GEXA ENERGY HOUSTON TEXAS Complaint
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH GEXA ENERGY - ELECTRIC/UTILITIES
Posted By: YRUASKINGME on 3/26/2005

Location: Houston, TX

1
helpful votes

I dont know where to start. In Texas you have the choice of choosing what electric providers you want and there are at least 12 or more.With the opportunty of doing that along comes unregulated rules and unfair practices.

I chose GEXA ENERGY from alist of providers on a website to become my Commercial Business provider. After a couple of months I decided to go with them as my resident provider and they told me that since your a commercial customer we are going to "WAIVE" the deposit for your resident account.My apartment management informed about 30 days after I signed up with GEXA that I did not transfer my electric and that I was in violation of my lease. I called GEXA and they state that it requires deposit I explained to look at the notes and was told that I didnt need a deposit. They said thay would take care of it. GUESS WHAT! They didnt. I receive a bill from the Apartments saying I need to transfer service again. By this time Im really mad and the hold time on the phone with this company is horrible,I have even called early in the morning and the recording says we are extremely busy please hold...instead it should say "due to the small number of call advisors available your hold time could be 30 minutes or longer" GIVE ME A BREAK....liars.I know this is long but it was a real bad mistake doing business with them.They finally hooked me up. So I moved and had outstanding bill with them so they decided to transfer the remaining balnce to my commercial account.I AM NOW ON BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION thanks to GEXA ENERGY. I went thru the roof and filed several PUC Public utility Compliants agains them. We will remove your resident balance from your commercial only for it to appear again.Long story short. I eventually cancelled the commercial account and decided to pay monthy and without notice it went to NCO Financial Collections and appears on my credit report.NO NOTICE....NOTHING,even after paying them monthly payments.Do you think they would have had the decency to send me a notice that partial payments are not accepted and we will send it to collections.

I have since paid the balance to GEXA and sent the NCO Financial a verification of debt letter. All I have to say is that companies are out to ruin your credit life and they could care less how they effect you.I have taken the steps to get all this behind me.Their are actually more incidents of unethical behavior on there part that I did not post here but you can only imagine.BE AWARE OF GEXA ENERGY HOUSTON TEXAS AND NCO FINANCIAL.

Company Profile. Click for Overview, Financials, Ownership, News and more. GEXA CORP
Form:10-Q Filing Date:5/16/2005 Jump to : Format : File Back





Item 1. Legal Proceedings

During 2003, the Company was sued in the matter of Kyle Holland vs. Gexa Corp. et al. in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas. Mr. Holland alleged damages in connection with his acquisition of our common stock. The complaint seeks unspecified damages. On March 15, 2005, this case was dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim. On April 12, 2005 this case was appealed. While this lawsuit is being appealed, we believe it has no merit and we will contest this suit vigorously.

On July 15, 2004, a class action lawsuit Frederick T. Pappey, et al. vs. Gexa Corp., Neil Leibman, Marcie Zlotnik and Sarah Veach, Civil Action No. H-04-2869, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston District. The complaint alleged, among other things, that Gexa's publicly filed reports and public statements contained false and misleading information, which resulted in damages to the plaintiff and members of the proposed class when they purchased Gexa's securities. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Gexa overstated revenue during the second and third quarters of 2003 by $2.07 million and $2.05 million, respectively, by utilizing an improper accounting method for calculating sales of electric power. The complaint alleged that Gexa's conduct and the conduct of the other defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 10b-5 and that the individual defendants violated
Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint sought unspecified damages. On December 20, 2004, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice. While this lawsuit could be refiled at a later date, Gexa believes the lawsuit has no merit and will vigorously defend any such refiled action.

On November 30, 2004, Gexa entered into a settlement with Cappello Capital Corp., or Cappello, relating to the matter of Cappello Capital Corp. vs. Gexa Corp., originally filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court-West District. Cappello's complaint alleged a breach of contract regarding investment banker fees being claimed by Cappello in connection with the credit facility with Highbridge/Zwirn Special Opportunities Fund, L.P. In exchange for Cappello's agreement to dismiss the lawsuit and release its claims against Gexa, Gexa agreed to: (i) pay Cappello $275,000, (ii) issue to Cappello warrants dated November 1, 2004, to purchase 400,000 shares of Gexa common stock at an exercise price of $4.50 per share, and (iii) issue to Cappello an interest free unsecured promissory note in the principal amount of $500,000. Gexa accrued $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2004 in investment banking charges to other assets as deferred financing cost to be amortized over the life of the Highbridge facility.

