CenterPoint sold its Ohio gas utility for $2.62B to fund a $66.7B capital plan

On 1 October 2026, CenterPoint Energy announced it had successfully completed the previously announced $2.62 billion sale of its Ohio natural gas Local Distribution Company business, Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, to National Fuel Gas Company, a utility headquartered in Western New York. The assets included approximately 5,900 miles of gas transmission and distribution pipeline serving about 335,000 metered customers in West Central Ohio.

The transaction received all required federal and state approvals, including completion of a review by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, and National Fuel immediately assumed responsibility for serving the former CenterPoint customers. CenterPoint chair and CEO Jason Wells thanked the Ohio employees for decades of service and committed to a smooth transition for customers.

The proceeds are earmarked for CenterPoint's long-term strategy: efficiently funding a $66.7 billion, ten-year capital plan invested in the electric and natural gas systems serving its core utility footprint, which the company says enhances resiliency and reliability while helping keep customer bills as low as possible. After the sale, CenterPoint serves nearly 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Minnesota and Texas, with approximately $48.3 billion in assets as of 30 June 2026.

$2.62 billion in proceeds supporting a $66.7 billion, 10-year capital plan; the buyer took on about 5,900 miles of pipeline serving roughly 335,000 metered customers.

The Ohio distribution business sat outside the company's core footprint of Indiana, Minnesota and Texas, where its long-term strategy concentrates investment.

The $2.62 billion in proceeds support efficient funding of a $66.7 billion, ten-year capital plan — growth the company frames as deliverable while keeping bills as low as possible.

The transaction cleared every federal and state approval, including a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio review, so the buyer could assume service immediately.

Portfolio focus is a continuing discipline, not a one-off reset: a solid asset can still be the right one to sell when the proceeds fund the core system's growth plan.

National Fuel Gas immediately took over serving CenterPoint's former Ohio natural gas customers. CenterPoint continues executing its ten-year capital plan across its core regulated footprint, with nearly 7 million metered customers and about 8,800 employees.