Oncor Electric Delivery

Oncor Electric Delivery Company is Texas's largest transmission and distribution electric utility, the 5th largest in the US, serving more than 10 million Texans in 420 cities and 120 counties in the state. Their service territory includes east, west and north-central Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Plano, Arlington, Beeville, Midland, Odessa, Killeen, Waco, Wichita Falls, and Tyler and other surrounding cities in Texas. In 2018, Sempra Energy acquired a majority stake in Oncor for US$9.45 billion.[2]

Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryPublic utility
Founded2007
HeadquartersDallas, Texas, United States
Key people
Allen Nye
(CEO)
Revenue US$4.3 Billon (2019)[1]
US$ 651 Million (2019)[1]
Number of employees
4,000
ParentSempra Energy
Websitewww.oncor.com

History

It was formerly known as TXU Electric Delivery and TU Electric. Predecessor companies include Dallas Power & Light (DP&L), which served the city of Dallas; Texas Electric Service Company (TESCO), which served areas surrounding Fort Worth and west Texas; and Texas Power and Light (TP&L), which served other areas of northern and east-central Texas.

Oncor is privately held by a limited number of investors including Energy Future Holdings Corporation ("EFH"). Oncor is separate from its owners and separately managed by a majority independent board of directors. While a majority owner, EFH is not involved in the management of Oncor. On March 24, 2016, the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) granted the request to convert Oncor into a real estate investment trust (REIT) with the reservation that the PUC would consider the treatment of potential tax savings, which could account to $250M, from the REIT structure in a separate proceeding to be held at a future date. The subsequent proceeding's focus is to determine how the potential tax savings attributable to the REIT format would be shared with utility ratepayers.[3]

On July 7, 2017, it was announced that Berkshire Hathaway had agreed a deal to buy the whole of Energy Future Holdings and ultimately Oncor. This bid was ultimately surpassed by Sempra Energy, which bid $9.45 billion in cash and the assumption of debt on August 21, 2017.[4] The acceptance of the Sempra bid effectively terminated the Berkshire bid. The Sempra bid subsequently received court approval on September 6, 2017.[5] On March 8, 2018, regulators in Texas approved Sempra Energy's purchase of a majority stake in Oncor for $9.45 billion.[2]

Major projects

As of 2014, Oncor Electric Delivery Company was working in partnership with Siemens Power Technologies to build a smart grid in an exploration of the use of storage batteries and micro-grids.[6] The Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) project was intended to improve the transmission of wind power to Oncor's grid.[7]

Oncor Electric Delivery Company works with private and public utilities throughout the country through organizations called Mutual Assistance Groups. Oncor is a member of Texas Mutual Assistance Group, Midwest Mutual Assistance Group, and the Southeastern Electric Exchange. The mutual partnerships are part of a larger network of utilities that meet throughout the year to share best practices and improve upon safety methods. Members are able to quickly access and deploy resources and personnel across long distances to communities impacted by severe weather. For example, Oncor crews were sent to Florida and Georgia to assist in Hurricane Matthew aftermath in 2016.[8] Additionally, crews were sent to California to assist in restoring power to areas devastated by the region's wildfires in 2018, and to Florida to assist in preparing for Hurricane Dorian in 2019.[9][10]

Environmental Impact

Oncor Electric Delivery Company's Take A Load Off Texas provides a variety of energy efficiency programs for residences and businesses in an effort to reduce energy and save people money on their electric bill. Oncor budgeted more than $50 million for its programs in 2019; in the last 10 years, Take A Load Off Texas has helped more than 250,000 customers reduce their energy usage.[11]

Oncor assisted with the adoption of larger, commercial electric vehicles in Texas. The company worked with electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers and other utilities to monitor the use of electric vehicles in its service territory, to provide power supply to vehicles and homes; it has helped install and plan locations for charging stations.[12]

For nine consecutive years, Oncor has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation's Energy-Saving Trees Program to give away thousands of free trees to customers. The program is designed to help customers better understand where to plant trees for maximum energy savings and the protection of electrical equipment.[13]

Oncor's transmission system is planned to connect to a $104 million solar farm in Falls County. San Antonio-based OCI Solar Power is planning the project where 800 acres will be leased from private landowners in the reinvestment zone where it plans to build the 100-megawatt farm.[14]

Oncor partnered with IBM Oncor to predict for preventative maintenance where vegetative growth is most likely to interfere with power lines, which can cause blackouts and wildfires.[15]

Corporate Social Responsibility

In April 2020, Oncor donated $1.7 million to community non-profit organizations across its service territory that serve those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

See also

References
  1. "ONCOR REPORTS STRONG 2019 RESULTS". sec.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  2. Brickley, Peg (March 8, 2018). "Texas Regulators Approve Sempra's $9.45 Billion Oncor Buyout". The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times, New York City, United States. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  3. Davidson, Mark (March 25, 2016). "Texas Oncur Buyout Approved – With Reservations". The National Law Review. Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  4. "Form 8-K". www.sec.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  5. Nikolewski, Rob. "Judge OKs Sempra's $9.45B deal with Oncor". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  6. Desonie, Dana (April 2010). "A Smart Grid for Smart Texans" (PDF). siemens.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  7. Schnurman, Mitchell (May 31, 2014). "Oncor bets on a better grid". dallasnews.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  8. McFarland, Susan (October 6, 2016). "Oncor crews head east to assist in hurricane aftermath". Fort Worth Star Telegram.
  9. "Oncor sends crews from Texas to California to assist with outages after wildfires". Dallas News. November 23, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  10. "Oncor crews head to Florida ahead of Hurricane Dorian". FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  11. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/teresa-mcusic/article136251498.html
  12. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/how-oncor-is-preparing-for-a-wave-of-large-electric-fleet-vehicles/549109/
  13. https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/community/oncor-gives-away-5000-free-trees-ahead-of-arbor-day/513-9dfa7132-18c1-4e09-b5b2-3f422dbdc52c
  14. Corso, Jessica (January 21, 2020). "CPS supplier building $104M solar farm near Waco". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  15. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ibm/2019/12/11/ibm-graf-builds-on-the-weather-companys-ai-and-cloud-capabilities/?sh=1c781e5f1915
  16. "Oncor donating $1.7M to nonprofits affected by COVID-19". KETK.com | FOX51.com. April 14, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.