Star Tribune July 23, 2022 Mike Hughlett and Patrick Kennedy CenterPoint CEO David Lesar took home one of the biggest paydays in the utility industry last year: $37.8 million. Read more.
23Jun
CenterPoint should share burden of winter storm price spike
June 15, 2022 Star Tribune Lisa Goodman Have you noticed that your CenterPoint gas bill is up this year? You’re not alone. In addition to CenterPoint’s rate hike, some of those higher costs are from a five-day period in February 2021 when wholesale fuel prices spiked 4,000%. If the utility prevails, customers will be paying…
01Jun
Centerpoint Energy earnings report reveals $1.3 billion gain from deal with Texas company that benefited from 2021 gas price spike
Published June 1, 2022 Earlier this year, CUB released a white paper outlining concerns we had about a merger involving CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (the Texas-based parent company of Minnesota’s largest natural gas utility) and another Texas-based gas company, Energy Transfer. CenterPoint’s earnings reports have now revealed that, as a result of the merger, CenterPoint Energy,…
21Apr
CenterPoint boosts CEO pay to $37.8 million, blowing past other utilities
April 19, 2022 Energy and Policy Institute Karlee Weinmann CenterPoint Energy paid its CEO a total of $37.8 million last year, far exceeding executive pay at peer companies while it sought massive rate hikes for customers already struggling to keep up with skyrocketing utility bills. A review of executive compensation at large U.S. utilities places David Lesar’s…
05Mar
Report takes aim at CenterPoint’s gains from Texas merger
March 1, 2022 MPR News Kirsti Marohn An advocacy group is raising questions about CenterPoint Energy’s financial interest in a Texas-based energy company that it says made billions of dollars from natural gas price spikes following a February 2021 winter storm. The Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, which advocates for utility customers, released the report…
01Mar
Is CenterPoint “having its cake and eating it too” when recovering Winter Storm Uri costs from Minnesotans?
Published March 1, 2022 A report (pdf) issued by CUB today raises questions about Texas-based CenterPoint Energy’s financial interest in another Texas company that made billions during the February 2021 Winter Storm Uri. The report comes while CenterPoint’s Minnesota-based subsidiary is attempting to pass on approximately $466 million in costs associated with last year’s storm…
27Dec
Electric and gas rates set to rise across Minnesota
December 27, 2021 MPR News Dan Kraker It’s been a busy few weeks at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The PUC is charged with approving the rates that the state’s regulated utilities can charge for their electric and natural gas service. And right now, the state’s biggest electric and gas utilities are all requesting rate…
06Dec
CenterPoint & MN Power customers will see interim rate increase in January, but less than each utility initially requested
Published December 6, 2021 Last week, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved interim rate increases for both CenterPoint Energy and Minnesota Power. Customers of each utility will see the interim charge on their bills beginning in January. In both decisions, energy affordability for residential customers was at the front of the PUC’s consideration. CenterPoint…
10Nov
CenterPoint and Xcel each request gas rate hikes of over 6%, but also offer alternatives
Published November 10, 2021 As they say: when it rains, it pours. On top of already high natural gas prices — and in addition to rate hike filings by Minnesota Power and Xcel’s electricity business — the state’s two largest natural gas utilities have also requested to increase their base rates of providing service. In…
09Nov
CenterPoint, Xcel file for gas rate increases of over 6%
November 1, 2021 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Minnesota’s largest natural-gas providers — CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy — Monday asked regulators for a rate increase of about 6.5 %, in standard requests that this year would add to costs that are already soaring for other reasons. Sharp increases in the commodity cost of gas are…