Texas bills to end Entergy unit retail transition
HOUSTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Two bills passed by the Texas Legislature would end plans for Entergy Corp's (ETR.N) Texas utility customers to join the rest of the state's $35-billion-a-year competitive electric market, a company spokesman said on Friday.
Officials with the Entergy utility, which serves 380,000 customers in southeast Texas, have worked unsuccessfully since 2002 to meet state requirements to create a competitive electric market.
Despite numerous proposals and studies, Texas regulators have rejected Entergy's efforts because they did not create enough third-party oversight of Entergy's transmission grid to ensure an even playing field for all power generators in the region.
The bills, which appeared likely to survive the final hours of the legislative session which ends Monday, would put an end to the regulatory effort and give the company certainty going forward, said Entergy spokesman Dave Caplan.
"The bills would give Entergy Texas needed certainty in planning infrastructure improvements and for adequate power for our customers," said Caplan.
Similar legislation failed to pass in the 2007 Texas legislative session.
The 2009 legislation also would allow Entergy to recover the cost of transmission upgrades in a quicker time frame than currently allowed, Caplan said.
The proposals also include a provision to allow Texas regulators to order grid connections between Entergy and its neighboring Texas utilities in the event of an emergency such as a hurricane or other disaster that knocks out service.
Such measures have been used following recent hurricanes to restore power to parts of Entergy's southeast Texas grid which lies outside Texas primary grid. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
