CenterPoint Houston delivery charges are combined with a separate ERCOT wholesale-supply forecast. The forecast retains 4CP billing and the existing class allocator while applying a stated large-load growth scenario.
Service overview
| Item | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Service | Texas · ERCOT · CenterPoint Houston Transmission Service. |
| Policy basis | Current 4CP billing with the existing class allocation. |
| Load scenario | Forecast assumption: 10 GW commissioned evenly during 2026–2030, then held constant. |
| Billing basis | 4CP in kVA, using an assumed 0.95 power factor. Opening-demand estimates apply in the service-start calendar year; charges based on current-year 4CP demand apply from the next calendar year. |
Charge breakdown
| Regulatory tariff line item | Tariff Charge Type | How the Charge Is Assessed | Calculation basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale electricity supply | Supply | Energy | Imported MWh multiplied by ERCOT wholesale price. |
| Transmission Cost Recovery Factor | Transmission | Fixed estimate initially; 4CP demand afterward | Service-start calendar year: opening 4CP kVA multiplied by monthly rate. After the first calendar year: average imported 4CP kVA multiplied by sum of monthly rates. |
| Customer service | Distribution | Fixed | Monthly customer charge. |
| Company metering | Distribution | Fixed | Monthly metering charge. |
| Distribution service | Distribution | Fixed estimate initially; 4CP demand afterward | Service-start calendar year: opening 4CP kVA multiplied by monthly rate. After the first calendar year: average imported 4CP kVA multiplied by sum of monthly rates. |
| Distribution cost recovery | Distribution | Fixed estimate initially; 4CP demand afterward | Service-start calendar year: opening 4CP kVA multiplied by monthly rate. After the first calendar year: average imported 4CP kVA multiplied by sum of monthly rates. |
| Nuclear decommissioning | Rider | Fixed estimate initially; 4CP demand afterward | Service-start calendar year: opening 4CP kVA multiplied by monthly rate. After the first calendar year: average imported 4CP kVA multiplied by sum of monthly rates. |
| Rate-case expense recovery | Rider | Fixed estimate initially; 4CP demand afterward | Service-start calendar year: opening 4CP kVA multiplied by monthly rate. After the first calendar year: average imported 4CP kVA multiplied by sum of monthly rates. Recovery ends April 28, 2028. |
How charges are calculated
Startup demand
New service uses an estimated coincident demand based on campus nameplate capacity and the tariff coincidence factor:
Opening four-coincident-peak (4CP) demand in kVA is estimated from campus nameplate MW. The forecast multiplies MW by 1,000, divides by the assumed 0.95 power factor, and applies the 0.873222 coincidence factor.
The opening quantity multiplies the monthly transmission and applicable delivery factors during the service-start calendar year. Customer service and company metering remain separate monthly charges.
4CP after the first calendar year
From January 1 following the service-start year, the forecast uses the customer’s four coincident peak (4CP) demand. It selects one system-peak event in each month from June through September and measures imports in 15-minute intervals. Imports at those four events determine annual transmission and delivery charges:
The annual charge is calculated by multiplying average imported 4CP demand in kVA by the sum of the year’s monthly rates in $/kVA-month.
Transmission recovery, distribution service, distribution cost recovery, nuclear decommissioning, and rate-case expense recovery each use a fixed opening-demand estimate in the service-start calendar year and customer demand at the four selected system peaks after the first calendar year. The forecast uses current-year peaks. Invoices use prior-year demand with a February reset.
Transmission rate
The monthly transmission cost recovery factor divides allocated six-month transmission recovery by the class’s six-month billing total in 4CP kVA-months.
Forecast transmission recovery follows ERCOT system costs and CenterPoint’s demand at system peaks. Class billing demand follows the large-load scenario separately.
Forecast methodology
| Charge | How its rate changes |
|---|---|
| Wholesale supply | ERCOT wholesale-price forecast; retail-provider margins are separate. |
| Transmission recovery | Filed transmission cost recovery factors through 2026, then forecast ERCOT costs, CenterPoint demand at system peaks, and class billing demand. The 18.3155% class allocator remains fixed. |
| Load growth | The 10 GW scenario increases CenterPoint demand and class billing demand. The ERCOT system-load forecast is unchanged. |
| Distribution service, distribution cost recovery, nuclear decommissioning, customer service, and metering | Filed nominal factors carry forward until superseded. This assumes no future distribution rate case or discretionary escalation. |
| Rate-case expense recovery | Ends April 28, 2028 under the scheduled maximum recovery period; earlier exhaustion is not forecast. |
| True-ups | No future class-specific adjustment for prior periods or adjustment to the baseline wholesale billing demand is included. |
Assumptions and limitations
| Assumption | Effect on results |
|---|---|
| Power factor | An assumed power factor of 0.95 converts MW to kVA. |
| Service-start calendar year | Full nameplate and the coincidence factor estimate initial demand rather than reconstructing a customer’s observed service history. |
| Timing | Costs follow current-year peaks; invoices use prior-year demand with a February reset. |
| Partial months | Monthly factors are allocated by covered calendar days, including midmonth rate changes. Meter-read billing can differ. |
| Excluded costs | Site taxes, construction and special-contract charges, conditional metering and franchise credits, and retail-supply premiums are excluded. |
Public tariffs and regulatory filings
| Source | Coverage |
|---|---|
| CenterPoint retail delivery tariff | Transmission Service and riders; Sheets 6.5 and 6.13. |
| PUCT Docket 59825 | Transmission cost recovery factor filing and September 2026 rate update. |
| PUCT Docket 59981 | Interim distribution cost recovery factors. |
Methodology version: October 2026. Results use real 2025 dollars.