HOUSTON, Jun 2, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- More than 100 CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) linemen will leave Houston today to head to East Texas to help TXU Electric Delivery with power restoration efforts from damage caused by severe thunderstorms that hit that area Tuesday night. At the height of the storm, more than half a million of their customers were without power.

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CenterPoint Energy linemen will be working in the Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Tyler and Jacksonville areas.

Coming to the aid of other utilities is nothing new to CenterPoint Energy line crews. During last year's summer storm season, hundreds of CenterPoint Energy linemen traveled to Illinois, south Texas, and Virginia to restore power to more than 800,000 customers of other utility companies.

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.

Alicia Dixon of CenterPoint Energy, Inc., +1-713-207-5885, or
pager, +1-713-619-5143
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