On December 2, 2004, Gexa was sued in the matter of Essential Utilities Corporation v. Gexa Energy Corp., Cause No. 04-12056, in the 191st District Court of Dallas County, Texas. The petition alleges breach of contract, quantum meruit, conversion and unjust enrichment in

31



connection with the alleged nonpayment of consultation fees. The amount of the claim is unknown. This case is in the preliminary stages, and Gexa intends to contest this suit vigorously.

On January 31, 2005, a lawsuit styled Griffin/Juban Capital Management, L.L.C. d/b/a GC Realty Services v. Gexa Corporation was filed in the 11th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas. This lawsuit claims that Gexa agreed to provide Continental frequent flyer miles to the plaintiff in turn for doing business with Gexa. The plaintiff has sued Gexa for breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. The amount of damages sought in the lawsuit is unknown. This case is in the preliminary stages, and Gexa intends to contest this suit vigorously.

On or about February 11, 2005, Gexa was made aware of a potential lawsuit that may be filed by Prenova, Inc. and 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. against Gexa and XERS, Inc. d/b/a XCEL Energy, Inc. The proposed complaint claims that Gexa failed to timely provide electrical service to 24 Hour Fitness and, as a result, they incurred substantial damages in the form of significantly higher rates for several months in 2004. The claimants have alleged damages in the amount of $150,000.00 plus interest and attorneys' fees. If filed, Gexa intends to contest this suit vigorously.

The Company is also involved in various receivable collections matters as a plaintiff. Gexa believes that there are no pending matters that will have a significant impact on its financial position or results of operations.

Gexa Energy ripoff awful customer service Houston Texas
*Consumer Comment ..Terrible Company
Respond to this report!

Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
Victim of this person/company?
Are you also a victim of the same company or person? Want Justice? File a Ripoff Report and don´t let them get away with it!
Print Email
Gexa Energy
Phone: 713-961-9399
Fax: 713-967-7997

www.gexaenergy.com
Houston, Texas, 77046
U.S.A.
Submitted: 7/13/2005 1:45:46 AM
Modified: 2/9/2007 1:48:42 PM
Reported By
Rochelle
dallas, Texas

How to get Rip-off Revenge

Yeah, Gexa may offer lower rates, but you get what you pay for. The average wait on the telephone for customer service is over one hour--yes, an hour or longer!!! If you're 7 days late on payment, your utilities are shut off and heaven help you, it's a 3 day wait for Oncor to reconnect since you're no longer a direct TXU customer.

Gexa says it's Oncor creating the wait and Oncor says Gexa hasn't turned in the reconnect notice. They offer nothing in the way of allowing you to postpone your payment a few days, their policy is if you're one day past the due date or have shorted your payment more than $10, you're up for immediate cancellation and nothing will suffice except payment in full.

I signed up with them through ElectricityTexas and that was the first and last time I spoke with a Gexa customer service rep in a matter of minutes--they called me. If you have long periods of time to wait, they might be a semi decent electric company, but sheesh, i NEVER waited more than 15 minutes on a higher than normal call volume day with TXU.

By the time you add in their $4.79 fee, their late fee and other charges, it just doesn't seem to add up.

Rochelle
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.

Which Electric Companies Get Most Consumer Complaints?

POSTED: 5:50 pm CDT August 3, 2006
UPDATED: 10:04 am CDT August 4, 2006
E-mail this story | Print this story
Sign Up for Breaking News Alerts
HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of a Troubleshooters story that aired on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006, on KPRC Local 2 at 10 p.m.

Tired of rising electric rates? State and city leaders say you should shop around for the best deals. However, until now you've only been able to compare prices when deciding on an electric company.

So, our Troubleshooters did more investigating for you. Tonight, Troubleshooter Amy Davis shows you which electric companies customers complain about the most and how often the state finds them at fault.
Click Here

These digital read-outs are fairly dummy-proof.

"I could have sent my 8-year-old grandson to do it and he would've done a lot better job," resident Mickey Thompson said.

It's why Mickey Thompson was dumbfounded when he got a series of soaring electric bills from TXU.

The first was $700. Then, up to $8,000.

"The next one was $17,000," he said.

That's right -- $17,000 to cool his 1,500 square foot retail space; not the low advertised price that made Thompson pick TXU.

"I shopped around and they've got competitive rates," he said.

