Energy Future Holdings

<p style=" margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: 'Lucida Sans', 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">==

<span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none;">ALEC's corporate members are a who's-who of companies that face tort liability. Its corporate board, recently renamed by ALEC as the "<a href="http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-advisory-council/" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Private Enterprise Advisory Board</a><span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none;">," includes representatives of fossil fuel interests (Koch Industries, Peabody Energy, Exxon Mobil,<span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none;"> Energy Future Holdings)<span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none;">, the pharmaceutical industry (PhRMA, Pfizer), and big tobacco (Altria, formally known as Phillip Morris). It also includes insurance companies like State Farm, which profits from a rigged tort liability system by paying out less in claims (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-tarricone/fool-me-once-the-insuranc_b_304594.html" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">even while raising premiums</a><span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none;">).

Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH) is a Dallas-based, privately held energy company with a portfolio of energy companies serving the Texas electricity market: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=TXU" title="TXU" class="mw-redirect">TXU</a> and Oncor.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a> EFH is owned by a group of investors led by private equity firms <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kohlberg_Kravis_Roberts_%26_Co." title="Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co." class="mw-redirect">Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.</a> (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), as well as global investment bank <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goldman_Sachs" title="Goldman Sachs">Goldman Sachs</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

In 2010, Energy Future Holdings had $8.2 billion in revenue.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a> Its CEO, John Young, received a total of $7.1 million in compensation in 2008, a year when the conglomerate reported a $9.8 billion net loss.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a> Since the company was taken private in 2007, its filings are not made public, and Young's compensation in 2009 and 2010 is unknown.

[gang: Energy Future Holdings spent $7 million. While the company has its own lobbying force, it also has hired 13 other firms to help further its causes. Lobbyists reported for Energy Future include Joel Kaplan, an executive vice president who left earlier this year to go to Facebook to head that company’s Washington office. Kaplan worked in the George W. Bush White House from 2006 to 2008 as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy, from 2004 to 2005 as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.]

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<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Ties_to_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council">1 Ties to American Legislative Exchange Council</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Annual_Financials">2 Annual Financials</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Executive_Leadership">3 Executive Leadership</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Background">4 Background</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Power_portfolio">5 Power portfolio</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Existing_coal-fired_power_plants">6 Existing coal-fired power plants</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Sierra_Club_calls_for_closure_of_three_coal_plants_in_Texas">6.1 Sierra Club calls for closure of three coal plants in Texas</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Energy_Future_Holdings_announces_potential_coal_plant_and_mine_shutdown">6.2 Energy Future Holdings announces potential coal plant and mine shutdown</a></li>

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<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Lawsuit_over_Air_Pollution_at_Martin_Lake_Plant">7 Lawsuit over Air Pollution at Martin Lake Plant</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Luminant.27s_Martin_Lake_Plant_Nation.27s_Worst_for_Mercury_Emissions">8 Luminant's Martin Lake Plant Nation's Worst for Mercury Emissions</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Coal_projects_sponsored_by_Luminant">9 Coal projects sponsored by Luminant</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Existing_Coal_Mines">10 Existing Coal Mines</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Contact_details">11 Contact details</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Articles_and_Resources">12 Articles and Resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#Related_SourceWatch_Articles">12.1 Related SourceWatch Articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#External_links">12.2 External links</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#References">12.3 References</a></li>

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<h2>Ties to American Legislative Exchange Council</h2>

EFH is a member of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC). <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sano_Blocker" title="Sano Blocker">Sano Blocker</a>, an EFH lobbyist and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a> represents EFH on ALEC's corporate ("<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Boards_and_Task_Forces#.22Private_Enterprise.22_Board_of_Directors" title="ALEC Boards and Task Forces">Private Enterprise</a>") board as of 2011.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a>

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC" title="ALEC" class="mw-redirect">ALEC</a> is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door. Learn more at <a href="http://alecexposed.org/" class="external text" title="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALECexposed.org</a>.

