Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: CenterPoint Energy demonstrates mostly negative engagement on US climate policy, with evidence of advocacy at the federal level and across several states includes Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The company promotes a long-term role for fossil fuels, actively engaging on US energy policy to block the transition toward electrification in the power and buildings sectors. CenterPoint serves on the board of directors for American Gas Association and the Transport Project, both of which strategically oppose US climate policy, and is a member of several other highly obstructive industry groups, including the American Legislative Exchange Council and Consumer Energy Alliance.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CenterPoint appears to have limited top-line messaging on climate policy. On the Carbon Policy page of its corporate website, accessed April 2025, the company did not specify a clear position on either IPCC-demanded emissions reductions or the need for government regulation to address climate change. CenterPoint has also not taken a clear position on the Paris Agreement, using it only as a benchmark for its own emissions reduction targets in its September 2024 corporate responsibility report.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: CenterPoint Energy appears to engage with mostly negative positions on climate-related policy, particularly at the state level. In Indiana, according to November 2022 reporting by Indiana Public Media, the company appeared to oppose incentives toward distributed solar. Previously, in May 2021, CenterPoint registered in support of Texas Senate Bill 1261, which aimed to prohibit municipalities from directly regulating their greenhouse gas emissions. That same year, in June 2021, a Guardian article reported on how the company advocated for Louisiana state legislation that weakened fossil gas leak reporting policies by amending the definition of fossil gas pipelines.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CenterPoint demonstrates negative positions on the energy transition, with a focus on preserving a long-term role for fossil gas in the energy mix. For example, on its corporate website accessed April 2025, CenterPoint stated that “it is important to support the continued development of natural gas.” At the federal level, its subsidiaries opposed the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards, submitting August 2023 joint comments with the Indiana Energy Association and Indiana Utility Group suggesting that the Environmental Protection Agency was acting beyond its legal boundary. Previously, in May 2022, CenterPoint signed a joint letter to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development that advocated for increased research and development funding toward fossil gas.
At the state level, CenterPoint has advocated for measures to preempt electrification at the local level. On a page on its corporate website, which was subsequently removed, the company suggested support for preemption legislation in Indiana and Ohio. Meanwhile, in Texas, CenterPoint was listed on the witness list in favor of House Bill 17, which prohibited discrimination against any energy source or type. E&E News further reported on the company’s anti-electrification activity in Texas in June 2021, quoting the company as saying that it was “trying to be ahead of the curve and be proactive rather than reactive” in preempting gas bans in its service area. According to the Indiana Environmental Reporter, CenterPoint also supported Indiana’s Public Law 180, enacted in May 2021, to block fossil gas bans.
Industry Association Governance: CenterPoint discloses a list of its industry associations on its corporate website, but does not provide details on each group’s climate policy positions or engagement activities. The company does not appear to have published a formal review of its industry associations. CenterPoint is a board member of the Transport Project as well as the American Gas Association (AGA), an obstructive industry group that continues to strategically oppose building electrification policy. Former CenterPoint CEO Scott Prochazka, in advance of his tenure as 2020 Chair of the AGA, stated in late 2019 that AGA was planning its strategy to oppose municipal bans on fossil gas in the buildings sector. CenterPoint has also disclosed its membership to several highly negative groups including the Consumer Energy Alliance, Texas Association of Business, and American Legislative Exchange Council, the last of which actively opposes climate policy and regularly publishes “model policies” intended for state legislatures to delay climate policy and promote fossil fuels.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2025.