But what they didn't know is that TXU also has the highest number of customer complaints than any other electric provider in Texas.

Consumers can easily compare prices between electric companies. But, what you won't find on the state's www.powertochoose.org Web site is the number of disgruntled customers who have called to complain about their providers.

The Troubleshooters obtained the numbers from the consulting group Regulatory Compliance Services that reveal in 2005, 2,810 TXU customers filed complaints to the PUC.

Reliant received more than 1,100 complaints, almost tied with Centrica, the parent company for Direct Energy, WTU Energy and CPL.

Gexa came in fourth with 465 complaints.

"Keep in mind that TXU is the largest in Texas," said Carlos Santos with TXU.

TXU says the most important numbers are the ones that show you how often its company is actually at fault.

So, we dug deeper and found the Public Utility Commission found very few violations on the part of the provider.

According to the PUC, Gexa may have had fewer complaints. But it was at fault 22 percent of the time.

Centrica came in second with only 5 percent of the complaints panning out in the customer's favor.

The companies with the most complaints, TXU and Reliant, were found in error only 4 percent of the time.

"You should definitely be aware of that when you're choosing a provider," Tracy Crow said

Thompson's daughter and store manager says had her family known about TXU's complaint history, they would have picked another provider.

"I will quit doing business with TXU when this all straightens out," she said.

Four months of frustration has taught Thompson the price per kilowatt may be less important than what a company may cost you in time.

Reliant Energy and Direct Energy both say the number of complaints they've received represent less than one percent of their customers.

No one from Gexa Energy returned our calls.

http://www.click2houston.com/download/2006/0803/9623775.pdf

complaints filed by consumers with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) in Calendar Year 2005 decreased by more than 4% from 2004 volumes. Summarized by Regulatory Compliance Services, an Austin, Texas based consulting firm, the 2005 Year End Scorecard reveals that the PUCT received over 6,800 complaints related to retail electric service in calendar year 2005 compared to over 7,400 in 2004. Retail electric complaint volumes are well down from 2003 when more than 16,000 complaints were filed at the PUCT. The PUCT staff conducted investigations on 76% of those complaints. The PUCT staff determined that companies violated commission rules on approximately 6% of the retail electric complaints investigated.
Billing issues accounted for almost 4,100 of the complaints received related to retail electric service which is slightly down from the2004 volume. There were over 240 slamming complaints in 2005, down from near 400 in 2004. Slamming is the unauthorized switching of a customer’s service provider. However, of interest is the fact that the PUCT staff determined that slamming violations occurred in 20% of all slamming complaints investigated. Only 5% of investigated billing complaints were found to be violations. A listing of Retail Electric Providers with PUCT complaint activity in 2005 and their complaint violation rates for 2005 is presented below. Retailers with no complaint activity in 2005 will not be listed in this table. The tables have been segregated to rank companies based on the volume of complaints received.
"Your Consumer Protection
Specialist"
REPs# of Complaints Received by PUCT in 20052005 Violation RateREPs with Less than 10 Complaints# of ComplaintsReceived by PUCT in 2005CONSTELLATION NEWENERGY, INC.2540.00%IDEAL ENERGY, INC.4LIBERTY POWER CORP.1540.00%AZOR ENERGY LP3GEXA ENERGY, LP46522.26%NM ENERGY OF TEXAS, L.L.C.2NEW MEXICO NATURAL GAS, LP2921.05%TEXAS COMMERCIAL ENERGY. L.L.C.1USAVE ENERGY SERVICES, INC.4219.35%ANDELER CORPORATION8SPARK ENERGY, LP4218.75%MPOWER RETAIL ENERGY LP6ACN ENERGY, INC.1618.18%HINO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY4ACCENT ENERGY TEXAS LP2715.00%ELECTRIC NOW, LP3SPS4914.29%ENERGY WEST RESOURCES, LTD.7JUST ENERGY TEXAS, LLC1614.29%AFFORDABLE POWER PLAN, LP4ECONNERGY ENERGY COMPANY3812.12%VEGA RESOURCES, LLC6STREAM GAS & ELECTRIC, LTD.6011.76%FIRE FLY ELECTRICITY, LLC5TARA ENERGY, INC.1611.11%STAR ELECTRICITY LLC5AMPRO ENERGY, LP1111.11%TRIEAGLE ENERGY, L.L.C.5BRIDGEPOINT POWER & LIGHT, LLC1810.00%DYNOWATT LP3FREEDOM GROUP, LLC359.38%COMMERCE ENERGY, INC.2GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY COMPANY1507.14%STRATEGIC ENERGY, L.L.C.2Centrica1,1704.87%TEXAS RETAIL ENERGY, LLC2FIRST CHOICE POWER, INC.1984.55%ALLIANCE POWER COMPANY, LLC1Entergy2234.49%SMART ENERGY1TXU2,8103.99%W POWER AND LIGHT, LP1Reliant1,1783.68%AES NEWENERGY, INC.1UTILITY CHOICE, LP460.00%Subtotal/Average76CIRRO GROUP, INC.420.00%Grand Total/Average76AEP390.00%Subtotal/Average6,76012.69%REPs with More Than 10 Complaints on File at the PUCT during 2005REPs with Less Than 10 Complaints on File at the PUCT
2005 Violation
Rate
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
66.67%
60.00%
50.00%
33.33%
28.57%
25.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
30.16%
6.37%
during 2005
Companies violating commission rules are subject to administrative penalties assessed by the PUCT.
A copy of the full report may be obtained from Regulatory Compliance Services at http://www.your-rcs.com/YearEnd.htm
Regulatory Compliance Services provides consulting services on retail and consumer protection issues to electric and telephone companies operating in Texas.
###

