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CenterPoint raises ten-year capital plan to $70.7 billion as Houston demand grows

The utility increased its plan by $4 billion and accelerated $1.5 billion into 2026-2030. Its 14 GW demand outlook is a forecast subject to interconnection decisions, not completed load or guaranteed household savings.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 28, 2026 · Updated 10/28/2026

CenterPoint increased its ten-year capital investment plan to $70.7 billion from $66.7 billion, according to its third-quarter 2026 investor update and October 27 earnings-call reporting. The $4 billion increase is planned spending through 2035, not money already invested or infrastructure already operating.

The utility also accelerated $1.5 billion of investment into 2026-2030. Its updated five-year plan totals $38.7 billion, compared with $34.2 billion previously. The five-year increase and the ten-year increase refer to different time windows and should not be treated as interchangeable totals.

The ten-year allocation includes about $51.5 billion for electric operations, $19 billion for natural gas and $0.2 billion for corporate and other spending. This is a mixed utility capital program, not a $70.7 billion renewable-generation project.

CenterPoint retains a forecast of 14 GW of load growth by 2030: approximately 12 GW of expected Batch Zero large-load demand plus 2 GW of distribution and lower-voltage transmission growth. Megawatts and gigawatts describe power demand, not a count of new customers or annual electricity consumption.

The investor presentation warns that actual customer demand may be lower than potential interconnected load. It expects ERCOT to determine base-load amounts in December 2026 and studied-load allocations in April 2027; reclassification or lower allocations could affect energization timing. Those decisions were not completed by the announcement.

Utility Dive reports that company officials forecast $5 billion in Texas customer savings over ten years from expected demand growth. That is a company projection, not a guaranteed bill reduction for each household. The capital plan, regulatory recovery, actual demand and timing remain separate factors when assessing what customers ultimately pay.