(Reuters) – Privately held Energy Future Holdings, the biggest power company in Texas, has filed for bankruptcy with more than $40 billion in debt to myriad classes of bondholders and lenders.
Formerly known as TXU Corp, Energy Future was formed in 2007 in a leveraged buyout that loaded the company with more than $40 billion in debt. The deal was a gamble on continued high natural gas prices just before the cost of gas collapsed as shale output surged.
Two EFH units, generator Luminant and distributor Oncor, are among the top 20 generation and distribution companies in the United States.
Though tiny, Optim Energy LLC of Texas filed for creditor protection in February, analysts say it is unlikely other power companies will follow Energy Future Holdings into bankruptcy in the near future and consumers are not expected to suffer power disruptions.
Still, the power industry is no stranger to high-profile bankruptcies.
Enron, the biggest energy trader, collapsed in 2001 following the California energy crisis of 2000-2001 and an accounting scandal.
PG&E Corp PCG.N put its Pacific Gas and Electric utility unit, the biggest power company in California, into bankruptcy in 2001 to halt losses during the state’s energy crisis.
After the California crisis, several merchant power companies failed due to the collapse of trading and weaker electric prices, including NRG Energy Inc NRG.N in 2003, Mirant in 2003, PG&E’s merchant generating unit National Energy Group in 2003 and Calpine Corp CPN.N in 2005.
In 2012, Dynegy Inc DYN.N and Edison International’s EIX.N merchant generating unit, Edison Mission Energy, filed for protection due to the slump in gas prices, which in turn depressed power prices.
In Texas, one megawatt can supply about 500 homes during mild weather, but only 200 homes in the summer when demand is highest.
The following lists the 20 biggest power generators in the United States, according a Reuters survey of company data.
Generation company Megawatts
1 Duke Energy 57,500
2 NRG Energy 47,000
3 Southern Co 45,700
4 NextEra Energy 42,500
5 American Electric Power 38,000
6 Tennessee Valley Authority 35,000
7 Exelon Corp 34,700
8 MidAmerican Energy 34,000
9 Entergy Corp 30,000
10 Calpine Corp 29,000
11 Dominion 23,500
12 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 21,900
13 PPL Corp 19,000
14 First Energy Corp 18,000
15 Xcel Energy 17,000
16 Luminant 15,400
17 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 15,200
18 PSEG Corp 13,200
19 Dynegy 13,000
20 GDF Suez 12,100
The following lists the 20 largest power distribution companies ranked by customer accounts in the United States, according a Reuters survey of company data.
Distribution company Electric
customers
(in millions)
1 Duke Energy 7.2
2 Exelon Corp 6.6
3 First Energy Corp 6
4 American Electric Power 5.3
5 PG&E Corp 5.2
6 Edison International 5
7 NextEra Energy 4.7
8 Southern Co 4.4
9 MidAmerican Energy 3.7
10 Xcel Energy 3.4
11 Con Edison 3.3
12 National Grid 3.3
13 Northeast Utilities 3.1
14 Oncor 3
15 Entergy Corp 2.8
16 Dominion 2.5
17 Ameren 2.4
18 PPL Corp 2.3
19 PSEG 2.2
20 CenterPoint Energy 2.2
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Eileen O’Grady in Houston; Editing by Terry Wade, Leslie Adler and Sofina Mirza-Reid