Complaints on "Gexa Energy"
Read more complaints on this Company
Gexa Energy
Posted: 2007-02-28 by College Student [send email]
No customer service
Complaint Rating: 100 % with 3 votes
Gexa is a scam company. I have had them for 3 months and canceling service promptly. The airline miles are not worth it. Good luck getting a hold of any customer service reps. The entire company seems like it is run just by 4 or 5 thugs. The customer service rep, Yolanda V., is rude and condescending. Furthermore, there are no supervisors available for relief.

For any pertinent complaints to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, P.O. Box 13326, Austin TX 78711 (512) 936-7120.

Comments
90 days ago by Rarod [send email]
I have already filed a complain with the public commission against GEXA. They sent me a wrong bill overcharged by 60 dollars. Then they keep on sending me wrong bills without correcting the previous bill. To beat that, the customer rep tells me that they dont know when the issue will be resolved and that i need to keep on calling them after every 2 days to find out whats the status of the correction. It's been 1.5 month now and still I haven't received any credit for the overcharged amount. And here's something better, they threaten me to disconnect my electricity if i don't pay those wrong bills. AVOID GEXA.
32 days ago by Robin [send email]
Gexa is a horrible company! They suddenly just disconnected our service. No notice, we just didn't get a bill come April. And so we called to see what was up, and they said that we switched providers. Bull****!! We never told them anything, never made a late payment, and never got a notice from them. I'm not sure what's going to happen with us, and who our new provider is. But I have a feeling it won't end well. Dont ever go with Gexa!!

Gexa
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
False Acqusations Against GEXA ENERGY

First and foremost, I do have to admit that the hold time with Gexa Energy is not acceptable. It has been a lot better than in the past but can still use improvement. This is why Gexa Energy has implemented new features in order to promptly assist customers with payments, considering the volumes of calls are mostly payment related. New features are being added as well as online features.

In defense of Gexa Energy, and any other Retail Provider being wrongfully bashed by a consumer that has been disconnected, the accusations from this customer are inaccurate. The comments they make are expected from a customer who is perturbed that they lost power. However, in reading her complaint carefully, this customer has admitted that she made her payment well after the due date. The fact of the matter is that prior to being disconnected you are sent an invoice with a due date to have your bill paid by. This invoice is for service already rendered. Which means you are billed for energy you have already used, PREVIOUSLY. If payment is not received by the due date then you are automatically given additional time with a late fee of 5% accessed to the account. After approximately 4 days after the due date, and still no payment received, we then send out a termination notice. This notice advises the customer that they will have until a specified date to have their payment into Gexa Energy in order to avoid termination. As a courtesy this notice has an additional 10 days on it from the date it is processed. So, if you do the calculation, notice sent 3-5 days after due date, notice gives additional 10 days, which means you actually are 13-15 days past your due date before we send an order to disconnect. In addition to this additional time, if the customer calls prior to the disconnect date on the termination notice we can allow an additional 7 days past the notice date. This means you can actually have up to 20 days, past due, to pay your bill. Now, once the disconnect order is sent to the TDSP, in this customers case TXU, they normally take 24-48 business hours to work the disconnect request. This is the same time frame they give for reconnecting the service, 24-48 business hours.

