In March 2004, CenterPoint Houston filed its true-up application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (Texas Utility Commission), requesting recovery of $3.7 billion, excluding interest, as allowed under the Texas Electric Choice Plan (Texas electric restructuring law). In December 2004, the Texas Utility Commission issued its final order (True-Up Order) allowing CenterPoint Houston to recover a true-up balance of approximately $2.3 billion, which included interest through August 31, 2004, and provided for adjustment of the amount to be recovered to include interest on the balance until recovery, along with the principal portion of additional excess mitigation credits (EMCs) returned to customers after August 31, 2004 and certain other adjustments. To reflect the impact of the True-Up Order, in 2004 and 2005, CenterPoint Houston recorded a net after-tax extraordinary loss of $947 million.

Various parties, including CenterPoint Houston, appealed the True-Up Order. These appeals were heard first by a district court in Travis County, Texas, then by the Texas Third Court of Appeals and finally by the Texas Supreme Court. On March 18, 2011, the Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling on such appeals in which it affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Texas Utility Commission and remanded the matter to the Texas Utility Commission for further proceedings. The impact of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision regarding the matters on appeal is summarized as follows:

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The method used by the Texas Utility Commission to calculate the market value of CenterPoint Houston’s former generating assets was overturned. In its decision, the Texas Utility Commission had rejected the partial stock valuation method CenterPoint Houston utilized to establish the market value of the generating assets, and the Texas Utility Commission had fashioned its own valuation. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Utility Commission had no authority to craft an alternative valuation methodology but instead should have valued the generating assets at the value established when CenterPoint Energy later sold its Texas Genco subsidiary. This portion of the decision requires that the valuation question be remanded to the Texas Utility Commission for a determination. CenterPoint Houston currently estimates that application of the sale of assets methodology would reduce stranded costs by an amount equal to approximately $252 million, less selling costs, plus the amount of debt assumed by the buyer of Texas Genco. This portion of the decision is unfavorable to CenterPoint Houston.

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The Texas Utility Commission’s order denying recovery of approximately $440 million in capacity auction true-up amounts was reversed. This portion of the decision is favorable to CenterPoint Houston. These sums plus interest are eligible for recovery in the remand proceeding.

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The Texas Utility Commission’s refusal to include approximately $378 million related to depreciation in the calculation of stranded costs was reversed. This portion of the decision is favorable to CenterPoint Houston. These sums plus interest are eligible for recovery in the remand proceeding.

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The Texas Utility Commission’s order allowing recovery of EMCs that CenterPoint Houston had been ordered to pay its former affiliate was upheld. This portion of the decision is favorable to CenterPoint Houston. These sums have already been recovered and will not be addressed in the remand proceeding.

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The Texas Utility Commission decisions allowing recovery of construction work in progress balances and interest on the capacity auction true-up amounts were upheld. These decisions are favorable to CenterPoint Houston. These sums have already been recovered and will not be addressed in the remand proceeding.

The Texas Supreme Court did not address the court of appeals’ decision allowing CenterPoint Houston to recover approximately $210 million representing the interest component of the EMCs. This decision, which was favorable to CenterPoint Houston, was not appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. These sums plus interest are eligible for recovery in the remand proceeding.

Among the issues to be taken up by the Texas Utility Commission on the remand from the Texas Supreme Court is the proper regulatory treatment of certain deferred tax amounts. In the True-Up Order, the Texas Utility Commission reduced CenterPoint Houston’s true-up balance by approximately $146 million, which was included in the extraordinary loss discussed above, to reflect the present value of certain deferred tax amounts associated with its former electric generation assets. CenterPoint Houston believes that the Texas Utility Commission based its order on proposed regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in March 2003 that would have allowed utilities owning assets that were deregulated before March 4, 2003 to make a retroactive election to pass the benefits of Accumulated Deferred Investment Tax Credits (ADITC) and Excess Deferred Federal Income Taxes (EDFIT) back to customers. However, the IRS subsequently withdrew those proposed normalization regulations and, in March 2008, adopted final regulations that would not permit utilities like CenterPoint Houston to pass the tax benefits back to customers without creating normalization violations. In addition, CenterPoint Energy received a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) from the IRS in August 2007, prior to adoption of the final regulations, that confirmed that the Texas Utility Commission’s order reducing CenterPoint Houston’s stranded cost recovery by $146 million for ADITC and EDFIT would cause normalization violations with respect to the ADITC and EDFIT. The Texas Utility Commission thereafter requested that this issue be remanded to that commission for further consideration, and that request was granted by the court of appeals. CenterPoint Houston plans to seek to recover $146 million plus interest related to this issue in the remand proceedings.

