of the Merger Date, and, after the Restructuring, is held indirectly by CenterPoint Energy through Vectren Affiliated Utilities, Inc.
Vectren Energy Services						Vectren Energy Services Corporation, an Indiana corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy
VEDO						Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, LLC, which converted its corporate structure from Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, Inc. to a limited liability company on June 13, 2022, formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vectren, acquired by CERC on June 30, 2022
VIE						Variable interest entity

Vistra Energy Corp.						Texas-based energy company focused on the competitive energy and power generation markets.
VRP						Voluntary Remediation Program


GLOSSARY
VUH						Vectren Utility Holdings, LLC, which converted its corporate structure from Vectren Utility Holdings, Inc. to a limited liability company on June 30, 2022, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vectren


WBD Common						Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Series A common stock
Winter Storm Elliott						From December 21 to 26, 2022, a historic extratropical cyclone created winter storm conditions, including blizzards, high winds, snowfall and record cold temperatures across the majority of the United States and parts of Canada.

ZENS						2.0% Zero-Premium Exchangeable Subordinated Notes due 2029
ZENS-Related Securities						As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, consisted of AT&T Common, Charter Common and WBD Common
2022 Form 10-K						Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
2022 Annuity Lift-Out						The irrevocable group annuity contract purchased in December 2022 from an insurance company to transfer $138 million of CenterPoint Energy’s pension plan’s outstanding benefit obligation

vii

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

From time to time the Registrants make statements concerning their expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “projection,” “should,” “target,” “will” or other similar words.

The Registrants have based their forward-looking statements on management’s beliefs and assumptions based on information reasonably available to management at the time the statements are made. The Registrants caution you that assumptions, beliefs, expectations, intentions and projections about future events may and often do vary materially from actual results. Therefore, the Registrants cannot assure you that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by the Registrants’ forward-looking statements. In this Form 10-K, unless context requires otherwise, the terms “our,” “we” and “us” are used as abbreviated references to CenterPoint Energy, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Houston Electric, CERC and SIGECO.

Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied by the Registrants’ forward-looking statements are described under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Certain Factors Affecting Future Earnings” and “ — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Other Matters — Other Factors That Could Affect Cash Requirements” in Item 7 of Part II of this report, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and the Registrants undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

An investment in CenterPoint Energy’s securities involves a significant degree of risk. Below is a summary of certain risk factors to consider in evaluating CenterPoint Energy as well as its Common Stock. However, this list is not exhaustive. Before investing in CenterPoint Energy, carefully consider the risk factors discussed or referenced below and in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of this combined report on Form 10-K. If any of the risks discussed below and in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” were actually to occur, CenterPoint Energy’s, Houston Electric’s and CERC’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected. In that case, CenterPoint Energy might not be able to pay dividends on its Common Stock, or the trading price of its Common Stock could decline.

Risk Factors Affecting Operations

Electric Generation, Transmission and Distribution (CenterPoint Energy and Houston Electric)

Disruptions at power generation facilities, generation inadequacy or directives issued by regulatory authorities could cause interruptions in Houston Electric’s and Indiana Electric’s ability to provide transmission and distribution services and adversely affect their reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Houston Electric’s receivables are primarily concentrated in a small number of REPs, and any delay or default in payments of these receivables could adversely affect Houston Electric’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Indiana Electric’s execution of its generation transition plan, including its IRP, is subject to various risks, including timely recovery of capital investments and increased costs and risks related to the timing and cost of development and/or construction of new generation facilities.
The occurrence of extreme weather events, including winter storms and record hot temperatures, or other causes could lead to additional reforms to the Texas electric market, some measure of which, if implemented, could have an adverse impact on Houston Electric.
Houston Electric’s use of TEEEF is subject to various risks, including failure to obtain and deploy sufficient TEEEF resources, potential performance issues and allegations about Houston Electric’s deployment of the resources (including the planning, execution and effectiveness of the same), regulatory and environmental requirements, and timely recovery of capital.

viii

Natural Gas (CenterPoint Energy and CERC)

Access to natural gas supplies and pipeline transmission and storage capacity are essential components of reliable service for Natural Gas’ customers.
Natural Gas is subject to fluctuations in natural gas prices, which could affect the ability of its suppliers and customers to meet their obligations or may impact its operations, which could adversely affect CERC’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Natural Gas must compete with alternate energy sources, which could result in less natural gas delivered and have an adverse impact on CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risk Factors Affecting Regulatory, Environmental and Legal Risks

Rate regulation of Registrants’ Electric and Natural Gas businesses may delay or deny their ability to earn an expected return and fully and timely recover their costs.
We are subject to operational and financial risks and liabilities arising from environmental laws and regulations, including regulation of CCR, climate change legislation and certain local initiatives that seek to limit fossil fuel usage.
CenterPoint Energy is subject to operational and financial risks and liabilities associated with the implementation of and efforts to achieve its carbon emissions reduction goals.
We are involved in numerous legal proceedings, the outcomes of which are uncertain, and resolution adverse to us could negatively affect our financial results.

Risk Factors Affecting Financial, Economic and Market Risks

Disruptions to the global supply chain may lead to higher prices for goods and services and impact our operations, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to execute our capital plan and on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
CenterPoint Energy is a holding company that derives all of its operating income from, and holds substantially all of its assets through, its subsidiaries. As a result, CenterPoint Energy depends on the performance of and distributions from its subsidiaries to meet its payment obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock, and provisions of applicable law or contractual restrictions could limit the amount of those distributions.
If we are unable to arrange future financings on acceptable terms, our ability to finance our capital expenditures or refinance outstanding indebtedness could be limited.
If CenterPoint Energy redeems the ZENS prior to their maturity in 2029, its ultimate tax liability and redemption payments would result in significant cash payments, which would adversely impact its cash flows. Similarly, a significant amount of exchanges of ZENS by ZENS holders could adversely impact CenterPoint Energy’s cash flows.

Risk Factors Affecting Safety and Security Risks

The Registrants’ businesses have safety risks.
Cyberattacks, physical security breaches, acts of terrorism or other disruptions could adversely impact our reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

General and Other Risks

Our revenues and results of operations are seasonal.
Climate change could adversely impact financial results from our businesses and result in more frequent and more severe weather events that could adversely affect our results of operations.
Aging infrastructure may lead to increased costs and disruptions in operations that could negatively impact our financial results.
Our businesses will continue to have to adapt to technological change and may not be successful or may have to incur significant expenditures to adapt to technological change.

PART I

Next: Item 1. Business