CenterPoint Joins Stipulation on Future of dPi Energy

CenterPoint Energy has now joined a settlement among Staff and dPi Energy under which Amvensys Telecom Holdings, LLC, which ultimately owns dPi Energy and is owned by Zahed "Ed" Lateef and his wife, would divest all of its ownership and control of dPi Energy (37917).

CenterPoint was not originally a signatory, but elected to join the stipulation, "[a]fter weighing on one hand the relative benefits of proceeding to a decision on the merits, which would likely have been appealed to the courts if dPi had lost, and on the other hand the benefits of having Mr. Lateef's ownership and control of dPi end on a date certain."

The settlement, if approved by the PUCT, would end the matter with certainty and with no appeal, CenterPoint said. The stipulation, which was first reported by Matters (5/10), would resolve Staff's petition to revoke dPi Energy's REP certificate for, among other reasons, lack of managerial and technical competency due to its 50% ownership by Lateef, who was a principal of Riverway Power when it experienced an involuntary mass transition

The Commission considered the settlement at its June 17 open meeting, and withheld action due to several concerns (see 6/20 story). Generally, Commissioners said that the settlement did not provide them with enough assurance that under the new ownership dPi Energy would not repeat its prior behavior, which had resulted in a separate stipulation to settle a Staff Notice of Violation.

Parties to the settlement continue to work to address these concerns with the aim of presenting an amended settlement agreement.

CenterPoint entered into the settlement notwithstanding that it is still owed $267,250.05 for service provided to Sure Electric, LLC d/b/a Riverway Power Company, where Lateef was a principal. CenterPoint is pursuing these monies in court.

dPi Energy serves about 25,000 customers.