<h2>Annual Financials</h2>

2010<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a>

Revenues: $8.2 billion

Profits: -$2.8 billion

2009<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a>

Revenues: $9.5 billion

Profits: $344 million

2008

Revenues: $11.4 billion<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a>

Net Income: -$9.8 billion<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-9" title="">[10]</a>

<h2>Executive Leadership</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_F._Young" title="John F. Young">John F. Young</a> - President and CEO</li>

<li>James A. Baker, III - Advisory Chairman</li>

<li>Tom Baker - Chairman Emeritus</li>

<li>Jim Burke - CEO, TXU Energy</li>

<li>David Campbell - CEO, Luminant</li>

<li>Chuck Enze - CEO, Luminant Construction</li>

<li>Joel Kaplan - Executive Vice President, Public Policy and External Affairs</li>

<li>Paul Keglevic - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</li>

<li>Richard Landy - Executive Vice President, Human Resources</li>

<li>Mac McFarland - Chief Commercial Officer, Luminant</li>

<li>Robert Walters - Executive Vice President and General Counsel<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Background</h2>

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a>, formerly TXU Corp., is a Dallas-based energy company involved in electricity generation, distribution, and sales in Texas. In February 2007, TXU announced its acquisition by an investor group led by private equity firms KKR and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Texas_Pacific_Group&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Texas Pacific Group (page does not exist)">Texas Pacific Group</a> (registered under TPG Capital LP).<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-11" title="">[12]</a> In July 2007, TXU announced that its power generation and related businesses would now be assigned to the Luminant name. Both TXU and Luminant would be owned by EFH.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-12" title="">[13]</a>

As part of the estimated US$45 million buyout, Luminant settled a series of lawsuits with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_Defense" title="Environmental Defense" class="mw-redirect">Environmental Defense</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Natural_Resources_Defense_Council" title="Natural Resources Defense Council">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> and agreed to cancel 8 of its planned 11 new Texas coal-fired power plants as well as several new coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Virginia, back federal legislation to create a cap-and-trade system regulating CO2 emissions, and double spending on energy efficiency. In return, Environmental Defense and NRDC agreed not to campaign against TXU’s remaining three Texas coal-fired plants.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-13" title="">[14]</a> In March 2007, TXU announced its official withdrawal of the air permit applications for the eight cancelled plants.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-14" title="">[15]</a>

In 2006, Texas Gov. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Perry" title="Rick Perry">Rick Perry</a> had fast-tracked the permitting process for 11 new col plants for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=TXU" title="TXU" class="mw-redirect">TXU</a>, the state's largest utility, shrinking a process that usually takes one to four years down to six months. Between January 2001 and July 2011, TXU (and then Energy Future Holdings), gave Perry $633,575—more than any other politician. Former TXU chairman Erle Nye, whom Perry appointed to Texas A&M's Board of Regents in 2003, gave the governor $2,000 on the day he signed the coal-plant executive order, and another $25,000 six months later. TXU's PAC also gave Perry $5,000 shortly after he signed the order.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-15" title="">[16]</a>

<h2>Power portfolio</h2>

Out of its total 19,356 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (1.81% of the U.S. total), Luminant produced 55.6% from natural gas, 32.5% from coal, 12.6% from nuclear, and 0.1% from oil. All of Luminant's power plants are in Texas.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-EIA-16" title="">[17]</a>

<h2>Existing coal-fired power plants</h2>

Luminant owned 9 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 6,137 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Luminant's coal power plants:<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-EIA-16" title="">[17]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-17" title="">[18]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-18" title="">[19]</a>

<tr>

<th>Plant Name</th>

<th>State</th>

<th>County</th>

<th width="175">Year(s) Built</th>

<th width="75">Capacity</th>

<th width="100">2007 CO2 Emissions</th>

<th width="100">2006 SO2 Emissions</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Martin_Lake_Steam_Station" title="Martin Lake Steam Station">Martin Lake</a></th>

</tr>

<tr>

<th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monticello_Steam_Station" title="Monticello Steam Station">Monticello</a></th>

<td align="center">Titus</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Big_Brown_Steam_Electric_Station" title="Big Brown Steam Electric Station">Big Brown</a></th>

<td align="center">Freestone</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sandow_Station_Unit_4" title="Sandow Station Unit 4">Sandow 4</a></th>

<td align="center">Milam</td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

In 2006, Luminant's 4 coal-fired power plants emitted 51.2 million tons of CO2 (0.85% of all U.S. CO2 emissions) and 275,000 tons of SO2 (1.83% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

<h3>Sierra Club calls for closure of three coal plants in Texas</h3>

On March 18, 2011 the Sierra Club released a report stating that three of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a>'s coal plants in East Texas should be shut down because the facilities do not meet Clean Air Act standards and need $3.6 billion in upgrades in order to comply with federal regulations.

