Texas Industrial Energy Consumers v. Centerpoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Public Utility Commission of Texas

This appeal concerns a Public Utility Commission order setting a “competition transition charge” under Chapter 39 of the Utilities Code. The order followed a true-up proceeding initiated by Center-Point Energy Houston Electric, LLC to recover from ratepayers its investments “stranded” by Texas’s transition to a less regulated, more competitive retail electricity market. Groups representing electricity consumers challenged the order, contesting CenterPoint’s (1) recovery of interest, 1 and (2) recovery of costs of a valuation panel. The court of appeals affirmed the PUC’s order in favor of…