MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) ranked among the top Midwest Region utilities in the J.D. Power and Associates (J.D. Power) 2009 Residential Gas Utility Customer Satisfaction Study. CenterPoint Energy has ranked among the top Midwest Region utilities for seven of the past eight years the study has been conducted.

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"We are proud to rank high in overall customer satisfaction because we value our customer's opinions about our ability to provide valuable products and services, as well as, communicate important and relevant information to meet our customers' needs," said David Baker, division vice president of regional operations for CenterPoint Energy. "I would like to thank our customers for continuing to rank us in the top quartile for customer satisfaction for the fifth year in row. I'd also like to thank our employees who continue to demonstrate their commitment to our customers by providing excellent customer service, demonstrating the value of natural gas, and working hard in our communities as environmental stewards to help our customers reduce consumption, helping them save energy and money."

The J.D. Power study is a comprehensive evaluation of customers' attitudes in six different dimensions: corporate citizenship, billing and payment, price and value, communications, customer service and field service. CenterPoint Energy received top scores by customers in the areas of customer service, energy-related rebates and programs and field service.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Assets total nearly $19 billion. With about 8,800 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 135 years. In Minnesota, CenterPoint Energy is the state's largest natural gas distribution utility, serving nearly 790,000 customers in 260 communities. The utility also operates a non-regulated business in Minnesota called Home Service Plus®. For more information, visit the Web site at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.

    For more information contact
    Becca Virden
    Phone  612.321.4879
    Pager  612.531.1234

SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.