The three plants targeted were <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Big_Brown_Steam_Electric_Station" title="Big Brown Steam Electric Station">Big Brown</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monticello_Steam_Station" title="Monticello Steam Station">Monticello Steam Station</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Martin_Lake_Steam_Station" title="Martin Lake Steam Station">Martin Lake Steam Station</a> plant. The Sierra Club expressed concern about "the major threats to air and water pollution that citizens in the Barnett Shale [in North Texas] are dealing with firsthand."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-Sierra_Club_Study-19" title="">[20]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-20" title="">[21]</a>

The study recommended:

[R]eplacement of three coal fired power plants built in the 1970’s (Big Brown, Monticello and Martin Lake) is a financial and environmental necessity. The plants, currently owned by Energy Future Holding/Luminant and serving North Texas are financially mismanaged, cannot compete profitably in the current market, require pollution control upgrades that are unaffordable and have suffered deep losses in market value. The financial outlook for the company and the plants going forward show very little upside. A broad look at the national and Texas energy market suggest planning tools and resources exist to ensure a smooth transition to a more financially stable and reliable supply of electricity.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-Sierra_Club_Study-19" title="">[20]</a>

</blockquote>

<h3>Energy Future Holdings announces potential coal plant and mine shutdown</h3>

It was announced on September 12, 2011 that Texas based coal plant Monticello Units 1 and 2 would be idled in January 2012 if Energy Future Holdings, owner of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a>, failed in its legal challenge to pending federal air pollution rules. It was also reported that the company would close both its <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thermo_Mine" title="Thermo Mine">Thermo Mine</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Winfield_South_Mine" title="Winfield South Mine">Winfield South Mine</a> at the same time.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-21" title="">[22]</a>

<h2>Lawsuit over Air Pollution at Martin Lake Plant</h2>

In July, 2007, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sierra_Club" title="Sierra Club">Sierra Club</a> put EFH and its subsidiary, Luminant, on notice that the group intended to sue the company for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Clean_Air_Act" title="Clean Air Act">Clean Air Act</a> violations at its Martin Lake plant. The plant was rated as the first in the nation for power plant <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mercury" title="Mercury">mercury</a> emissions in 2005, emitting a total of 1,705 pounds of mercury that year. The Sierra Club claimed that both the U.S. EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ignored <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Soot" title="Soot" class="mw-redirect">soot</a> pollution and other violations at the facility. They also claimed that Martin Lake was one of the dirtiest plants in the entire country in regard to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Particle_pollution" title="Particle pollution" class="mw-redirect">particle pollution</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mercury" title="Mercury">mercury</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sulfur_dioxide" title="Sulfur dioxide" class="mw-redirect">sulfur dioxide</a>, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. These toxins, the Sierra Club noted, are producing a great health risk to communities nearby. The facility currently uses <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scrubber" title="Scrubber" class="mw-redirect">scrubber</a> technology.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-22" title="">[23]</a>

In September 2010, EFH and its <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a> Generation unit were sued by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sierra_Club" title="Sierra Club">Sierra Club</a> over pollution emitted by the Martin Lake plant. The plant near Longview is among the dirtiest in the U.S., the environmental group said in its complaint filed in federal court in Texarkana, Texas: “It is the worst power plant for mercury pollution among all U.S. coal plants, emitting 1,764 pounds in 2008,” the Sierra Club said in a statement. The San Francisco-based group asked a judge to find the plant’s operators in violation of the U.S. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Clean_Air_Act" title="Clean Air Act">Clean Air Act</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-ah-23" title="">[24]</a>

<h2>Luminant's Martin Lake Plant Nation's Worst for Mercury Emissions</h2>

In March 2010 the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_Integrity_Project" title="Environmental Integrity Project">Environmental Integrity Project</a> (EIP) released a report using available EPA data that indicated half of the country's 50 largest mercury-emitting power plants have increased their emissions in recent years. The report also noted that half of the coal plants in the United States do not have the most up to date emission controls in place, and five of the plants with the highest amount of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mercury_and_coal" title="Mercury and coal">mercury</a> emitted are located in Texas.

