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City of Houston Plays Key Role in Negotiations Leading to Energy Rate Decrease for Customers

March 13, 2025 -- Today, The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) issued its final order approving a much-anticipated electricity rate reduction for customers. This comes after extensive negotiations with CenterPoint Energyand the Houston Coalition of Cities, led by the City of Houston, other city coalitions, and consumer advocacy groups.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, CenterPoint Energy will reduce its annual revenue by about $50 million (resulting in a $20 million decrease to residential customers). This settlement will lower electricity rates for all ratepayers, including residential, commercial, and industrial customers across the Houston area. Residential customers can expect an average monthly savings of about $0.82, while small businesses will save around $1.28 each month. Larger commercial and industrial customers will also experience proportional savings.

“The City of Houston led the charge with Houston Coalition of Cities and worked diligently with CenterPoint and other parties to reach a fair and balanced settlement,” said City of Houston Administration & Regulatory Affairs Director Tina Paez. “Our goal was to protect Houston residents from unfair rate increases following what transpired in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. We believe this agreement achieves that balance by lowering rates while still allowing CenterPoint to maintain and improve our area's energy infrastructure responsibly.”

CenterPoint’s original request, filed in March 2024, asked for a $60 million annual increase in revenue, which would have increased rates for residentialcustomers by approximately $73 million. After Hurricane Beryl severely affected the region, causing widespread power outages, CenterPoint attempted to withdraw its request but ultimately moved forward with its original application.

The new rates approved by the PUC will become effective within the next few months. The City of Houston will continue actively scrutinizing other CenterPoint rate filings that are currently pending, including the recently filed request for recovery of storm-related costs from recent weather events and CenterPoint’s System Resiliency Plan application, to ensure ongoing fairness and transparency in utility rates.