HOUSTON, July 24, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) announced that at its board of directors meeting today, Michael P. Johnson and Susan O. Rheney were elected to the company's board of directors effective July 24, 2008. The board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.1825 per share of common stock payable on September 10, 2008, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 15, 2008.
Johnson served from 2002 until his retirement in March 2008 as senior vice president and chief administrative officer of The Williams Companies, Inc., a publicly-held natural gas producer, processor and transporter. He is currently a director of Patriot Coal Corporation, QuikTrip Corporation and Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. He also serves on the Oklahoma Advisory Board of Health Care Service Corporation and on the boards of several charitable organizations and foundations, including the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Rheney is a private investor. Since 2002, she has served as a director of Genesis Energy, Inc., the general partner of Genesis Energy, LP, a publicly-traded limited partnership. From 2003 to 2005, she was a director of Cenveo, Inc. and served as chairman of the board from January to August 2005. She also served as a principal with The Sterling Group, a private financial and investment organization until 2001.
Johnson and Rheney are expected to stand for election at the annual shareholders meeting. Johnson will serve on the board's compensation and governance committees and Rheney will serve on the audit and finance committees.
They join current board members Milton Carroll (non-executive chairman), Donald R. Campbell, Derrill Cody, O. Holcombe Crosswell, Janiece M. Longoria, Thomas F. Madison, David M. McClanahan (president and chief executive officer), Robert T. O'Connell, Michael E. Shannon, Peter S. Wareing and Sherman W. Wolff.
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 $17 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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