As far as adding in our customer base fee, late fee and other charges (TDSP and Energy Charge), these are the same fees that are charged by all Retail Providers. Their fees may not be the same amount as Gexa Energy but they are charged no matter who you select as your provider. Some providers bundle this charge into their rates and others display it on the actual bill so you can see what you are paying for, like Gexa Energy. The late fee is only charged if you are late. It is your responsibility to make your payment by the due date and if you do not, you are charged the 5% late fee. There was a point when Gexa Energy did not charge this at all, as a courtesy to our customers, but we were loosing money and were forced to initiate this charge. If you pay your bill on time you won't have to worry about a late fee on your account or disconnection of service.

I hope this clears up any false accusations this customer may have submitted and if anyone out there needs additional information on Gexa Energy's processes or business rules, feel free to contact us directly.
ConsumerComment
Submitted: 1/25/2007 6:51:32 PM
Modified: 1/25/2007 7:03:01 PM
ConsumerComment
Tina
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
Gexa Please!

Feed it to the tourist. You can defend your company all you want but the other complaints speak for themselves. I have experienced the bad customer service myself. I have had problems with both employees being rude and not returning phone calls, to not sending a disconnect notice and turning me off. So, while it's natural to defend one's employers, it's also assumed that you don't quite know the complete measure of consumer discontent. The hold times are awful, no return phone calls, rude representatives and cutting power without notice. Not a glowing consumer report is it?
ConsumerComment
Submitted: 2/9/2007 1:15:30 PM
Modified: 2/9/2007 1:48:42 PM
ConsumerComment
Harvey
Spring, Texas
U.S.A.
Terrible Company

Gexa Energy has got to rank extremely high when it comes to worst customer service in Texas. I've had them hang up on me. And access to their website is very limited. They also do dis-connect w/out notice. They over bill. They just recently billed me $1,150.00 from six months ago which is a double bill times 3 (which was paid in full). I have copies of all of my bills AND payments. I have filed a compalint with the Texas Public Utility Commission as of today. I will be transfering my service soon.

This company should be embaressed by the actions of their employees. Either that or they condone it. I have never been able to get past the first person I speak with. No supervisor. No manager. Nothing. I think a thourough and in depth investigation of this company is warranted. Too many complaints for something not to be on the up and up. I agree with Tina. Save it for the tourists and the first timers Gexa. This company has some serious issues. Otherwise, you wouldn't be showing up on the rip-off report so much.

 T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R

Friday, April 16, 2004, Vol. 8, No. 75

Headlines

GEXA ENERGY: Form 10-KSB Filing Delay Triggers Loan Default

GEXA ENERGY: Form 10-KSB Filing Delay Triggers Loan Default
-----------------------------------------------------------
Gexa Energy Corp. (OTCBB:GEXC), a Texas Retail Electricity
Provider, announced that it will not file its Annual Report on
Form 10-KSB for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003 by the April 14, 2004
extended deadline. The Company had previously filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission a notice on Form 12b-25 stating
that it would be unable to file its Form 10-KSB by March 31, 2004
and extending the period in which it intended to file to April 14,
2004. The delay in filing the Form 10-KSB does not change the
Company's previous guidance for revenues in 2003.

The Company's Audit Committee has substantially completed its
previously announced independent review of the Company's internal
controls related to financial reporting and the other matters
raised by the Company's auditors. The Company has also retained a
CFO consultant, Kirk Michael, to assist in the process of
completing the audit and a review of its internal control policies
while the Company completes its search for a chief financial
officer. Progress is being made on all these issues; however, the
Company will need additional time to complete its review of these
matters. Also, additional time will be required to complete work
related to the audit of the Company's 2003 financial statements.
The Company cannot at this time estimate when these procedures and
the audit will be completed.

Delay in filing the Form 10-KSB beyond April 29, 2004 would place
the Company in default under its loan agreement with The Catalyst
Fund, Ltd., and the lender would have the right, but not the
obligation, to accelerate payment of the debt. If required, the
Company will request a waiver of such default. If such waiver is
not granted, the Company has sufficient cash reserves to fully
repay the $3 million balance of the Catalyst loan, but the Company
would need to seek additional financing to support its operations
in 2004. In addition, the late filing of the 10-KSB will eliminate
for one year the Company's ability to use S-3 registration
statements to register the resale of any securities sold in
private placements, and will also eliminate the availability of
Rule 144 for resales of restricted securities by shareholders
until such time as the 10-KSB is filed.