Coal-fired power plants generate more than 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Mercury released into the air settles in rivers and lakes, where it moves through the food chain to the fish that people eat. The report states that <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a>'s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Martin_Lake_Steam_Station" title="Martin Lake Steam Station">Martin Lake Steam Station</a> in Texas is the nation's worst mercury polluter. The plant reported a 4.56 percent increase from 2007 to 2008.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-24" title="">[25]</a>

The 2011 Environmental Defense Fund report, <a href="http://www.edf.org/documents/11661_mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.edf.org/documents/11661_mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants.pdf" rel="nofollow">"Mercury Alert: Cleaning up Coal Plants for Healthier Lives"</a> found that 25 plants alone are responsible for nearly a third of all mercury emissions in the power sector, while providing only eight percent of U.S. electricity. The findings are based on 2009 U.S. Department of Energy data. The plant with the highest mercury emissions was <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Martin_Lake_Steam_Station" title="Martin Lake Steam Station">Martin Lake Steam Station</a>, releasing 1,566 lbs in 2009.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_note-25" title="">[26]</a>

<h2>Coal projects sponsored by Luminant</h2>

Active

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oak_Grove_Plant" title="Oak Grove Plant">Oak Grove Plant</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sandow_Unit_5" title="Sandow Unit 5">Sandow Unit 5</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sandy_Creek_Plant" title="Sandy Creek Plant">Sandy Creek Plant</a> (Texas)</li>

</ul>

Cancelled

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Big_Brown_3" title="Big Brown 3">Big Brown 3</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lake_Creek_3" title="Lake Creek 3">Lake Creek 3</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Martin_Lake_4" title="Martin Lake 4">Martin Lake 4</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Morgan_Creek_7" title="Morgan Creek 7">Morgan Creek 7</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monticello_4" title="Monticello 4">Monticello 4</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tradinghouse_3_%26_4" title="Tradinghouse 3 & 4">Tradinghouse 3 & 4</a> (Texas)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Valley_4" title="Valley 4">Valley 4</a> (Texas)</li>

</ul>

<h2>Existing Coal Mines</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Beckville_Strip_Mine" title="Beckville Strip Mine">Beckville Strip Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Big_Brown_Mine" title="Big Brown Mine">Big Brown Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oak_Hill_Strip_Mine" title="Oak Hill Strip Mine">Oak Hill Strip Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sulphur_Springs_Strip_Mine" title="Sulphur Springs Strip Mine">Sulphur Springs Strip Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tatum_Mine" title="Tatum Mine">Tatum Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thermo_Mine" title="Thermo Mine">Thermo Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Three_Oaks_Mine" title="Three Oaks Mine">Three Oaks Mine</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Winfield_South_Mine" title="Winfield South Mine">Winfield South Mine</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Contact details</h2>

Energy Plaza

1601 Bryan Street

Dallas, TX 75201 USA

214.812.4600 - phone

Website: <a href="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com" class="external free" title="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.energyfutureholdings.com</a>

<h2>Articles and Resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch Articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Campbell" title="David Campbell">David Campbell</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alliance_for_Energy_and_Economic_Growth" title="Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth">Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goldman_Sachs" title="Goldman Sachs">Goldman Sachs</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Laura_Miller" title="Laura Miller">Laura Miller</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Luminant" title="Luminant">Luminant</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Public_Strategies,_Inc." title="Public Strategies, Inc.">Public Strategies, Inc.</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Texans_for_Affordable_and_Reliable_Power" title="Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power">Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Texas_and_coal" title="Texas and coal">Texas and coal</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=United_States_and_coal" title="United States and coal">United States and coal</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming" title="Global warming">Global warming</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>External links</h3>

<ul>

<li>"<a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=TXU" class="external text" title="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=TXU" rel="nofollow">TXU Corporation</a>", Google Finance, accessed December 2006.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_348203733.html" class="external text" title="http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_348203733.html" rel="nofollow">Judge Rules In Favor Of Texas Clean Air Coalition</a>", CBS11TV.com, December 14, 2006. (This is an Associated Press story).</li>

