Texas grid says TXU unfairly raised prices

Market monitor says the electric company abused market dominance to increase wholesale energy prices by an average of 15.5 percent in the summer of 2005.

HOUSTON (Reuters) — An independent monitor for the Texas electric grid said Monday that TXU Corp.’s wholesale power subsidiary, because of its large size, was able to raise power prices unfairly in 2005, costing wholesale power customers about $70 million.

Dallas-based TXU last month agreed to be acquired by a group of private equity firms led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group.


In a report filed with Texas regulators, the market monitor for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said its investigation found “that TXU’s bidding behavior during the peak usage hours in the summer of 2005 was not competitive and increased balancing energy prices by an average of 15.5 percent.”

The report, filed with the Texas Public Utility Commission, said TXU’s high bids for real-time power boosted profit by $19.6 million.

Reuters