HOUSTON, Sep 23, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc.'s (NYSE: CNP) president and chief executive officer, David M. McClanahan, will make a presentation at the Merrill Lynch Global Power & Gas Leaders Conference in New York on September 29, 2004 at approximately 9:45 a.m. Eastern time.

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The live webcast of the presentation and the accompanying slides will be available on the company's Web site at http://www.CenterPointEnergy.com , in the Investors section under Investor Events, and will be archived on CenterPoint Energy's Web site for at least one year.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and sales, interstate pipeline and gathering operations, and more than 14,000 megawatts of power generation in Texas, of which approximately 2,500 megawatts are currently in mothball status. The company serves nearly five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Assets total over $21 billion. With more than 11,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 130 years. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.CenterPointEnergy.com .

SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

media, Leticia Lowe, +1-713-207-7702, or investors, Marianne
Paulsen, +1-713-207-6500, both of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
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