HOUSTON, Dec 11, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc.'s (NYSE:CNP) Board of Directors today announced that the 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, April 23, at 9 a.m. CDT in the CenterPoint Energy Tower auditorium, 1111 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas. Shareholders who hold shares of CenterPoint Energy as of February 23, 2009, will receive notice of the meeting and will be eligible to vote.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & 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 over $19 billion. With about 8,600 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 130 years. For more information, visit the Web site at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.

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SOURCE: CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
          Media:
          Leticia Lowe
           713.207.7702
          Investors:
          Marianne Paulsen
           713.207.6500

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