Brighten Energy, TXU Affiliate, Receives Pennsylvania Electric License

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The Pennsylvania PUC granted Brighten Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings and affiliate of TXU Energy, an electric generation supplier license to serve all customer classes in all service areas.

Brighten Energy's application was exclusively reported by Matters last month (10/6 & 10/7).

At that time, TXU provided the following statement concerning the application: "Our recent filing is part of an ongoing evaluation of competitive electricity markets across the country. We are always watching and monitoring other states and have seen interesting retail competition developments in several states including Pennsylvania. While we have made no commitments to enter markets outside of Texas, it made sense for us to further investigate opportunities in Pennsylvania including making the required regulatory filings."

Notably, Brighten Energy has posted a $250,000 letter of credit with the Pennsylvania PUC under its application. Typically, suppliers eschew tying up such capital absent significant plans.

Brighten Energy stated in its application that it, "is seeking the certifications necessary so that it could begin delivering services in Pennsylvania during the first quarter of 2011."

Brighten Energy LLC is an indirect subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp. Organizationally, it is separate from Energy Future Competitive Holdings Company and Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Company, under which TXU and Luminant are organized.

However, Brighten Energy will still be run by TXU's management, with Jim Burke serving as CEO of Brighten Energy.

Brighten is the brand name TXU recently announced for its smart energy and energy efficient products, including its Power Monitor, iThermostat, and online energy store (9/15).