CenterPoint Energy Receives Highest Ranking in J.D. Power 2011 Customer Satisfaction Study

MINNEAPOLIS– November 14, 2011 – CenterPoint Energyranked number one among the largest Midwest Region utilities in the J.D. Power and Associates (J.D. Power) 2011 Residential Gas Utility Customer Satisfaction Study.  CenterPoint Energy has ranked among the top Midwest Region utilities in either first or second place for eight of the past ten years the study has been conducted.

“We work to provide reasonably priced services and products and to communicate relevant information to customers to meet their needs.  Having our customers rank us as number one in customer satisfaction means we are succeeding in that goal,” said Tal Centers, division regional vice president of Gas Operations for CenterPoint Energy.   “This year, our customers gave us the highest scores for price, field service and communications about gas safety and how to lower energy costs. Plus, they said we are doing more to enhance their experience in the area of billing and account services. I would like to thank our employees and our customers for positioning us as the top-rated Midwest Region utility in overall customer satisfaction.”

The J.D. Power study is a comprehensive evaluation of customers’ attitudes in six different categories: billing and payment, price, corporate citizenship, communications, field service and customer service. CenterPoint Energy’s overall customer satisfaction index score was 38 points above the Midwest Region large segment average.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and

Texas. Assets total more than $19 billion. With about 8,800 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 135 years. In Minnesota, CenterPoint Energy is the state’s largest natural gas distribution utility, serving about 800,000 customers in 260 communities. The utility also operates a non-regulated business in Minnesota called Home Service Plus®. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.