TXU Corporation

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2001 Summary Annual Report backpage 1page 2page 3page 4page 5page 6page 7next

One of the most dynamic and innovative diversified energy businesses in Europe, TXU Energy is ideally placed to succeed in the new deregulating markets.
One of our strengths is the flexibility to react quickly to changing market conditions. Restructuring our extensive generation portfolio was a major accomplishment in 2001. The disposition of 3,705 megawatts of plant brings the generation portfolio into better structural balance with the market and our customer needs and provides capital for further growth in Europe.

Our energy trading organization is one of a select few with the vision and capabilities to operate on a truly European basis. Supported by control of a large, flexible generation portfolio, energy trading manages the price and volume risks associated with the retailing of electricity and gas.

It also provides risk-management services to help others do the same. With minimal risk capital requirements, it gathers critical market knowledge in new markets, essential for effective growth in these areas. The energy trading group’s British peers voted it the No. 1 UK gas trader in a poll for Energy & Power Risk Management Journal in 2001. This group also is a leader in mainland Europe, particularly in the Nordic, Central European, and Iberian markets.

To help move energy around Europe more freely, we launched TXU Grid in 2001. This innovative service allows generators, suppliers, marketers, and other customers to treat the exceedingly complicated electricity markets of western Europe as a single power grid. By taking advantage of both TXU Energy’s physical transit and energy trading capabilities, we have structured a contractual equivalent of the European transmission grid to provide a one-stop shop for moving power. TXU Grid also is helping develop competition in European markets.

We are building a sustainable European business by complementing our own capabilities with local partners who understand the complex culture, politics, and markets within the liberalizing European Union. TXU Nordic Energy Oy, a joint venture with Powest Oy, one of Finland’s largest electricity generators, is a top-three energy trader in the Nordic region with control of 780 megawatts of flexible generation capacity. Our Nordic assets also include a major interest in Atro Oyj, a Finnish energy retail and distribution company.

With one of the world’s largest economies, Germany is an important market. Our 51 percent interest in Stadtwerke Kiel, a municipal utility, and 100 percent interest in Ares Energie, an energy retailer acquired in 2001, provide an excellent platform to support organic retail growth, wholesale trading, and alliances with other Stadtwerke. In Germany, we now have more than 450,000 electricity and natural gas customers, a strong local presence, and a physical position with generation and natural gas storage.

The Iberian market offers opportunity for expansion as well. In early 2001, we sold our interest in a Spanish power company at a profit because it was clear we could not secure control of the company at a viable price. We are now rebuilding our position in this important market through trading and asset positions, such as the 2001 purchase of an equity stake in a wind-farm project in central Spain.

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