HOUSTON, July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) earned a 2017 "Most Trusted Brand" designation, making it one of the nation's most trusted utilities according to a new Cogent Reports™ study by Market Strategies International. The Utility Trusted Brand and Customer Engagement: Residential study, now in its fourth year, benchmarks brand performance of 130 electric and natural gas utilities on a quarterly basis among 59,823 utility consumers.  The study measures Brand Trust through scoring six factors among residential customers - customer focus, company reputation and advocacy, community support, communications effectiveness, environmental dedication and reliable quality.

"We have made substantial investments over the last several years to enhance the safety and reliability of our natural gas system and to improve our service to customers," said Gregory E. Knight, senior vice president and chief customer officer for CenterPoint Energy. "We believe being named a 'most trusted brand' clearly demonstrates that customers value and appreciate these efforts."

This year, the utilities designated by Cogent as 2017 Most Trusted Brands score 40 points higher on brand trust than their industry peers and are more likely to receive positive sentiments from their customers in the study.  The annual study highlights a statistical relationship between brand trust and rate case support, and shows customers expect utilities to expand support for new offerings and community outreach as a result of rate increases. Additionally, customers who trust their utility are twice as likely to recommend those alternative energy products to other customers.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also owns a 54.1 percent limited partner interest in Enable Midstream Partners, a publicly traded master limited partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp., which owns, operates and develops natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With more than 7,700 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 140 years. For more information, visit the website at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.