If the Texas Utility Commission’s order relating to the ADITC reduction is not reversed or otherwise modified on remand so as to eliminate the normalization violation, the IRS could require CenterPoint Energy to pay an amount equal to CenterPoint Houston’s unamortized ADITC balance as of the date that the normalization violation is deemed to have occurred. In addition, the IRS could deny CenterPoint Houston the ability to elect accelerated tax depreciation benefits beginning in the taxable year that the normalization violation is deemed to have occurred. Such treatment, if required by the IRS, could have a material adverse impact on CenterPoint Houston’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

After the Texas Supreme Court issued its decision, a number of parties filed motions for rehearing with the Texas Supreme Court requesting the court to reconsider its decision. In June 2011, the court denied the motions for rehearing and issued a corrected mandate remanding the case to the Texas Utility Commission for further proceedings. There is no statutory deadline by which the Texas Utility Commission must act now that the case has been remanded to it; but, in accordance with the rules of the Texas Utility Commission, interest on the unrecovered true-up balance will continue to accrue until such balance is securitized or is otherwise recovered in rates.

CenterPoint Houston expects to seek recovery of approximately $1.88 billion in the remand process before the Texas Utility Commission, which includes interest through October 31, 2011. CenterPoint Houston intends to file an application with the Texas Utility Commission for approval of a financing order authorizing the issuance of transition bonds by one or more new special purpose subsidiaries of CenterPoint Houston to securitize the recoverable amounts and certain qualified costs. Interest on the final true up balance as approved by the Texas Utility Commission will continue to accrue at approximately 8% until the bonds are issued. On July 15, 2011, certain intervenors and the staff of the Texas Utility Commission filed a request with the Texas Utility Commission to sever $1.38 billion of CenterPoint Houston’s remaining true-up balance and to securitize that amount prior to completion of the pending review by the Texas Utility Commission of certain issues in the remand proceeding. The issues identified by the intervenors as requiring review include the calculation of the ADFIT benefit and the tax normalization issue discussed above, the proper rate for interest to accrue on true-up balances, and the recoverability of certain rate case expenses and transaction costs associated with the sale of Texas Genco. In August 2011, the Texas Utility Commission denied this request.

The final resolution of the true-up proceedings and the ultimate amount and timing of recovery of the additional amounts authorized will depend upon the outcome of future actions by the Texas Utility Commission in response to rulings by the Texas Supreme Court and the court of appeals, and any future appeals thereof. CenterPoint Energy expects to record the effects of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision once a final resolution of these matters is reached.

The Texas electric restructuring law allowed the amounts awarded to CenterPoint Houston in the Texas Utility Commission’s True-Up Order to be recovered either through securitization or through implementation of a competition transition charge (CTC) or both. Pursuant to a financing order issued by the Texas Utility Commission in March 2005, in December 2005, a new special purpose subsidiary of CenterPoint Houston issued $1.85 billion in transition bonds with interest rates ranging from 4.84% to 5.30% and final maturity dates ranging from February 2011 to August 2020. Through issuance of the transition bonds, CenterPoint Houston recovered approximately $1.7 billion of the true-up balance determined in the True-Up Order plus interest through the date on which the bonds were issued.

In July 2005, CenterPoint Houston received an order from the Texas Utility Commission allowing it to implement a CTC designed to collect the remaining $596 million from the True-Up Order over 14 years plus interest at an annual rate of 11.075% (CTC Order). The CTC Order authorized CenterPoint Houston to impose a charge on REPs to recover the portion of the true-up balance not recovered through a financing order. The CTC Order also allowed CenterPoint Houston to collect approximately $24 million of rate case expenses over three years without a return through a separate tariff rider (Rider RCE). CenterPoint Houston implemented the CTC and Rider RCE effective September 13, 2005 and began recovering approximately $620 million. The return on the CTC portion of the true-up balance was included in CenterPoint Houston’s tariff-based revenues beginning September 13, 2005. Effective August 1, 2006, the interest rate on the unrecovered true-up balance was reduced from 11.075% to 8.06% pursuant to a revised rule adopted by the Texas Utility Commission in June 2006. Recovery of rate case expenses under Rider RCE was completed in September 2008.

During the 2007 legislative session, the Texas legislature amended statutes prescribing the types of true-up balances that can be securitized by utilities and authorized the issuance of transition bonds to recover the balance of the CTC. In February 2008, pursuant to the financing order, a new special purpose subsidiary of CenterPoint Houston issued approximately $488 million of transition bonds in two tranches with interest rates of 4.192% and 5.234% and final maturity dates of February 2020 and February 2023, respectively. Contemporaneously with the issuance of those bonds, the CTC was terminated and a transition charge was implemented.

