After two years – energy giant Energy Future Holdings, two major subsidiaries, Luminant and TXU Energy are back out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Luminant, which owns power plants, and TXU Energy, a major retail power seller, have a new boss, TCEH Corporation with Curt Morgan as the CEO.
The official announcement came out of a Delaware bankruptcy court on Monday night, October 3, 2016. At the moment, this new company is called TCEH (Texas Competitive Electric Holdings) Corporation.
Still to come……… is the fate of the third major subsidiary, Oncor. Just as Luminant is the largest generation company in Texas, Oncor owns the largest chunk of Texas’ biggest power lines. But Oncor remains in negotiation for a new owner, Florida-based NextEra.
Assisting the new CEO, Curt Morgan, on the Board of Directors will be Gavin Baiera, Jennifer Box, Jeff Hunter, Michael Liebelson, Cyrus Madon, and Geoffrey Strong.
Mr. Curt Morgan has quite a background within the energy and electrical industries. During his 35-year career, Mr. Morgan has held leadership responsibilities in nearly every major U.S. power market. Most recently, he had been serving as a consultant for Former TCEH’s first-lien creditors. Prior to that, he was an operating partner at Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in North America’s energy infrastructure. Earlier in his career, Mr. Morgan served as the president and CEO of both EquiPower Resources Corporation and FirstLight Power Resources, Inc. He recently served as a director of Summit Midstream Partners and has held leadership positions at NRG Energy, Mirant Corporation, Reliant Energy, and BP Amoco.
The Chapter 11 reorganization resulted in a lot of investor money vanishing; more than $33 billion of debt and other obligations, but according to the news release the new company is in fine financial shape. “At emergence, the company’s available liquidity position is estimated to be approximately $1.65 billion, including $750 million of undrawn net borrowings available under the company’s new $4.25 billion exit financing facility.”
However, one PR issue still looms large with Somervell County residents, home for Comanche Peak Nuclear Station. Recently, Luminant requested the assessment value of Comanche Peak Nuclear Station be lowered from $1.868 billion to $261 million. The Somervell County Appraisal Review Board rejected that request and now this decision is expected to be appealed in district court. As a result, all Somervell County taxing entities – including the county, school, water district, and hospital district – have moved forward in a “state of uncertainty”. Until this issue can be resolved, the tax base is uncertain and Somervell County Judge Danny L. Chambers said, “The county’s monetary problems are considerable – thanks only to Luminant.”
