Houston Lighting & Power

Houston Lighting & Power (HL&P) was the principal electric utility serving Greater Houston, Texas, for much of the twentieth century and the period immediately preceding the restructuring of the state's electricity market. The company began operations in 1882 and developed into an integrated utility responsible for supplying electricity to homes, businesses, and other customers across a broad service territory. Its activities combined the functions commonly associated with a traditional regulated electric utility, including power generation, transmission, distribution, and retail electricity service. HL&P operated across an area of approximately 5,000 square miles, centered on Houston and extending through the surrounding region. Before its dissolution, its corporate headquarters were shared with those of Houston Industries in the Houston Industries Plaza in downtown Houston. Another building associated with the company was the former Electric Building, later known as the Bob Lanier Public Works Building after the City of Houston acquired and renovated it for municipal offices. The company was a subsidiary of Houston Industries, a publicly traded holding company whose shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HOU. In 1999, Houston Industries changed its corporate name to Reliant Energy. Following that change, HL&P was known as Reliant Energy HL&P/Entex, reflecting the rebranding of its parent organization and the broader group structure. HL&P's final corporate form was shaped by Texas electricity deregulation. Rather than continuing as a vertically integrated utility, the business was separated into distinct companies in 2003. Texas Genco assumed control of the area's generating plants; CenterPoint Energy took responsibility for the poles, wires, and local electricity distribution infrastructure; and Reliant Energy took over the sale of electricity to residential and business customers. This separation ended HL&P as a single operating utility, while portions of its former activities continued under successor organizations. By 1998, HL&P ranked among the largest energy companies in the United States when measured by kilowatt-hour sales, reportedly placing tenth nationally on that basis. Its historical importance therefore rests not only on its long service to Houston but also on its role as an example of the transition from an integrated, regulated electric utility to a deregulated market structure in which generation, distribution, and retail supply were handled by separate entities.

Houston Lighting & Power began operations in 1882 and became the integrated electric utility for Houston and the surrounding area. Its core role was to provide electricity and lighting services across Greater Houston, eventually covering a territory of approximately 5,000 square miles. As an integrated utility, HL&P's responsibilities extended across the electricity value chain: it operated or controlled generating resources, moved power through transmission infrastructure, distributed electricity over local networks, and sold service to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. For much of its existence, HL&P functioned within the traditional regulated-utility model. Customers in its service territory generally dealt with one principal electric company rather than selecting separate providers for generation, distribution, and retail supply. This structure made HL&P a central institution in the economic and physical development of Houston, a major and rapidly expanding Texas metropolitan area. HL&P was owned by Houston Industries, a holding company whose shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The utility's corporate offices were shared with Houston Industries in the building then known as Houston Industries Plaza in downtown Houston. The company was also associated with the downtown Electric Building. After the City of Houston acquired that property, it renovated the building for approximately $43 million and used it for city government offices; it later became known as the Bob Lanier Public Works Building. In 1999, Houston Industries changed its name to Reliant Energy. The parent-company rebranding led to HL&P being identified as Reliant Energy HL&P/Entex. This name represented the company's place within the reconfigured Reliant organization rather than a return to independent operation under its historic identity. The decisive change came with the deregulation of the Texas electricity market. The policy shift challenged the vertically integrated utility model and required the functions formerly combined within HL&P to be separated. In 2003, the company was divided among several successor businesses. Texas Genco assumed control of the area's power plants and generation operations. CenterPoint Energy became responsible for the poles, wires, and related transmission and distribution infrastructure. Reliant Energy took over the sale of electricity to residential and business customers. The restructuring brought HL&P's existence as a single company to an end, but it did not eliminate the utility assets or customer relationships developed during its long operating history. Instead, those assets and functions were distributed among successor entities with different roles in the deregulated market. In this sense, HL&P's corporate history illustrates the transformation of a large American electric utility from a single regulated provider into a collection of generation, network, and retail businesses. At the end of its independent history, HL&P remained a substantial energy company by national standards. In 1998, it was reported to rank tenth among United States energy companies by kilowatt-hour sales. Its historical significance derives from its more than a century of service to Houston, its position within the Houston Industries and Reliant Energy corporate groups, and its role in the implementation of Texas's electricity-market restructuring.

• 2003

  Integrated utility is separated into successor businesses

  [1]Houston Lighting & Poweren.wikipedia.org

  Texas Genco, CenterPoint Energy, and Reliant Energy assumed the former generation, network, and retail functions of HL&P respectively.

• 1999

  Houston Industries becomes Reliant Energy

  [1]Houston Lighting & Poweren.wikipedia.org

  The utility's parent changed its name from Houston Industries to Reliant Energy, and HL&P was subsequently identified as Reliant Energy HL&P/Entex.

• 1998

  Ranks among the largest U.S. energy companies by electricity sales

  [1]Houston Lighting & Poweren.wikipedia.org

  Measured by kilowatt-hour sales, HL&P was reported to be the tenth-largest energy company in the United States.

• 1882

  Operations begin

  [1]Houston Lighting & Poweren.wikipedia.org

  Houston Lighting & Power began operations as an electric and lighting utility serving Houston and its surrounding area.

A large, integrated, regulated electric utility serving the Houston metropolitan area and surrounding communities until Texas electricity deregulation separated its generation, distribution, and retail functions.

• Power generation

  Electricity generation

  HL&P operated as an integrated utility with control of generating resources serving its Houston-area system. During the 2003 restructuring, these power plants and related generation responsibilities were transferred to Texas Genco.

• Electric utility network

  Electricity transmission and distribution

  The company maintained the poles, wires, and other network infrastructure used to deliver electricity throughout its service territory. These transmission and distribution functions later became the responsibility of CenterPoint Energy.

• Retail energy supply

  Retail electricity service

  HL&P supplied electricity to households, businesses, and other customers in Greater Houston. Following deregulation, Reliant Energy assumed the retail electricity-sales function that had previously been part of the integrated utility.

• 2003

  Separate generation, distribution, and retail operationsStrategy

  Background

  Texas electricity deregulation required the integrated HL&P utility model to be reorganized into distinct businesses.

  Action taken

  Generation assets were assigned to Texas Genco, the poles and wires to CenterPoint Energy, and electricity sales to Reliant Energy.

  Aftermath

  Houston Lighting & Power ceased to operate as a single integrated utility, while its former functions continued through separate successor companies.

  Source

1. 1Houston Lighting & Poweren.wikipedia.org