TXU Residential Churn Relatively Steady

After recording its lowest rate of residential customer churn in seven quarters during the three months ended March 31, 2012, TXU Energy maintained that relatively low level of churn during the three months ended June 30, 2012.

From March 31, 2012 to June 30, 2012, TXU lost a net of 25,000 residential customers, compared to the net loss of 22,000 from December 31, 2011 to March 31, 2012. During the year-ago quarter, from March 31, 2011 to June 30, 2011, TXU had lost a net of 33,000 residential customers.

As of June 30, 2012, TXU was serving 1.578 million residential customers, compared to 1.603 million as of March 31, 2012, and 1.706 million a year ago.

During an earnings call this morning, executives attributed the improved churn, versus the year-ago, to increased retention due to product differentiation. Churn continues due to TXU's ongoing focus on margin discipline, and competitive pressures in the ERCOT market.

TXU's small business (< 1 MW) customer count stood at 178,000 meters as of June 30, 2012, versus 179,000 as of March 31, 2012 and 199,000 a year ago. The net loss of only 1,000 small business meters is a significant improvement over the loss of 6,000 small business meters from December 31, 2011 to March 31, 2012.

TXU's large business customer count as of June 30, 2012 was 16,000 meters, versus 17,000 meters as of March 31, 2012, and 20,000 meters a year ago.

Total TXU retail customer count was 1.772 million meters as of June 30, 2012, versus 1.799 million meters as of March 31, 2012, and 1.925 million meters a year ago.

TXU reported that bad debt expense decreased by 49.8% in Q2 2012 compared to Q2 2011, due to improved customer care processes.

Total retail electric volumes for TXU were 10,326 GWh for the quarter ending June 30, 2012, versus 11,890 GWh a year ago.

Total retail electricity revenues were $1.136 billion for the quarter, versus $1.330 billion a year ago.