CenterPoint Energy 2004 Annual Report Download - page 14

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control costs and continue to make improvements in
their overall performance.
Our gas delivery business turned in a strong performance in
2004. In Houston, we achieved our target earnings, despite
warmer weather during the heating season, primarily
by effectively managing costs. Employees were able to
stay within budget while meeting service objectives and
controlling capital expenditures and operating and
maintenance costs.
Our pipeline businesses are ranked in the top quartile
among pipeline companies with operations similar to ours,
according to the results of an internal study conducted in
2004. The study benchmarked the operating costs for
pipelines in the United States as a starting point for
comparisons. We were ranked in the top quartile in all
measures. Still, recognizing that newly enacted regulatory
requirements are placing increased pressure on our
operating costs, Pipeline Services and Field Services began
a full review of our construction and maintenance processes
in 2005 to ensure that we continue to operate our business at
maximum efficiency.
Targeting new customers for growth
While we continue to experience strong customer growth
in many of our service territories, we are committed to
expanding our business by strategically targeting new
growth opportunities.
In Minnesota, we are focusing our customer acquisition
efforts on high-growth residential areas, ethanol production
facilities and large natural gas-fired electric generation
facilities. During 2004, we signed contracts to serve four
new commercial/industrial customers who will use more
than 5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas annually,
which is equivalent to the consumption of 50,000 residential
customers. With nearly 240,000 repair plan customers, our
appliance sales and repair business in Minnesota, Home
Service Plus®(HSP), covers more than 1.3 million appliances
and is the largest furnace and appliance repair provider
in Minnesota. It is also the largest provider of residential
heating, ventilation and air conditioning replacement
equipment in the state.
In our pipelines business, we signed contracts and filed a
request seeking regulatory approval for major pipeline
growth and for an expansion of our Chiles Dome storage
Reynaldo Carabajal, Construction and Maintenance Technician,
uncoils piping at a construction site in New Braunfels, Texas.
COMMITTED TO SHAREHOLDERS