Countdown in the United States. On every US employee’s computer, a countdown clock ticks toward January 1, 2002, when Texas will open its electricity market to competition. On that date, we will become one of the nation’s largest merchant energy retailers and generators, and our energy trading office will use scale and skill to optimize the value and manage the risk of the portfolio.
As one of the largest and fastest-growing energy markets in the US, Texas will offer great competitive opportunities. The state’s demand for electricity has risen by almost 36 percent over the past decade. The Dallas-Fort Worth area, in which TXU is based, was the nation’s top job market in 2000, with over 102,000 jobs added. We are eager to compete as a generator and retailer in an economically diverse market with an expected ongoing pattern of high electrical use. Our physical presence, which includes 2.7 million electricity customers and 1.4 million natural gas customers, provides a solid base for successful growth of our portfolio management activities.
We are intently building on our significant scale, strong brand, customer loyalty, and market knowledge to deliver expert customer service, innovative products, competitive prices, and the benefit of offering natural gas and electricity. Last year, we achieved best in class with the lowest percentage of customer complaints, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a reliable benchmark. We also ranked above the industry average in customer satisfaction and perceived value.
We have completely overhauled our US energy trading operation to make it ready to compete as one of the nation’s largest electricity and natural gas marketers and traders. As in Europe and Australia, US energy trading will optimize both our downstream retail and upstream generation positions so as to hedge market risk and allow the full option value to be achieved from them. When our 21,000-megawatt generation fleet fully enters the competitive market, we will have a very powerful engine for value creation within a dynamically managed portfolio.
With more than 6,000 customers in 33 states, we have become a top-three national competitor in the retail energy services business by delivering a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that manage the energy needs of large commercial and industrial customers. This growing business signed major contracts in 2000 to manage energy resources up to $1.6 billion for international companies like John Deere, the world’s leading producer of agricultural equipment; TelePlace, a global e-business services company; Crescent Real Estate Equities Company, one of the country’s largest real estate investment trusts; Bass Hotels & Resorts, the world’s most global hotel company; and Trinity Industries, one of North America’s largest manufacturers of transportation, construction, and industrial products. Our energy services organization continues to increase revenue by bringing to market customer-focused, innovative products and services via best-in-class technologies and practices.
We are leveraging the TXU brand, with its reputation for reliability and integrity, to build a telecommunications business. Through our 50 percent interest in a joint venture, we operate an integrated telecommunications platform. It includes an established incumbent local exchange carrier in rapidly growing southeast Texas and emerging competitive integrated communications provider and fiber-optic transport businesses. In 2000, TXU Communications entered the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Waco, Tyler, and Longview markets with a suite of telecommunications services primarily focused on small and midsize businesses. More launches in top-20 Texas markets are underway this year. TXU Communications currently has over 181,000 access lines, 18,000 of them competitive, and owns and operates a 1,100-mile fiber-optic network.
TXU: We’re building a premier global business—on the fast track!