<li>Randy Lee Loftis and Elizabeth Souder, "<a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021507dntexcoalpr.1796c4e.html" class="external text" title="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021507dntexcoalpr.1796c4e.html" rel="nofollow">Coal debate generates high-dollar ad campaigns</a>", Dallas Morning News, February 15, 2007.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0227txu_ps.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0227txu_ps.htm" rel="nofollow">PS Aids Huge TXU Buyout Deal</a>," O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), February 27, 2007.</li>

<li>Hamilton Nolan, "<a href="http://www.prweek.com/us/news/article/636284/Firms-rep-multiple-parties-TXU-buyout/" class="external text" title="http://www.prweek.com/us/news/article/636284/Firms-rep-multiple-parties-TXU-buyout/" rel="nofollow">TXU deal uses double-sided PR</a>," PR Week, February 28, 2007.</li>

<li>Tara Lohan, "<a href="http://alternet.org/envirohealth/48681/" class="external text" title="http://alternet.org/envirohealth/48681/" rel="nofollow">The New, Green Face of Wall Street</a>," AlterNet, March 3, 2007.</li>

<li>Rebecca Smith and Jim Carlton, "<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117288717808325631.html" class="external text" title="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117288717808325631.html" rel="nofollow">Environmentalist Groups Feud Over Terms of the TXU Buyout</a>," Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), March 3, 2007.</li>

<li>Steve James, "<a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/40670/story.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/40670/story.htm" rel="nofollow">US Coal-Fired Power Plant Plans up in Smoke?</a>," Reuters, March 5, 2007.</li>

<li>Kevin Bogardus, "<a href="http://thehill.com/business--lobby/lobbyists-hired-to-represent-investor-groups-in-45b-buyout-2007-03-27.html" class="external text" title="http://thehill.com/business--lobby/lobbyists-hired-to-represent-investor-groups-in-45b-buyout-2007-03-27.html" rel="nofollow">Lobbyists hired to represent investor groups in $45B buyout</a>," The Hill, March 28, 2007.</li>

<li>"<a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/txu-investors-round-up-lobbying-team/" class="external text" title="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/txu-investors-round-up-lobbying-team/" rel="nofollow">TXU Investors Round Up Lobbying Team</a>," Deal Book (New York Times blog), March 28, 2007.</li>

<li>Rebecca Smith, "<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117616353164164500.html" class="external text" title="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117616353164164500.html" rel="nofollow">TXU Sheds Coal Plan, Charts Nuclear Path</a>: Expansion Efforts Include Large Plants in Texas; Rivals Likely to Follow," Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), April 10, 2007.</li>

<li>Pratap Chatterjee, "<a href="http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14843" class="external text" title="http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14843" rel="nofollow">Climate Change Debate Fuels Greenwash Boom</a>," CorpWatch, December 11, 2007.</li>

