Brownwood: Your Electric Bill Dollars At Work !
TXU may request another price hike for electric service
By Staff and wire reporters
August 4, 2005
DALLAS - TXU Corp., which reaped $375 million in profit during the second quarter and is heading into its most profitable time of the year, may ask customers for a second rate increase this year due to rising natural gas prices.
Twelve Big Country counties could see an increase in rates if the electric provider makes the request.
Chairman and Chief Executive John Wilder mentioned the possibility of higher electricity rates in a conference call with analysts on Tuesday.
The state Public Utility Commission granted TXU a 10 percent rate increase in May, but officials at Dallas-based TXU said the continuing rise in natural gas prices has made their retail electricity business unprofitable.
source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_3976748,00.html
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Hard Line: How a Texas Power Company Got Tough With Consumers: Deregulated, TXU Enforces New Deadlines and Fees
By Rebecca Smith--Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal -3-22-2005
DALLAS -- Last summer, Donald Lucas found a technician from electricity provider TXU Corp. in his suburban yard. "I'm here to shut off your power," the man said. That was a surprise to Mr. Lucas, who didn't know he was a TXU customer. Moments later, the lights went off.
Mr. Lucas soon learned his former power company had dropped him because he failed to make a payment on time. As the provider with backup duty in Dallas, TXU was obliged to pick him up. But Mr. Lucas says he never received notice about the missed payment or transfer. To reconnect him, TXU now demanded $545 -- more than three times his average monthly bill. This included $164.99 that was past due for electricity, a $270 deposit, $8 disconnect fee, $89 reconnect fee, $5.29 transfer fee, $3.38 "base customer" fee, and taxes.
Mr. Lucas paid TXU the full amount, and a week later received the company's welcome packet. "That's cold," he says.
The quick disconnect and expensive reconnect are emblematic of how TXU, the largest power company in Texas, is aggressively responding to a deregulated energy market. The company confirms much of Mr. Lucas's account but says it sent him timely notice of the transfer and a warning that he was about to lose power.
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