Policy & Regulation

CenterPoint under fire for $800 million spend intended for mobile generators

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said the massive, more expensive generators purchased by CenterPoint Energy could not be used in nearly all emergencies but allowed them to make a huge profit.

CenterPoint under fire for $800 million spend intended for mobile generators
(Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Photo by by Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons.)

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick criticized CenterPoint Energy for a “dubious” $800 million lease of generators weeks after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the Houston area.

It’s the latest scrutiny CenterPoint has faced following the storm. During a Texas Senate special committee meeting this week, there were many questions about the utility’s $800 million purchase of massive, more expensive generators rather than mobile generators as intended by state law.

That legislation – SB 1075 and HB 1500 from the 88th Texas Legislative Session – allowed utilities like CenterPoint to lease small mobile generators to quickly get power to hospitals, vulnerable populations and cooling or warming centers.

Patrick said the massive, more expensive generators purchased by CenterPoint could not be used in nearly all emergencies but allowed them to make a huge profit. He said CenterPoint testified they would make at least $30 million in profits off the backs of ratepayers.

“CenterPoint violated the spirit and purpose of the legislation by leasing generators that are not truly mobile and, as they testified, have never been deployed for an emergency,” said Patrick.

He added: “Since CenterPoint pursued profit over effectiveness, they actually had to borrow small mobile generators from those companies for Hurricane Beryl.”

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) previously approved reimbursing the $800 million to CenterPoint over time through ratepayer increases. Patrick said he would write a letter to the PUC urging them to revoke their decision to grant CenterPoint’s request for reimbursement through ratepayers.

“Call it potential fraud, deceptive practices, poor money management, or whatever you wish; CenterPoint purposely violated the intent of the legislation to make a profit while not helping their customers during a crisis,” Patrick said.