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CenterPoint Energy Response to ‘Hurricane Rita’

CenterPoint Energy’s Response to Hurricane Ike COPS Update October 14, 2008

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In the Weeks Prior to Hurricane Ike

• Neighboring electric utilities called upon CenterPoint Energy to assist in restoring power in their service areas after Hurricane Gustav. CenterPoint Energy mutual assistance crews left Wednesday September 3rd to respond to damage in New Orleans and Lafayette, La., and Longview, Texas.

• As Hurricane Ike approached CenterPoint Energy crews in Louisiana were called back to Houston.

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Preparation for the Storm

• On Wednesday, 9/10/08, CenterPoint Energy activated our Emergency Operations Plan

• We insured that there was adequate replacement material available and accessible

• We prepared Company facilities for the encounter of hurricane force winds

• Communication links to the Market (ERCOT, CR’s), Cities, key governmental agencies and other key stakeholders were established

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Preparation for the Storm

• Evacuations ordered for the coastal regions of our service territory on Wednesday, 9/10/08.• Five coastal service centers (South Houston, Baytown,

Channelview, Brazosport and Galveston) relocated their operations out of harm’s way into other Houston areas.

• Move-in and Move-out orders were worked on Friday September 12th (except in flooded and/or mandatory evacuation areas) until conditions were no longer safe.

• After Friday September 12th normal field operations were suspended until the deactivation of the Emergency Operation Plan.

• We communicated with the market and news media that customers need to be prepared to be without power for at least two weeks or possibly longer depending on the severity of the damage.

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Mutual Assistance at its “BEST”

• CenterPoint made arrangements with its mutual assistance tree trimming and line crews around the United States and Canada• “With the help of more than 11,000 mutual

assistance workers from all over the country and our own dedicated workforce, we reinstalled tens of thousands of feet of power lines that took us decades to build” said Tom Standish, group president of Regulated Operations.

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Friday September 12, 2008

• CenterPoint Energy implemented our Emergency Operations Plan (Force Majeure) to prepare for storm restoration to the greater Houston-area.

• Our plan establishes emergency duty assignments for all Houston-area employees

• The company’s first priority in restoring service to key facilities vital to safety, health and welfare, such as hospitals, water treatment plants and public service facilities.

• Then, it repairs those major lines and circuits that will restore power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest amount of time.

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Saturday September 13, 2008

• 3:00 A.M. Hurricane Ike made landfall in E. Galveston Bay. • By 11:00A.M. Saturday morning, more than 2.1 Million of

CenterPoint Energy’s 2.2 Million customers were without power.

• “The impact of Hurricane Ike on our service territory has been extensive and widespread, affecting more than 90 percent of our customers, which is the largest power outage event in our company’s more than 130-year history,” - Kenny Mercado, Division Senior Vice President

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CNP Restoration Efforts

2.1 Million Customers without power, 9/13 – 11 AM

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CNP Service Restoration Efforts • After 48 hours of assessment and restoration efforts,

CNP restored service to more than 450,000 of the 2.1 million customers who lost power at the peak of Hurricane Ike.

• As we were requested during Hurricane Rita, CNP responded again to a call from Houston’s Mayor Bill White when it was discovered that Trinity River Pumping Station had lost power. • This station is in Entergy’s territory and pushes water

from the Trinity River to the Lynchburg Reservoir, which supplies water to chemical plants and refiners along the Houston Ship Channel and 10 cities, including Houston.

• After repairing transmission lines this connection was energized on Monday, September 15, 2008

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CNP Restoration Efforts

CenterPoint MW Load Restoration

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PUCT Project 36150 Market Impacts

• On Friday September 26, 2008 The Public Utility Commission signed order 36150 suspending some rules of The Commission due to Hurricane Ike.

• Market Impacts:1. Delayed performance measures from utilities affected

by Hurricane Ike.2. Greater latitude to bill for electric delivery service

using estimates of consumption.3. TDSPs/REPs use their best efforts to develop a

procedure to expedite the processing of move-ins and move-outs

4. ERCOT to take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that load reductions related to this disaster are reflected in the ERCOT wholesale settlement (including load profiles) as early as is practicable.

5. CenterPoint Energy requested and was granted waiver from participating in Market Test Flight 1008.

6. ERCOT extended the timing of cancels with exception due the TDSPs inability to respond within the pre-determined window

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Market Communications Pre and Post Hurricane IKE

• 67 Market Communications from September 10th – October 1.

•All CenterPoint Energy Market Communications can be found on this link:

http://www.centerpointenergy.com/services/electricity/competitiveretailers/marketinformation/marketnotices/

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Force Majeure Market Impacts

Temporary Disconnects and Re-Connects after Temporary Disconnect September 23, 2008 CenterPoint began to accept

Temporary Disconnects, Re-Connects after Temporary Disconnect, Lock Band Removal and Change Orders.

Move-In Request (MVI) and Move-Out Request (MVO): CenterPoint Energy began to accept the following backdated

transactions beginning Tuesday, September 30, 2008. • 814_01 Enrollment Request• 814_08 Cancel Switch Request• 814_12 Date Change Request• 814_16 Move-In Request• 814_24 Move-Out Request

Field personnel began working the backlog of Move-Ins and Move-Outs in the field on Friday, October 3, 2008. Two days earlier than expected.

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Force Majeure Market Impacts

Disconnect of Service for Non-Payment (DNP) Request: Due to the Force Majeure the PUCT issued moratoriums to all

Competitive Retailers and TDSPs on disconnects for non-payment. CenterPoint began accepting non-residential DNPs for customers

Tuesday October 7th. CenterPoint began accepting residential DNPs October 13th, 2008.

Meter Re-Read Request: Orders that were pending in our system during this event were

returned to the requesting CR as “complete unexecutable". Re-Reads will be suspended until November 6, 2008

Meter Test Request:

Orders that were pending in our system during this event were returned to the requesting CR as “complete unexecutable".

Meter tests will be suspended until November 6, 2008

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Staging Site for Crews

Pole Damage

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Pole Replacement

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House on Galveston Island

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Pole down on traffic signal

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“Power Lines Down Here”

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Pole on “FIRE”

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Sunset from a Bucket Truck &Sunrise start all over again!

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Team Effort

CenterPoint Energy received great support and cooperation from the Competitive Retailer community and ERCOT.

• CRs provided:– Customer communications and IVR messaging– Order suspension and coordination when applicable– Emergency order process’ and communications

• ERCOT assisted with:– Market Communications (i.e. Cancel with exception) – Granting the wavier for CNP’s Flight 1008 participation– Coordinating Annual Validation schedule to help meet Market

and Protocol timelines

CenterPoint Energy Thanks You !

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Our Customers

• We would like to thank our CR community and customers for their patience and understanding during one of the most challenging restoration efforts in the history of CenterPoint Energy.

• It is times like these that the communities we serve really depend on us. We are proud to say that this has been CenterPoint’s finest hour, and that we have proven to our community that we are “Always There”.

Questions?

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