TXU & TPG Spend $17 Million In Legislative Session

Did you wonder why bills that would regulate large power company buyouts and force TXU to sell off power plants, couldn't get passed in the last Texas legislative session? Well, the answer is money. TXU and its proposed buyer, Texas Pacific Group (TPG), wanted things just like they are, and they were willing to spend millions to see that no changes were made to current law.

The way current laws are written, both groups stand to make a killing. TXU officials will make a ton of money by selling the company. Its CEO, who has only been in office since 2004, stands to make $236 million when the company is sold. As for Texas Pacific Group, it will get to take over the unregulated "gravy train" that is TXU. Since being unregulated, TXU has charged some of the highest electric prices in the nation and reaped windfall profits.

The current lack of regulation makes this deal a win-win situation for both companies. The only losers are the consumers, who must pay the tab after it's all over. So it's easy to see why these two groups were willing to spend a few million dollars to see that the laws didn't change.

The two groups combined to spend $17 million during the last legislative session. They spent nearly $11 million in advertising to make it seem like the unregulated buyout along with unregulated electricity would be a good deal for Texas. That kind of money can buy a lot of good publicity.

But they didn't stop there. They then hired 86 lobbyists -- TXU hired 65 and TPG hired 21. The highest paid lobbyist was former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, who was paid $351,000. That's pretty good money for a few weeks work. Since the House only has 150 members, that's more than one lobbyist for every two members (The regulation bill passed the Senate and had to be stopped in the House). They also spent $180,000 on entertainment and gifts for House members (including Spurs play-off tickets).

So if you're a TXU customer and couldn't understand why you've been paying some of the highest electric rates in the country, now you know. You're the one who gets to pay for all this. And those bills aren't going to come down anytime soon.