</ul>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/businesses/default.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/businesses/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">"About EHF"</a> EFH Website, accessed July 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/owners/default.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/owners/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">"Energy Future Holdings Corp.: Our Owners"</a> Energy Future Holdings Corp., accessed July 8 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2018.html" class="external text" title="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2018.html" rel="nofollow">292. Energy Future Holdings</a>, CNN Fortune 500, May 23, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> Cyrus Sanati, "<a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/bonuses-still-flowing-at-buyout-backed-firm/" class="external text" title="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/bonuses-still-flowing-at-buyout-backed-firm/" rel="nofollow">At Buyout-Backed Firm, Chief’s Bonus Flows Freely</a>," New York Times DealBook, March 3, 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> Lobbyist Directory, <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/lobbying/lobbyist/12750/blocker-lisa-a-sano/" class="external text" title="http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/lobbying/lobbyist/12750/blocker-lisa-a-sano/" rel="nofollow">Lisa A. Sano Blocker</a>, Texas Tribune, accessed July 8, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Private_Enterprise_Board&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=15992" class="external text" title="http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Private_Enterprise_Board&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=15992" rel="nofollow">Private Enterprise Board</a>, ALEC website, accessed July 8, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2018.html" class="external text" title="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2018.html" rel="nofollow">292. Energy Future Holdings</a>, CNN Fortune 500, May 23, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/2018.html" class="external text" title="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/2018.html" rel="nofollow">246. Energy Future Holdings</a>," CNN Fortune 500, May 3, 2010</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/2018.html" class="external text" title="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/2018.html" rel="nofollow">237. Energy Future Holdings</a>," CNN Fortune 500, May 4, 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-9" title="">↑</a> Energy Future Holdings, <a href="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1242" class="external text" title="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1242" rel="nofollow">EFH Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Results</a>, corporate press release, March 3, 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-10" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/leadership.aspx" class="external text" title="http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/about/leadership.aspx" rel="nofollow">Leadership</a>,"Energy Future Holdings"</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-11" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.txucorp.com/media/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1020" class="external text" title="http://www.txucorp.com/media/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1020" rel="nofollow">"TXU to Set New Direction As Private Company"</a>, press release, February 26, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-12" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.luminant.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1083" class="external text" title="http://www.luminant.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1083" rel="nofollow">"Luminant Name Adopted for TXU Corp.’s Power Generation and Related Businesses"</a>, press release, July 10, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-13" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/business/26coal.html?r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin" class="external text" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/business/26coal.html?r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin" rel="nofollow">A Buyout Deal That Has Many Shades of Green</a>, New York Times, February 26, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-14" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.luminant.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1025" class="external text" title="http://www.luminant.com/news/newsrel/detail.aspx?prid=1025" rel="nofollow">"TXU Halts Efforts To Obtain Permits for Eight Coal-Fueled Units"</a>, press release, March 1, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-15" title="">↑</a> Andy Kroll, <a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/rick-perry-txu-environment-coal-president" class="external text" title="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/rick-perry-txu-environment-coal-president" rel="nofollow">"Rick Perry's Dirty Deals With Big Coal"</a> Mother Jones, Sep. 21, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-EIA-16">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-EIA_16-0" title="">17.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-EIA_16-1" title="">17.1</a> <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat2p2.html" class="external text" title="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat2p2.html" rel="nofollow">Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005</a>, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-17" title="">↑</a> Environmental Integrity Project, <a href="http://www.dirtykilowatts.org/Dirty_Kilowatts2007.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.dirtykilowatts.org/Dirty_Kilowatts2007.pdf" rel="nofollow">Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants</a>, July 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-18" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://carma.org/dig" class="external text" title="http://carma.org/dig" rel="nofollow">Dig Deeper</a>, Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed June 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-Sierra_Club_Study-19">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-Sierra_Club_Study_19-0" title="">20.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-Sierra_Club_Study_19-1" title="">20.1</a> <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/17/2930492/sierra-club-calls-for-closure.html" class="external text" title="http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/17/2930492/sierra-club-calls-for-closure.html" rel="nofollow">"Sierra Club calls for closure of three Luminant coal plants in Texas"</a> Jack Z. Smith, Star-Telegram, March 17, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-20" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://texasgreenreport.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/the-case-to-retire-big-brown-monticello-and-martin-lake-coal-plants.pdf" class="external text" title="http://texasgreenreport.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/the-case-to-retire-big-brown-monticello-and-martin-lake-coal-plants.pdf" rel="nofollow">"The Case to Retire Big Brown, Monticello and Martin Lake Coal Plants,"</a> prepared for Sierra Club by Tom Sanzillo, TR Rose Associates, March 17, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-21" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2011/09/12/Energy-Future-Holdings-threatens.html" class="external text" title="http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2011/09/12/Energy-Future-Holdings-threatens.html" rel="nofollow">"Energy Future Holdings threatens plant closures"</a> Dallas Business Journal, September 12, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-22" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://lonestar.sierraclub.org/press/scr/scr20080807.pdf" class="external text" title="http://lonestar.sierraclub.org/press/scr/scr20080807.pdf" rel="nofollow">"Sierra Club Files Notice of Intent to Sue Luminant (TXU)"</a> Sierra Club's State Capitol Report, August 7, 2008</li>

