CenterPoint Energy is the TDU for greater Houston — the highest-volume solar metro in Texas. Its process is portal-driven and mostly photo-inspected, and it has one hard rule that catches new crews: the system stays off until PTO, and the meter will tell on you if it doesn't.
The process
- Register on the DG portal. You or your contractor account submits through CenterPoint's distributed generation interconnection portal — one login per company, jobs tracked inside. Homeowner self-installs go through the same system with an onsite inspection instead of photos.
- Application package. CenterPoint asks for a one-line diagram, a site/installation layout, and the make and model of approved inverters and panels. Approved equipment means IEEE 1547-compliant, UL 1741-certified inverters — grid-tied systems must drop offline in an outage.
- The AC disconnect rule. Per CenterPoint's DER tariff: a lockable, external-handle, visible and readily accessible AC disconnect between the inverter and the panel, typically within 10 feet of the CenterPoint meter. If it's farther than 10 feet, a weather-resistant, easy-to-read placard within 10 feet of the meter must identify the disconnect's location. Miss this and the visual inspection fails.
- Review and visual inspection. In most cases CenterPoint inspects from installer-submitted photos through the portal; it reserves the right to inspect onsite at any time. Shoot the photo set like it's the inspection, because it is: disconnect placement, labeling, meter, nameplates, and the installed configuration matching the one-line.
- Interconnection agreement, then PTO. Before the system can operate, CenterPoint sends the interconnection agreement (ICA) for all parties to sign. Once the ICA is executed, PTO is issued and the meter reprogrammed. If an ICA hasn't shown up, the published escalation path is residential.dg@centerpointenergy.com.
What happens if the system runs early
CenterPoint spells out the consequences more explicitly than any Texas utility: energizing before PTO throws an error on the meter, a CenterPoint employee investigates the error, surplus reporting to the REP gets delayed, and the account goes into violation status — along with the safety risk to the home, line workers, and nearby grid equipment. It's the most detectable version of early energization in the state. Don't.
Timelines, honestly
Standard residential approvals have typically run a few weeks — but CenterPoint has seen heavy application growth in recent years, and third-party reporting documents backlogs stretching to 40–50+ business days in peak periods. Two implications for operators: quote homeowners a range based on your live experience, not the brochure; and make your own side of the clock flawless, because in a backlog, a deficiency resubmission goes to the back of the line.
CenterPoint plus the city
In CenterPoint territory the city process and the utility process are fully separate — Houston's permit (and its SolarAPP+ option) is covered in Houston Solar Permitting. Approval from one says nothing to the other; run them in parallel where the sequencing allows and track both clocks per job. That two-clock problem across dozens of concurrent jobs is exactly the coordination load TexPTO was built to carry — every job shows its city stage and its utility stage side by side, with aging alarms on each.
FAQ
How long does CenterPoint interconnection take? Commonly a few weeks for complete residential applications; materially longer during volume backlogs. Build your quotes from recent local data.
Does CenterPoint inspect every solar install? It performs a visual inspection on every interconnection — usually via installer-submitted photos, onsite for self-installs, and onsite at its discretion otherwise.
What documents does CenterPoint require? One-line diagram, site/installation layout, and inverter and panel make/model, submitted through the DG portal, plus the signed ICA before PTO.
Why does the homeowner's meter show an error? The most common cause on new solar jobs is a system energized before PTO — which triggers an investigation and violation status. Shut it down and complete the ICA/PTO steps.
Sources
- CenterPoint Energy, DG Application Process FAQs: https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/Services/Pages/DGAP-FAQs.aspx?sa=ho&au=res
- CenterPoint Energy DER Application Tariff (AC disconnect and placard specs; application contents): https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/Documents/CenterPoint%20Energy%20DER%20Application%20Tariff.pdf
- CenterPoint Energy, residential solar installation overview: https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/SaveEnergyandMoney/Pages/Installation-of-residential-solar-systems.aspx?sa=ho&au=res
- Third-party reporting on Houston-area processing times and backlogs: https://www.solarpermitsolutions.com/blog/houston-tx-solar-permit-guide
General information, not legal advice. Confirm current process and forms with CenterPoint Energy.