In case this slipped in under the holiday weekend radar:
Oncor, which is the transmission subsidiary for whatever TXU is calling itself these days, is going to refund approximately $72 million, or about $12.58 for everyone who was a customer at the end of December 2007. We should get the credit on our September electric bills. The refund is part of the deal that TXU’s new owners struck with the PUC to get its private buyout earlier this year approved.
So here’s the kicker: There’s no guarantee any of us will see the money. In our deregulated system, Oncor will give it to the company that sells us electricity (a retail energy provider, or REP, in the industry’s jargon). The REP is different from Oncor, which manages the transmission lines that bring power to our homes. The REP doesn’t have to pass the money along. Oncor says if that happens, those of us with a REP that does pass it along will receive a bigger refund, since it has to spend the entire $72 million.
Complicated enough for you?
