CenterPoint Energy 2004 Annual Report Download - page 12

earnings growth. Houston and Minneapolis, two of the
nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas, together added
more than 91,000 electric and natural gas customers in 2004.
In the Houston area, we added a total of 47,000 new electric
meters to our previous base of 1.8 million and 27,000 new
natural gas customers to the 1 million we currently serve.
The strong residential housing market in the Minneapolis
area accounted for most of the approximately 17,000 new
customers in Minnesota, where we serve 750,000 customers.
We also added gas distribution customers in Little Rock,
Ark., Shreveport, La., suburban Jackson, Miss., and the
corridor between Austin and San Antonio, Texas.
Our interstate pipelines operations signed new seven-year
contracts with our Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas gas
distribution operations that will provide long-term stability.
The gas gathering business enjoyed a record-setting year,
connecting 393 new natural gas wells, completing eight new
major gathering projects and installing 1,800 additional
ServiceStar units, our remote wellhead monitoring and
measuring product. Pipeline Services continued to make
progress providing pipeline operations, maintenance and
technical services to third party clients.
Improving earnings through rate relief and rate design
We remain committed to achieving our allowed rate of
return in our regulated businesses. As part of this strategy,
we will seek rate increases when necessary. In 2004,
CenterPoint Energy sought and received significant rate
relief in several jurisdictions.
In the Houston metropolitan area, we received approval for
$14 million in base rate increases from the Texas Railroad
Commission, the city of Houston and 28 other cities. In
addition to the base rate changes, we also established gas
cost adjustment clauses that help mitigate fuel price risks
by enhancing our ability to more quickly reflect the current
estimated cost of gas in customers’ bills.
We also obtained rate relief in Louisiana and Oklahoma,
resulting in a $2 million increase in base rates and
service charges in our southern Louisiana service
territory, a $7 million increase in base rates and service
charges in northern Louisiana and a $3 million rate increase
in Oklahoma. We also obtained rate stabilization clauses
in northern Louisiana and Oklahoma, which are similar
to the clause that is already in effect in southern Louisiana.
The stabilization clauses allow us to make small annual
OUR CORE ENERGY DELIVERY BUSINESSES ACHIEVED
EXCELLENT FINANCIAL RESULTS WHILE CONTINUING
TO MAKE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
COMMITTED TO SHAREHOLDERS