Background and Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Background and Basis of Presentation	Mar. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Background and Basis of Presentation	Background and Basis of Presentation General. This combined Form 10-Q is filed separately by three registrants: CenterPoint Energy, Inc., CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC and CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. Information contained herein relating to any individual registrant is filed by such registrant solely on its own behalf. Each registrant makes no representation as to information relating exclusively to the other Registrants or the subsidiaries of CenterPoint Energy other than itself or its subsidiaries. Except as discussed in the penultimate paragraph in Note 11 to the Registrants’ Interim Condensed Financial Statements, no registrant has an obligation in respect of any other Registrant’s debt securities, and holders of such debt securities should not consider the financial resources or results of operations of any Registrant other than the obligor in making a decision with respect to such securities. Included in this combined Form 10-Q are the Interim Condensed Financial Statements of CenterPoint Energy, Houston Electric and CERC, which are referred to collectively as the Registrants. The Interim Condensed Financial Statements are unaudited, omit certain financial statement disclosures and should be read with the Registrants’ financial statements included in the Registrants’ combined 2021 Form 10-K. The Combined Notes to Interim Condensed Financial Statements apply to all Registrants and specific references to Houston Electric and CERC herein also pertain to CenterPoint Energy, unless otherwise indicated. Background. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. is a public utility holding company. As of March 31, 2022, CenterPoint Energy’s operating subsidiaries were as follows: •Houston Electric owns and operates electric transmission and distribution facilities in the Texas gulf coast area that includes the city of Houston. •CERC Corp. (i) directly owns and operates natural gas distribution systems in four states and (ii) owns and operates permanent pipeline connections through interconnects with various interstate and intrastate pipeline companies through CEIP. •Vectren holds three public utilities through its wholly-owned subsidiary, VUHI, a public utility holding company: •Indiana Gas provides energy delivery services to natural gas customers located in central and southern Indiana; •SIGECO provides energy delivery services to electric and natural gas customers located in and near Evansville in southwestern Indiana and owns and operates electric generation assets to serve its electric customers and optimizes those assets in the wholesale power market; and •VEDO provides energy delivery services to natural gas customers located in and near Dayton in west-central Ohio. •Vectren performs non-utility activities through Energy Systems Group, which provides energy performance contracting and sustainable infrastructure services, such as renewables, distributed generation and combined heat and power projects. On January 10, 2022, CERC Corp. completed the sale of its Arkansas and Oklahoma Natural Gas businesses. For additional information regarding discontinued operations and divestitures, see Note 3. As of March 31, 2022, CenterPoint Energy’s reportable segments were Electric and Natural Gas. Houston Electric and CERC each consist of a single reportable segment. For a description of CenterPoint Energy’s reportable segments, see Note 15. As of March 31, 2022, CenterPoint Energy and Houston Electric had VIEs consisting of the Bond Companies, which are consolidated. The consolidated VIEs are wholly-owned, bankruptcy-remote, special purpose entities that were formed solely for the purpose of securitizing transition and system restoration-related property. Creditors of CenterPoint Energy and Houston Electric have no recourse to any assets or revenues of the Bond Companies. The bonds issued by these VIEs are payable only from and secured by transition and system restoration property, and the bondholders have no recourse to the general credit of CenterPoint Energy or Houston Electric. Basis of Presentation. The preparation of the Registrants’ financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Interim Condensed Financial Statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the respective periods. Amounts reported in the Condensed Statements of Consolidated Income are not necessarily indicative of amounts expected for a full-year period due to the effects of, among other things, (a) seasonal fluctuations in demand for energy, (b) changes in energy commodity prices, (c) timing of maintenance and other expenditures and (d) acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, assets and other interests. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year reportable segment presentation described in Note 15 and to reflect the impacts of discontinued operations.