CenterPoint Reports 12.2 GW of Firm Industrial Load in Houston, With 8 GW More Data Centers by 2029

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On July 15, 2026, CenterPoint Energy told investors it now has clear line of sight to 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial load at its Houston Electric service territory, with roughly 8 gigawatts of incremental data-center load expected to energize by 2029. For Texas commercial electricity buyers in the Houston area, the takeaway is direct: CenterPoint already carries the highest median commercial rate of any Texas TDU in the plans we track (part of the TxCP Commercial Rate Index), and a committed load queue this large usually reshapes the forward curve well before those megawatts show up on the grid.

What Happened

CenterPoint Energy released its Q2 2026 results and hosted the accompanying investor webcast on July 15, 2026, disclosing 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial load at Houston Electric. Of that total, roughly 3.2 gigawatts has already cleared ERCOT approval and around 9 gigawatts remains pending in the interconnection queue, with about 8 gigawatts of the pipeline expected to physically energize by the end of 2029. That queue is dominated by data-center and other large industrial development in and around greater Houston.

The disclosure lands in a summer where ERCOT has already reported new all-time peak demand records for the Texas grid, reinforcing the load-growth narrative behind the CenterPoint pipeline. For the underlying primary and secondary sources, see the grid operator at ercot.com, the regulator at puc.texas.gov, and utility trade coverage of the data-center buildout at utilitydive.com.

Impact on Commercial Electricity Buyers in Texas

A committed industrial pipeline of this size at one TDU rarely stays a local story, because the wholesale market that Retail Electric Providers buy from is priced statewide and priced years forward. We see three channels where the CenterPoint disclosure reaches a Houston-area commercial account, and each one shows up on a different line of your bill.

Forward pricing pressure. Retail Electric Providers price fixed offers off forward wholesale power. A 12.2 gigawatt firmly committed queue at CenterPoint, with 8 gigawatts of it expected online by 2029, is a demand signal the forward curve reads before the load ever arrives. In the plans we track across all five TDU territories, CenterPoint already runs the highest median commercial rate at about 9.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, versus roughly 7.1 cents at Oncor and 7.4 cents at AEP North, so buyers there are starting from a premium, not a discount.

Term-curve shape. Across our current dataset the spread between short-term and long-term commercial offers is unusually wide, with short-term averages north of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour and long-term averages below 8 cents. When the market prices in load growth years out, that gap is exactly what widens, and a 24 to 36 month lock starts to look better than a 12 month one.

TDU delivery costs. Large-load buildouts get paid for on the delivery side of the bill, not just the energy side. Transmission and distribution charges assessed by CenterPoint are set by the regulator over multi-year rate cases, and a queue this big is the kind of driver that fuels future rate-case filings. That is a slower channel than wholesale, but it is the one that catches a commercial buyer even on a fixed energy rate.

The Houston Load Queue Check: Three Questions Before You Sign a CenterPoint Plan

Before you accept any commercial offer in the CenterPoint territory this quarter, run it through the same three questions we use when we read the market, so a load-growth headline does not talk you into a bad lock or scare you out of a good one.

1. Is the quoted rate priced off the current forward curve or a stale one?

Ask the provider when the price was set and which wholesale outlook it reflects. In a market where a single TDU just disclosed 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed load, a rate priced a few weeks ago may already be looking at a different forward curve.

2. Does the term outlast the buildout window?

The 8 gigawatts of data-center load CenterPoint expects to energize by 2029 does not price in one filing, it prices in over quarters. A 24 to 36 month term smooths out both the near-term rate premium in CenterPoint and any incremental pressure as those megawatts approach commercial operation.

3. What are the delivery-side numbers doing?

Confirm the all-in rate, not just the energy component. TDU pass-throughs on CenterPoint bills are set separately from your energy rate, and a large-load queue is a durable driver of future rate-case activity on the delivery side.

What You Should Do

Turn this disclosure into three moves you can make this week, whether your CenterPoint contract renews soon or you are just watching the Houston market for a better entry point on your next term.

Pull your current Electricity Facts Label and note your term end date, your average price per kilowatt-hour, and whether the rate quoted is energy only or all-in with TDU charges.
Compare current published commercial offers for the CenterPoint territory at your load size against what you pay today, and against offers in the adjacent TDU averages as a sanity check on the CenterPoint premium.
If your term ends within the next 90 days, request quotes now so you can act before your renewal window closes at a rate that reflects a stale forward curve.

Questions to Ask Your REP or Broker

When you call a provider this week about a CenterPoint offer, these questions separate a genuinely competitive rate from one that quietly banks on either an outdated forward curve or an aggressive load-growth read.

Which wholesale outlook does this price reflect, and when was it last repriced against the forward curve?
How do your 12, 24, and 36 month CenterPoint offers compare for my meter and monthly kilowatt-hour usage today?
Are CenterPoint TDU delivery charges bundled into the quoted rate or passed through separately?
What is the early termination fee if I sign now and the CenterPoint short-term average falls further before my window closes?

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Houston commercial electricity rates rise because of the CenterPoint load queue?

Not automatically, but the direction of the pressure is up. In the plans we track on July 22, 2026, CenterPoint already carries the highest median commercial rate of the five Texas TDUs at about 9.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, and 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial load with 8 gigawatts of data centers expected by 2029 is a demand signal the forward curve absorbs long before the megawatts energize.

Should a Houston small business lock a fixed commercial rate right now?

It depends on your term end date. If your CenterPoint contract renews within 90 days, shopping now lets you compare current offers before auto-renewal at a rate set weeks ago. Across our current dataset the spread between short-term and long-term offers is wide enough that a 24 to 36 month term smooths out single-disclosure noise like this one.

Where can I see current commercial rates for the CenterPoint territory?

Our data download covers every commercial plan we track across all five Texas TDU territories, updated daily, so you can compare CenterPoint offers side by side with Oncor, AEP Central, AEP North, and TNMP for your specific meter and load size. See every commercial plan we track in our data download.

Subscribe to Weekly Market Insights, free. We publish a data-driven rate report every Monday.

For the full picture, see our Texas commercial electricity rates overview.