DALLAS, TX –
TXU announced today it has officially suspended efforts to obtain permits for eight coal-fueled power units in Texas.
A Motion to Stay was filed yesterday with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for seven coal-fueled power units that are under consideration in contested proceedings before SOAH.
The company also has suspended permitting activities related to an eighth permit, which was not a part of the contested proceedings.
The stay request is for a period of up to six months upon approval. Upon closing of the merger agreement with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group (TPG) announced earlier this week, TXU plans to formally withdraw the eight pending air permit applications.
“This is an important step in fulfilling TXU’s commitment, made in connection with the recently announced merger, to immediately seek to suspend the permit application process for the eight units announced last year,” said Mike McCall, chief executive officer, TXU Wholesale. “Further, upon closing the merger agreement, TXU does not intend to apply or reapply for permits to build additional coal units utilizing current pulverized coal-fuel technology.”
The Motion to Stay does not affect the Oak Grove permit application pending before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
TXU Corp., a Dallas-based energy company, manages a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy businesses primarily in Texas. In the competitive TXU Energy Holdings segment (electricity generation, wholesale marketing and retailing), TXU Energy provides electricity and related services to more than 2.1 million competitive electricity customers in Texas. TXU Power has over 18,100 MW of generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW of nuclear and 5,800 MW of coal-fueled generation capacity. TXU Wholesale optimizes the purchases and sales of energy for TXU Energy and TXU Power and provides related services to other market participants. TXU Wholesale and its affiliate, TXU Renew, are the largest purchasers of wind-generated electricity in Texas and fifth largest in the United States. TXU Corp.’s regulated segment, TXU Electric Delivery, is an electric distribution and transmission business that uses superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. TXU Electric Delivery operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to three million electric delivery points over more than 101,000 miles of distribution and 14,300 miles of transmission lines. Visit www.txucorp.com for more information about TXU Corp.
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s current projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is contained in the TXU Corp.’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Specifically, TXU Corp. makes reference to the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its annual and quarterly reports. In addition to the risks and uncertainties set forth in the TXU Corp.’s SEC reports or periodic reports, the proposed merger agreement referenced in this release could be affected by, among other things, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against TXU Corp. and others related to the merger agreement; failure to obtain shareholder approval or any other failure to satisfy other conditions required to complete the merger, including required regulatory approvals; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations and the potential difficulties in employee retention as a result of the merger; the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the merger and the execution of certain financings that will be obtained to consummate the merger; and the impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the consummation of the merger. Furthermore, the proposed transaction (other than the merger) described in this release could be affected by, among other things, the ability to profitably serve TXU Corp. customers given the announced price protection and price cuts; the ability to fund the investments for the activities described in this release; delays in approval of, or failure to obtain, air and other environmental permits for the Oak Grove units; the ability of TXU Corp. subsidiaries to prevail in any appeal of the recent court ruling that resolved the consent decree issue regarding the proposed Sandow 5 unit; the commercial viability of alternative energy sources (including clean coal technologies); and material changes in actual or forecasted power reliability in ERCOT.
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