As of June 30, 2011, CenterPoint Houston has not recognized an allowed equity return of $171 million on the portion of its true-up balance that had previously been securitized because such return will be recognized as it is recovered in rates. During both the three months ended June 30, 2010 and 2011, CenterPoint Houston recognized approximately $4 million of the allowed equity return not previously recognized. During both the six months ended June 30, 2010 and 2011, CenterPoint Houston recognized approximately $7 million of the allowed equity return not previously recognized.

Following hearings in the fall of 2010, the Texas Utility Commission issued its order on May 12, 2011. In response to motions filed by several parties, including CenterPoint Houston, on June 23, 2011, the Texas Utility Commission issued an order on rehearing, which addressed certain errors and inconsistencies identified in its prior decision. CenterPoint Houston expects revised rates based on the order on rehearing to be implemented in the third quarter of 2011. The order on rehearing could be appealed to the Texas courts.

The order on rehearing provides for a base rate increase for CenterPoint Houston of approximately $14.7 million per year for delivery charges to the REPs and a decrease to charges to wholesale transmission customers of $12.3 million per year. Further, the order adopts a mechanism to track amounts for uncertain tax positions and provide for ultimate recovery of those costs.

The order authorizes a return on equity for CenterPoint Houston of 10%, a cost of debt of 6.74%, a capital structure comprised of 55% debt and 45% common equity, and an overall rate of return of 8.21%. The decision also implements CenterPoint Houston’s request to reconcile costs incurred for the advanced metering system (AMS) project and to shorten the period for collecting the AMS surcharge from twelve to six years for residential customers in order to reflect the funds received from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Other. In May 2009, CenterPoint Houston filed an application at the Texas Utility Commission seeking approval of certain estimated 2010 energy efficiency program costs, an energy efficiency performance bonus for 2008 programs, and carrying costs totaling approximately $10 million. The application sought to begin recovery of these costs through a surcharge effective July 1, 2010. In October 2009, the Texas Utility Commission issued its order approving recovery of the 2010 energy efficiency program costs and a partial performance bonus of approximately $8 million, plus carrying costs, but disallowed recovery of a performance bonus of $2 million on approximately $10 million in 2008 energy efficiency costs expended pursuant to the terms of a settlement agreement in a prior rate case. CenterPoint Houston began collecting the approved amounts in July 2010. CenterPoint Houston appealed the denial of the full 2008 performance bonus to the 98th district court in Travis County, Texas. In October 2010, the district court upheld the Texas Utility Commission’s decision. In February 2011, CenterPoint Houston appealed the district court’s judgment to the Texas Third Court of Appeals at Austin, Texas, where the case remains pending.

In April 2010, CenterPoint Houston filed an application with the Texas Utility Commission seeking approval of the recovery of $14.4 million related to estimated 2011 energy efficiency programs, an energy efficiency performance bonus for 2009 programs, and recovery of revenue losses related to the implementation of the 2009 energy efficiency program. The application sought to begin recovery of these costs through a surcharge beginning in January 2011. In November 2010, the Texas Utility Commission issued its order approving recovery of approximately $11 million of the 2011 energy efficiency program costs and a performance bonus, but disallowed recovery of a performance bonus of $2 million on the 2009 energy efficiency costs expended pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement referenced above. The Texas Utility Commission further concluded that it does not have statutory authority to permit recovery of the approximately $1.4 million in lost revenue associated with 2009 energy efficiency programs. CenterPoint Houston began collecting the approved amounts in January 2011, but has appealed the denial of the full 2009 performance bonus and lost revenue to the 201st district court in Travis County, Texas, where the case remains pending.

In April 2011, CenterPoint Houston filed an application with the Texas Utility Commission seeking approval of the recovery in 2012 of approximately $44.3 million consisting of: (1) estimated 2012 energy efficiency program costs of approximately $35.8 million; (2) an energy efficiency performance bonus based on CenterPoint Houston’s 2010 program achievements of approximately $5.8 million; (3) the amount of lost revenues due to verified and reported 2010 energy savings of approximately $2.2 million; and (4) approximately $0.5 million for under-recovery of 2010 program costs. In the preliminary order in this proceeding, the Texas Utility Commission has excluded approximately $2.1 million of the requested performance bonus for the 2010 programs and has concluded that it does not have the statutory authority to permit recovery of the requested $2.2 million of lost revenues associated with the 2010 programs. A hearing to address the application is scheduled for August 2011. The proposed rate adjustments are expected to take effect with the commencement of CenterPoint Houston’s January 2012 billing month.