Dive Brief:

• NextEra Energy has sent a letter to Energy Future Holdings, the parent company of Texas transmission company Oncor, offering more than its previous $500 million bid for the company.
• NextEra Energy said it would merge with Energy Future Holdings, which would retain management of Oncor, while Energy Future Holdings' retail and generation businesses would be placed into another company.
• The bid is designed to undercut Hunt Consolidated and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which have been making moves to take over Oncor since Energy Future Holdings entered refinancing proceedings. 

Dive Insight:

Hunt Consolidated and its partner have said they intend to carry on with its bid for Oncor. Spokesperson Jeanne Phillips said, “We remain intent on ultimately acquiring Oncor, working alongside the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and our other partners. We continue to believe that Oncor should be locally controlled and focused on meeting the energy needs of fellow Texans." 

Both groups have been trying to play up their involvement in the wider Texas economy, which Texas state Senator Troy Fraser pegged as crucial to a successful deal. Any such move to sell Oncor or merge with Energy Future Holdings would have to be approved by the state's utilities commission. As yet, Energy Future Holdings, which initially backed the proposal from Hunt Consolidated and the Teacher's Retirement System of Texas, hasn't commented on the new NextEra proposal.

NextEra spokesperson Robert Gould said, "Our commitment to Texas runs deep, having invested more than $7 billion in transmission, power generation and other operations in the Lone Star State."