CenterPoint Energy 2009 Annual Report Download - page 23

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1
PART I
Item 1. Business
OUR BUSINESS
Overview
We are a public utility holding company whose indirect wholly owned subsidiaries include:
• CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC (CenterPoint Houston), which engages in the electric
transmission and distribution business in a 5,000-square mile area of the Texas Gulf Coast that includes the
city of Houston; and
• CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. (CERC Corp. and, together with its subsidiaries, CERC), which owns
and operates natural gas distribution systems in six states. Subsidiaries of CERC Corp. own interstate
natural gas pipelines and gas gathering systems and provide various ancillary services. A wholly owned
subsidiary of CERC Corp. offers variable and fixed-price physical natural gas supplies primarily to
commercial and industrial customers and electric and gas utilities.
Our reportable business segments are Electric Transmission & Distribution, Natural Gas Distribution,
Competitive Natural Gas Sales and Services, Interstate Pipelines, Field Services and Other Operations. From time to
time, we consider the acquisition or the disposition of assets or businesses.
Our principal executive offices are located at 1111 Louisiana, Houston, Texas 77002 (telephone number: 713-
207-1111).
We make available free of charge on our Internet website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to
Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we
electronically file such reports with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Additionally, we make available free of charge on our Internet website:
• our Code of Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers;
• our Ethics and Compliance Code;
• our Corporate Governance Guidelines; and
• the charters of the audit, compensation, finance, governance and strategic planning committees of our
Board of Directors.
Any shareholder who so requests may obtain a printed copy of any of these documents from us. Changes in or
waivers of our Code of Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers and waivers of our
Ethics and Compliance Code for directors or executive officers will be posted on our Internet website within five
business days of such change or waiver and maintained for at least 12 months or reported on Item 5.05 of Form 8-K.
Our website address is www.centerpointenergy.com. Except to the extent explicitly stated herein, documents and
information on our website are not incorporated by reference herein.
Electric Transmission & Distribution
In 1999, the Texas legislature adopted the Texas Electric Choice Plan (Texas electric restructuring law) that led to
the restructuring of certain integrated electric utilities operating within Texas. Pursuant to that legislation, integrated
electric utilities operating within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) were required to unbundle
their integrated operations into separate retail sales, power generation and transmission and distribution companies.
The legislation also required that the prices for wholesale generation and retail electric sales be unregulated, but