Starting Electric Service

​​​Steps for Starting Residential or C​​​ommercial Elec​tric Service

​To start electric service for a premise where a meter is already install​ed, follow the​​se easy steps:​​

More Information​​​
​icon 1​

​​Choose a Retail Electric Pr​ovider. 
icon 2 

​​Contact the Retail Electr​ic Provider.
  • ​Complete an application to have electric service turned on.More Information​​​
icon 3

​​​What's next?

  • ​​The Retail Electric Provider will send the start service order to CenterPoint Energy.​More Information
icon 4

​The start service order is received by CenterPoint Energy.
  • Once the order is received by CenterPoint Energy, we will turn on the electric service on the date requested -- weather and workload permitting.
icon 2 

Stay informed with outage notifications via Power Alert Service.
  • ​Log in or register for My Account.
  • Link your new electric account and follow the prompts to enroll in Power Alert Service.
  • Select outage notifications by email, phone or text.
     
    Note: Even if you had Power Alert Service at your previous address, you need to re-register for your new address.​​​​​
​ Note: When switching from one Retail Electric Provider to another, you must contact the new provider.​​

  • Need to install a new meter?
    If you want to start electric service for a premise where there is no meter installed, click here​​. 
  • Need to start Natural Gas Service? Click here. 
  • View our Electric FAQs​
  • View list of Turn Down Codes [PDF]
    ​​​​