CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) navigated high interest rates and milder winter weather to turn in a “tremendous start” to 2023, the company said last week.
“We also have great momentum from the continued execution of our long-term growth strategy through which we have deployed more than $8 billion of capital over the past two years,” CEO David Lesar told financial analysts Thursday.
The Houston-based company reported earnings of $313 million ($0.49/diluted share), compared to $518 million ($0.82/diluted share) for the first quarter of 2022. Last year’s opening quarter included gains from the sale of Energy Transfer common and preferred units and local gas distributors in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
CenterPoint’s adjusted earnings of 50 cents/share beat the Zacks consensus estimate of 48 cents, the 12th straight quarter it has met or exceeded expectations.
The utility said it deployed about $1 billion of the $3.6 billion capital it has planned for the year during the quarter. It has a long-term goal of investing $43 billion of capital through 2030 in its Texas and Indiana footprints.
Legislative and regulatory decisions went CenterPoint’s way during the quarter. Texas issued its state gas company about $1.1 billion of securitization funds related to the extraordinary gas costs it incurred during the February 2021 winter storm. The bonds are not on the utility’s balance sheet.
The Texas Public Utility Commission also approved the recovery of costs incurred during the storm for its leased emergency temporary mobile generation units.
“It highlights the commission’s awareness of the important role of this critical tool can play to help mitigate the number and duration of customer outages during extreme weather events,” Lesar said.
On Wednesday, CenterPoint filed an integrated resource plan (IRP) for its Indiana business that would end its use of the state’s coal by 2027. The company said the proposed plan will save customers nearly $80 million compared to the continued use of coal and will reduce carbon emissions by more than 95% over the next 20 years.
Coal generation currently accounts for 85% of the electricity for the utility’s southwest Indiana customers. By 2030, CenterPoint projects more than 80% of its electricity in the state will be generated by solar and wind, with natural gas providing the rest.
The company plans to convert its last coal plant, F.B. Culley 3, to natural gas by 2027 and maintain its 270-MW capacity. It will also add 200 MW of wind and 200 MW of solar by 2030; another 400 MW of wind resources could be added by 2032.
CenterPoint plans to submit the final IRP to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission by June 1, with a response expected next year. The plan is also designed to comply with MISO’s new, more stringent capacity requirements to meet peak energy demand across all four seasons. The company serves 150,000 customers in southwestern Indiana.
CenterPoint’s share price finished the week at $30.47, a gain of 12 cents from Wednesday’s close.
