# Texas Genco > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Texas_Genco > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Texas_Genco.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Genco > Source revision: 1214788639 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) '''Texas Genco''' was a [power generation](/source/power_generation) company that came about as part of the [deregulated Texas electricity market](/source/deregulation_of_the_Texas_electricity_market) and owned numerous power plants in the [Houston](/source/Houston) area that serve area power needs. The Company was created in 2001 as part of the Texas electricity market deregulation. Incumbent utilities were required to separate their business functions into a retail electric provider (REP), a transmission and distribution service provider (TDSP), and a wholesale generator."Public Utility Brokers - Deregulation in Texas." Public Utility Brokers - Deregulation in Texas. Public Utility Brokers, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013. In 2000, Reliant Energy announced that it was splitting its business into separate regulated and unregulated businesses."Timeline (1866-Present)." Timeline (1866-Present). CenterPoint Energy, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013 This split formed Reliant Resources, an unregulated electricity and energy company, and Centerpoint Energy, the remaining mostly regulated energy delivery company."Company History." Company History. CenterPoint Energy, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013 Reliant Energy's power plants became a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerpoint Energy. The new company was known as Texas Genco. When the state of Texas deregulated the electricity market, the former [Houston Lighting & Power](/source/Houston_Lighting_%26_Power) (HL&P) was split into several companies."[http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Exelon-bids-for-major-Texas-power-producer-NRG-1769359.php Exelon bids for major Texas power producer NRG]." ''[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle)''. October 20, 2008. Retrieved on April 14, 2014. "The plants were originally part of the former Houston Lighting & Power, the integrated utility that served the Houston area until it was broken up into three separate companies as the state deregulated its power markets." In 2003 HL&P was split into [Reliant Energy](/source/Reliant_Energy), Texas Genco, and [CenterPoint Energy](/source/CenterPoint_Energy).Fowler, Tom. "[http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/8-Houston-power-plants-to-be-sold-to-NRG-1920910.php 8 Houston power plants to be sold to NRG]." ''[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle)''. October 2, 2005. Retrieved on April 14, 2014. Seeking opportunities arising out of the deregulation of the electricity industry in Texas, in late 2004 four private equity firms—the [Texas Pacific Group](/source/Texas_Pacific_Group), the [Blackstone Group](/source/Blackstone_Group), [Kohlberg Kravis Roberts](/source/Kohlberg_Kravis_Roberts), and [Hellman & Friedman](/source/Hellman_%26_Friedman) of San Francisco—combined forces to purchase Texas Genco from the transmission & distribution provider utility [Centerpoint Energy](/source/Centerpoint_Energy) for Houston. This coalition of firms acquired Texas Genco—which was the second largest operator of power generation facilities in the state—for a price of approximately $1.9 billion—using just $900 million in cash. In late 2005, these private equity firms announced the sale of Texas Genco to [NRG Energy](/source/NRG_Energy) of Princeton, N.J., for a price of roughly $5.9 billion. The investors achieved a gain of almost $5 billion over the space of an investment holding period of less than 18 months, a return that will mark one of the most lucrative [private equity](/source/private_equity) investments in recent years. == See also == {{Portal|Texas|Companies|Energy}} *Genco ==External links== *[Deregulation of the Texas electricity market](/source/Deregulation_of_the_Texas_electricity_market) *[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/business/23place.html?ex=1290402000&en=af94e061d03d0756&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "The Deal That Even Awed Them in Houston," by Simon Romero, ''The New York Times''] ==References== Category:NRG Energy Category:Companies based in Houston Category:Companies established in 2001 Category:Energy in Texas Category:Corporate subsidiaries --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Texas Genco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Genco) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Genco?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.