Neil Leibman, chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Our
financial team continues to work on completing the audit and
financial reports consistent with our commitment to accuracy and
transparency in financial reporting. In addition, the operations
team is focused on providing quality retail electric service to
our customers, as well as pursuing additional business
opportunities associated with strong customer demand. We believe
that these factors will result in higher revenues and customer
counts for the first quarter of 2004 as compared to the same
period a year ago. We will provide additional details regarding
the outlook for 2004 when we deliver our 2003 earnings."

About Gexa Energy

Gexa Energy is a Texas-based retail electric provider, which
entered the market as deregulation began on Jan. 1, 2002. The
Company offers residential and all size commercial customers in
the Texas restructured retail energy market competitive prices,
pricing choices, and improved customer friendly service.

Gexa Energy

Gexa Corporation (doing business as Gexa Energy) is located in Houston, Texas and is a retail electricity provider (a “REP”) active in the deregulated Texas electricity market.

Gexa Energy was approved in August 2001 by the Public Utility Commission of the State of Texas ("PUCT") to become a REP in Texas and is also licensed to supply retail electricity power to the Massachusetts electricity market and other jurisdictions.

Gexa Energy sells electric energy and provides the related billing, customer service, collections and remittance services to residential and commercial customers. The Texas regulatory structure permits independent REPs such as Gexa Energy to procure and sell electricity at unregulated prices and pay the local transmission and distribution utilities a regulated tariff rate for delivering electricity to the customers.

Gexa Energy is one of the largest non-incumbent REPs (i.e., not affiliated with a utility) operating in Texas that focuses on customers whose peak demand is under one megawatt (defined by the PUCT as “price-to-beat” commercial customers), either as measured by total megawatt hours sold and by customer count. The majority of Gexa Energy's customers are located in the Houston and Dallas markets, although a growing number are located in a variety of other metropolitan and rural areas in south and west Texas, such as Corpus Christi and Lubbock.

The firm focuses its sales efforts on the < 1 megawatt commercial and the residential multi-family apartment community segments and employs several low cost marketing strategies to further penetrate the single-family residential market (including co-marketing partnerships with the frequent flyer programmes of Continental Airlines and American Airlines).

Gexa Energy had grown to over $273 million in 2004 revenues and further had been serving 80,000 residential and 20,000 commercial meters by the time of its acquisition in June 2005 by FPL Group in a transaction valued at approximately $81 million.

Florida Power & Light
Enlarge

Florida Power & Light Company, the principal subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL), commonly referred to by its initials, FPL, is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility which serves roughly 4.3 million customers in Florida. FPL Group holds power generation assets in more than 20 U.S. states.

History
Enlarge

FPL was founded in 1925 by merging together a number of smaller companies providing power and other services to local communities in Florida, and grew rapidly due to the rapid growth in population that state has experienced.

FPL was the first company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize in 1989. Dr. Noriaki Kano was one the the consultants that helped FPL to reach this stature.

On 20th June 2005, FPL Group completed acquisition of Gexa Energy[1], a retail electricity provider located in Houston and active in the deregulated Texas electricity market. At the time of acquisition, Gexa Energy had grown to over $273 million in 2004 revenues and further had been serving 100,000 total meters within the state of Texas. FPL Group acquired Gexa Energy for approximately US$81 million.

On 19th December 2005, FPL Group, Inc. announced that it was purchasing Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than US$11 billion and that it would adopt "Constellation Energy" as its name for the post-merger entity. The merger was cancelled on 25 October 2006.[1]

Nuclear plants

FPL is majority owner and operator of the Seabrook, St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear power plants. On 27th January 2006, FPL Energy closed the sale transaction of 70% ownership in Duane Arnold Energy Center, located in Iowa [2].

Solar power plants

FPL Energy is the co-owner of the SEGS solar power plants, the largest array in the world.

Wind farms

FPL Energy owns 43 wind farms in 15 states throughout the U.S. One particular wind farm, Cerro Gordo Wind Farm, is located in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

Hurricane Wilma

After Hurricane Wilma, FPL reported that about 3 million customers were without power in the South Florida area. About 20 days later, with the help of other power companies, FPL restored the majority of power in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The company was criticized for the time required for restoration, as well as a rate increase requested for hurricane repair costs and increased fuel costs.