CenterPoint customers could foot part of $1.8B storm recovery debt for next 15 years under proposal

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two destructive storms and millions of power outages later, CenterPoint Energy proposes that its customers bail it out of debt.

The company said restoration efforts after the derecho and Hurricane Beryl would likely cost them an estimated $1.8 billion.

If CenterPoint gets approval from the Public Utility Commission, customers could foot part of the bill for 15 years.

The company proposes a 2% rate hike to recoup $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion of storm-related costs.

"You just kind of want to know, 'Where is my money going?' and, 'How is it being spent?'" Sawana Sillett, a CenterPoint customer, asked.

Sillett is asking a question many Houstonians have when it comes to the energy provider. She was one of the more than 2 million customers in the dark after Beryl.

"We were without power for about six days," Sillett said. "(It was) pretty uncomfortable."

SEE ALSO: Texas lawmakers demand CenterPoint customers not pay $800M generator bill after fiery hearing

CenterPoint's restoration efforts after Beryl have been widely considered a failure, so much so that the State Senate and the PUC are investigating them.

"I am not real happy. CenterPoint, I am not a fan," Sillett said.

"I think there is probably a better business model out there. Charging people who have been impacted by it (is) probably not the best way to make money back," another customer, Humza Saleem, said.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle have expressed opposition to CenterPoint recovering its hurricane-related costs.

On Tuesday, CenterPoint's earnings report showed an income of $228 million for the quarter ending June 30, up from $118 million in the previous year.

"Talking and being nice about it is over. They are a public utility company that gets a guaranteed profit. They need to get the job done, and otherwise, we have to guarantee they have less of a service area, or we have to find someone else who can do the job," State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said.

Bettencourt is wondering, like Sillett, where the money is going.

In its next scheduled rate increase request, CenterPoint is expected to ask for $100 million in investments in its transmission system and long-distance towers and lines.

But Bettencourt questions where the forward-thinking was before this last storm.

"We can talk about stuff in the future, but I want to see them do their job now," Bettencourt said.

State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, said CenterPoint can no longer hide from accountability and that it all starts with following the money.

"Moving forward, everything has to be looked at with a microscope, and the PUC has to do their job and be much more aggressive on looking at everybody's budget," Alvarado said.

Sillett said she hopes lawmakers will take action to ensure CenterPoint doesn't fail customers like this again.

"It is a good show on the cameras, but what are you really doing? That is my question," Sillett said.

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