CenterPoint Energy, Inc. announced the appointment of Keith Stephens to the newly created role of Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, effective immediately. Stephens joins CenterPoint from his role as Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs for National Grid. Previously, he served as Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Pacific Gas and Electric Company and as a senior communications leader for Texas-based global engineering firm Fluor Corporation.

Stephens also worked for a global communications firm in Texas where he led a team that delivered a statewide public education campaign about the state's new retail electric market on behalf of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Stephens is the immediate past chair of the Edison Electric Institute's Executive Advisory Committee for Communications and a member of the American Gas Association's Communications & Marketing Committee.Copyright Gulfoilandgas.com.