CenterPoint Houston-Area Peak Power Demand to Rise 50% by 2029

CenterPoint Energy Inc. raised the estimate for peak power demand growth for its Houston-area utility by 10 gigawatts as data center connections accelerate, CEO Jason Wells says in conference call discussing fourth-quarter results.

• “This is another very strong tailwind for the company,” taking advantage of spare capacity on its system and doesn’t need significant upgrades, Wells says
• Of the 50% peak demand growth outlook, 2.5 GW is already on construction and another 5 GW are firmly committed that’ll be online by 2028; that’s on top of 3 GW of “ordinary course growth” in region
• CenterPoint estimates that addition of 5 ...