CenterPoint Energy raised its 10-year capital plan by $4.0 billion, from $66.7 billion to $70.7 billion, when it reported third-quarter results on Oct. 27, 2026. The company tied the increase to faster customer demand growth in Greater Houston. The filings that came with the results also describe how much of that demand is moving through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) large-load process called Batch Zero.

The short version, from the company's own documents: CenterPoint Houston Electric estimates that about 10 GW of base load and about 2 GW of studied load remain in Batch Zero. Its investor presentation lists the system's current peak demand at 21 GW.

The Capital Plan

According to the earnings release filed as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K, CenterPoint moved $1.5 billion of planned spending into the first five years of the plan. The release also identified incremental investment opportunities of at least $10 billion through 2035, and said the company expects rate base to grow at a compound annual rate of more than 14% through 2030.

The company's investor presentation (Exhibit 99.2) puts the 2026–2030 capital plan at about $38.7 billion, up from $34.2 billion, and the 10-year plan at about $70.7 billion, up from $66.7 billion. The presentation also shows about $4 billion of planned equity through 2030. Among the incremental opportunities it lists are data center-related investments in Indiana, where CenterPoint also operates.

For the quarter, the release reported GAAP net income of $331 million, or $0.50 per share, and non-GAAP earnings of $0.53 per share. The company raised its 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $1.90–$1.92.

In the release, Chief Executive Jason Wells pointed to what he called Greater Houston's speed-to-market advantage. He said the company expects the growth to bring about $5 billion in savings for Texas residential and commercial customers over the next decade. The release does not say how that savings figure was calculated.

What Batch Zero Is, and Where Houston Stands

Batch Zero is the first set of projects to go through ERCOT's new large-load interconnection process, which classifies requests as base load or studied load. CenterPoint's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026 says the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved the process on June 18, 2026.

According to the 10-Q, Houston Electric originally submitted about 14 GW of large-load demand into Batch Zero. Those submissions were backed by Facilities Extension Agreements and financial security. The company now estimates that 10 GW of base load and about 2 GW of studied load remain.

The investor presentation shows the same picture in three categories: about 10 GW of base load, about 2 GW of studied load, and about 5 GW of incremental demand. It describes about 12 GW of new large-load requests as eligible for base or studied load. It also says ERCOT is expected to determine the base-load amount in December 2026.

The presentation also gives an expected timeline for cumulative Batch Zero energization:

  • About 3 GW by 2027
  • About 8 GW by 2028
  • About 11 GW by 2029
  • About 12 GW by 2030

By CenterPoint's figures, the 12 GW expected by 2030 equals more than half of the 21 GW system peak Houston Electric serves today.

How the Numbers Changed Since July

The figures have come down since the second-quarter call. Utility Dive reported on July 28, 2026 that CenterPoint had then submitted more than 17 GW and expected 14 GW to be eligible as base or studied load. CenterPoint described that as more than a 65% increase over Houston's 21 GW peak. At the time, the company said it expected 50% load growth by the end of 2029. Wells said nearly all of the projects were expected to be energized by the end of 2030. In that quarter, the company raised its capital plan by $1.2 billion, to $66.7 billion.

Three months later, the company's estimate of eligible base and studied load stands at about 12 GW, compared with 14 GW in July. The 10-Q's "originally submitted" figure of about 14 GW also differs from the more than 17 GW reported in July. The filings do not reconcile the two figures. The 10-Q describes its figure as submissions that included Facilities Extension Agreements and posted financial security. The expected 2030 energization total in the new slides, about 12 GW, is consistent with Wells' July statement that nearly all projects would be energized by the end of that year.

Customer Money on the Table

The 10-Q also shows how much large-load customers are paying up front. In the third quarter, customers provided about $290 million in contributions in aid of construction, which are payments toward the cost of facilities built to serve them. They also posted about $600 million in financial security. Of that security, about $135 million was returned to large-load customers during the quarter. The filing does not identify the customers or explain why the security was returned.

The 10-Q says these amounts will continue to change as projects move through ERCOT reviews. In July, Wells tied the $5 billion in customer savings to the then-expected 14 GW of large load, and the October release repeats the $5 billion figure without a calculation.

The Caveats in the Filing

The 10-Q's risk language says the timing of energization depends on ERCOT approval, construction timing, regulatory action and the availability of materials. The energization timeline in the slides is described as expected, not committed. Final amounts depend on ERCOT's classification decisions, and the presentation says the amount of load allocated to studied-load projects is expected to be determined by ERCOT in April 2027 and may be less than the amount eligible.

ERCOT's own Large Load Integration page shows that verification is still in progress. The page hosts Batch Zero Verification resources for transmission service providers, distribution service providers and interconnecting large load entities, ahead of ERCOT issuing final classifications. ERCOT has posted reference guides for its Eligibility Verification requests for information, one for Load Type E dated Sept. 22, 2026, and one for Load Types C and D dated Oct. 14, 2026. The page also says ERCOT is requesting information about data center state and community impacts.

What Happens Next

According to CenterPoint's investor presentation, ERCOT is expected to determine Houston Electric's base-load amount in December 2026. That decision will turn the company's estimate of about 10 GW of base load into a figure set by ERCOT. ERCOT's Large Load Integration page states that verification by utilities and large-load entities comes before ERCOT provides final Batch Zero classifications.

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