Employee Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

Employee Benefit Plans

Houston Electric’s employees participate in CenterPoint Energy’s postretirement benefit plan. Houston Electric’s net periodic cost, before considering amounts subject to overhead allocations for capital expenditure projects or for amounts subject to deferral for regulatory purposes, includes the following components relating to postretirement benefits:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Interest cost (1)	$	2		$	2
Expected return on plan assets (1)	(1		)	(1		)
Amortization of prior service credit (1)	(1		)	(1		)
Net periodic cost	$	—		$	—

(1) Included in Other, net in the Condensed Statements of Consolidated Income.

Houston Electric expects to contribute a total of approximately $10 million to the postretirement benefit plan in 2018, of which approximately $2 million was contributed during the three months ended March 31, 2018.