Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

The Registrants capitalize interest and AFUDC as a component of projects under construction and amortize it over the assets’ estimated useful lives once the assets are placed in service. Additionally, the Registrants defer interest costs into a regulatory asset when amounts are probable of recovery. Deferred debt interest is amortized over the recovery period for rate-making purposes. AFUDC represents the composite interest cost of borrowed funds and a reasonable return on the equity funds used for construction for subsidiaries that apply the guidance for accounting for regulated operations. Although AFUDC increases both utility plant and earnings, it is realized in cash when the assets are included in rates. The table below includes interest capitalized or deferred during the periods.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2022						2021						2020
	CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC		CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC		CenterPoint Energy		Houston Electric		CERC
	(in millions)
Interest and AFUDC debt (1) (2)	$	44	$	14	$	22	$	34	$	13	$	16	$	27	$	8	$	13
AFUDC equity (3)	37		24		5		28		20		5		25		14		3
Other deferred debt interest (4)	33		12		21		10		1		9		3		—		3

(1)Included in Interest and other finance charges on CenterPoint Energy’s Statements of Consolidated Income, inclusive of $18 million, $16 million and $13 million of debt post in-service carrying costs on property, plant and equipment, primarily in Indiana, deferred into a regulatory asset in the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(2)Included in Interest and other finance charges on CERC’s Statements of Consolidated Income, inclusive of $15 million, $13 million and $10 million of debt post in-service carrying costs on property, plant and equipment, primarily in Indiana, deferred into a regulatory asset in the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(3)Included in Other Income (Expense) on the Registrants’ respective Statements of Consolidated Income.

(4)Represents the amount of deferred debt interest on certain regulatory assets that are authorized to earn a return, such as gas costs, storm restoration costs, and TEEEF (including returns on both regulatory and lease assets).

LIFO Inventory

The Registrants’ inventory consists principally of materials and supplies, and for CERC, natural gas, and for CenterPoint Energy, coal inventory. Materials and supplies are valued at the lower of average cost or market. Materials and supplies are recorded to inventory when purchased and subsequently charged to expense or capitalized to plant when installed. Certain natural gas in storage at CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s utilities are recorded using the LIFO method. CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s balances in inventory that were valued using LIFO method were as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2022 (1)		2021		2022 (1)		2021
	CenterPoint Energy				CERC
	(in millions)
LIFO inventory	$	101	$	101	$	82	$	79

(1)Based on the average cost of gas purchased during December 2022, both CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s cost of replacing inventories carried at LIFO cost was more than the carrying value at December 31, 2022 by $101 million.

Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles

The following table provides an overview of certain recently adopted accounting pronouncements applicable to all the Registrants.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

ASU Number and Name

Description

Date of Adoption

Financial Statement Impact
upon Adoption

ASU 2021-10: Government Assistance (Topic 832)

Disclosures by Business Entities about Government

Assistance

This standard requires additional disclosure requirements when a business receives government assistance and uses a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy to other accounting guidance such as the grant model under International Accounting Standards (IAS) 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosures of Government Assistance and GAAP ASC 958-605 Not for Profit.

Transition method: Prospective or retrospective

January 1, 2022

The prospective adoption of this standard resulted in additional annual disclosures related to the recovery of Texas natural gas costs associated with the February 2021 Winter Storm Event through the state securitization, which is accounted for as a government grant by analogy to IAS 20. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Registrants’ financial position, results of operations or cash flows.