Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

(a) Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment includes the following:


		December 31, 2021						December 31, 2020
	Weighted Average Useful Lives	Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross		Accumulated Depreciation & Amortization		Property, Plant and Equipment, Net		Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross		Accumulated Depreciation & Amortization		Property, Plant and Equipment, Net
	(in years)	(in millions)
CenterPoint Energy
Electric transmission and distribution	36	$	17,156	$	4,658	$	12,498	$	15,225	$	4,785	$	10,440
Electric generation (1)	26	1,807		1,179		628		1,922		754		1,168
Natural gas distribution	30	13,578		3,981		9,597		14,022		4,019		10,003


Finance ROU asset mobile generation	7.5	179		—		179		—		—		—
Other property	16	953		371		582		1,345		594		751
Total		$	33,673	$	10,189	$	23,484	$	32,514	$	10,152	$	22,362

Houston Electric
Electric transmission and distribution	38	$	13,321	$	3,502	$	9,819	$	11,911	$	3,396	$	8,515

Finance ROU asset mobile generation	7.5	179		—		179		—		—		—
Other property	19	1,773		568		1,205		1,682		534		1,148
Total		$	15,273	$	4,070	$	11,203	$	13,593	$	3,930	$	9,663
CERC
Natural gas distribution	29	$	7,833	$	2,093	$	5,740	$	8,928	$	2,392	$	6,536

Other property	19	45		22		23		44		22		22
Total		$	7,878	$	2,115	$	5,763	$	8,972	$	2,414	$	6,558

(1)SIGECO and AGC own a 300 MW unit at the Warrick Power Plant (Warrick Unit 4) as tenants in common. SIGECO’s share of the cost of this unit as of December 31, 2021, is $196 million with accumulated depreciation totaling $154 million. AGC and SIGECO share equally in the cost of operation and output of the unit. SIGECO’s share

of operating costs is included in Operation and maintenance expense in CenterPoint Energy’s Statements of Consolidated Income.

(b) Depreciation and Amortization

The following table presents depreciation and amortization expense for 2021, 2020 and 2019:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2021						2020						2019
	CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC		CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC		CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC
	(in millions)
Depreciation	$	1,024	$	391	$	311	$	961	$	368	$	289	$	879	$	339	$	277
Amortization of securitized regulatory assets	213		213		—		155		155		—		271		271		—
Other amortization	79		38		15		73		37		15		75		38		16
Total	$	1,316	$	642	$	326	$	1,189	$	560	$	304	$	1,225	$	648	$	293

The Registrants recorded AROs associated with the removal of asbestos and asbestos-containing material in its buildings, including substation building structures. CenterPoint Energy recorded AROs relating to the closure of the ash ponds at A.B. Brown and F.B. Culley. CenterPoint Energy and Houston Electric also recorded AROs relating to treated wood poles for electric distribution, distribution transformers containing PCB (also known as Polychlorinated Biphenyl), and underground fuel storage tanks. CenterPoint Energy and CERC also recorded AROs relating to gas pipelines abandoned in place. The estimates of future liabilities were developed using historical information, and where available, quoted prices from outside contractors.

A reconciliation of the changes in the ARO liability recorded in Other non-current liabilities on each of the Registrants’ respective Consolidated Balance Sheets is as follows:


	December 31, 2021						December 31, 2020
	CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC		CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC
	(in millions)
Beginning balance	$	787	$	43	$	571	$	539	$	42	$	325

Accretion expense (1)	21		1		12		16		1		11
Revisions in estimates (2)	(67)		(2)		(93)		232		—		235
Ending balance	$	741	$	42	$	490	$	787	$	43	$	571

(1)Reflected in Regulatory assets on each of the Registrants’ respective Consolidated Balance Sheets.

(2)In 2021, the Registrants reflected a decrease in their respective ARO liability, which is primarily attributable to increases in the long-term interest rates used for discounting in the ARO calculation.