<li id="cite_note-ah-23"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-ah_23-0" title="">↑</a> Andrew Harris, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-03/luminant-sued-by-sierra-club-over-coal-fired-texas-power-plant-s-pollution.html" class="external text" title="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-03/luminant-sued-by-sierra-club-over-coal-fired-texas-power-plant-s-pollution.html" rel="nofollow">"Luminant Sued by Sierra Club Over Coal-Fired Texas Power Plant's Pollution"</a> Bloomberg, September 2, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-24" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/news_03_17_10.php" class="external text" title="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/news_03_17_10.php" rel="nofollow">"EIP Report: Electric Power Industry "Not Making A Dent" in Dangerous Mercury Pollution, Which Rose at Over Half of the Nation's 50 Dirtiest Power Plants"</a> Environmental Integrity Project, March 17, 2010.</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Future_Holdings#cite_ref-25" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.edf.org/documents/11661_mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.edf.org/documents/11661_mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants.pdf" rel="nofollow">"Mercury Alert: Cleaning up Coal Plants for Healthier Lives"</a> Environmental Defense Fund report, March 2011.</li>

</ol>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:ALEC_Exposed" title="Category:ALEC Exposed">ALEC Exposed</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Water" title="Category:Water">Water</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Energy" title="Category:Energy">Energy</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Coal_Issues" title="Category:Coal Issues">Coal Issues</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:United_States" title="Category:United States">United States</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Environment" title="Category:Environment">Environment</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Corporations" title="Category:Corporations">Corporations</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Climate_change" title="Category:Climate change">Climate change</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Power_companies_and_agencies_in_the_United_States" title="Category:Power companies and agencies in the United States">Power companies and agencies in the United States</a></div>

</div>

===

gang of 8

Energy Future Holdings spent $7 million. While the company has its own lobbying force, it also has hired 13 other firms to help further its causes. Lobbyists reported for Energy Future include Joel Kaplan, an executive vice president who left earlier this year to go to Facebook to head that company’s Washington office. Kaplan worked in the George W. Bush White House from 2006 to 2008 as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy, from 2004 to 2005 as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.

<h2>At Energy Future Holdings, Failure Pays Well for Those at Top</h2>

June 15, 2012 by <a href="http://texasvox.org/author/kaibawhite/" title="Posts by kaibawhite">kaibawhite</a>

</div>

If you think that bonuses are supposed to reward success, you’re not alone, but the reality is more bizarre.  While <a class="zem_slink" title="Energy Future Holdings" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Future_Holdings" rel="wikipedia" target="blank">Energy Future Holdings</a>, formerly TXU, of Dallas continues its downward spiral toward bankruptcy, it’s <a title="Energy Future Holdings owners stuck with company worth less than they paid 5 years ago " href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20120526-energy-future-holdings-owners-stuck-with-company-worth-less-than-they-paid-5-years-ago.ece" target="blank">handing out millions in bonuses to its executives</a>.

The bonuses are called retention bonuses and are supposed to keep executive from fleeing the company as its prospects worsen.  At first glance, that makes some sense.  Recruiting replacements might be difficult.  After all, who is going to want to take charge of a failing company?  But then, who would want to hire an executive whose last job was running a company that failed so spectacularly?  And if bonuses increase as the company does worse, what incentive is there to improve performance?  Against the basic principle of capitalism, this system actually provides an incentive to fail.

Meanwhile, Energy Future Holdings is still <a title="Energy Future Holdings owners stuck with company worth less than they paid 5 years ago " href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20120526-energy-future-holdings-owners-stuck-with-company-worth-less-than-they-paid-5-years-ago.ece" target="blank">making huge payments to the private equity holders</a> that are responsible for over leveraging the company in the first place.  <a title="Wall Street CEO Pay Rises 20% With KKR’s Kravis No. 1" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-05/wall-street-ceo-pay-rises-20-with-kkr-s-kravis-no-1.html" target="blank">Henry Roberts Kravis, CEO of KKR received $30 million and his cousin and co-CEO, George Roberts received $29.9 million in compensation for 2011.</a>  Clearly, the survival of Energy Future Holdings is not the main concern of either these private equity barons or the executives at the company, or else they wouldn’t be squeezing personal profit out of it when it’s floundering.

</div>