CenterPoint Energy 2012 Annual Report Download - page 27

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of property additions or cash deposited with the trustee. Approximately $2.9 billion of additional first mortgage bonds and general
mortgage bonds in the aggregate could be issued on the basis of retired bonds and 70% of property additions as of December 31,
2012. However, CenterPoint Houston has contractually agreed that it will not issue additional first mortgage bonds, subject to
certain exceptions.
Electric Lines - Overhead. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 28,011 pole miles of overhead distribution
lines and 3,713 circuit miles of overhead transmission lines, including 373 circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts, 2,124 circuit
miles operated at 138,000 volts and 1,216 circuit miles operated at 345,000 volts.
Electric Lines - Underground. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 21,151 circuit miles of underground
distribution lines and 26 circuit miles of underground transmission lines, including 2 circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts and 24
circuit miles operated at 138,000 volts.
Substations. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 233 major substation sites having a total installed rated
transformer capacity of 54,325 megavolt amperes.
Service Centers. CenterPoint Houston operates 14 regional service centers located on a total of 291 acres of land. These
service centers consist of office buildings, warehouses and repair facilities that are used in the business of transmitting and
distributing electricity.
Franchises
CenterPoint Houston holds non-exclusive franchises from the incorporated municipalities in its service territory. In exchange
for the payment of fees, these franchises give CenterPoint Houston the right to use the streets and public rights-of-way of these
municipalities to construct, operate and maintain its transmission and distribution system and to use that system to conduct its
electric delivery business and for other purposes that the franchises permit. The terms of the franchises, with various expiration
dates, typically range from 20 to 40 years.
Natural Gas Distribution
CERC Corp.'s natural gas distribution business (Gas Operations) engages in regulated intrastate natural gas sales to, and
natural gas transportation for, approximately 3.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The largest metropolitan areas served in each state by Gas Operations are Houston,
Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Lawton, Oklahoma. In
2012, approximately 37% of Gas Operations' total throughput was to residential customers and approximately 63% was to
commercial and industrial customers.
The table below reflects the number of natural gas distribution customers by state as of December 31, 2012:
Residential Commercial/
Industrial Total Customers
Arkansas ............................................................................................... 384,640 48,405 433,045
Louisiana............................................................................................... 231,566 17,191 248,757
Minnesota ............................................................................................. 747,266 68,067 815,333
Mississippi............................................................................................ 110,245 12,587 122,832
Oklahoma.............................................................................................. 91,795 10,694 102,489
Texas..................................................................................................... 1,493,183 89,469 1,582,652
Total Gas Operations............................................................................ 3,058,695 246,413 3,305,108
Gas Operations also provides unregulated services in Minnesota consisting of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC)
equipment and appliance repair, and sales of HVAC, hearth and water heating equipment.
The demand for intrastate natural gas sales to residential customers and natural gas sales and transportation for commercial
and industrial customers is seasonal. In 2012, approximately 66% of the total throughput of Gas Operations' business occurred in
the first and fourth quarters. These patterns reflect the higher demand for natural gas for heating purposes during those periods.
Supply and Transportation. In 2012, Gas Operations purchased virtually all of its natural gas supply pursuant to contracts
with remaining terms varying from a few months to four years. Major suppliers in 2012 included BP Energy Company/BP Canada