The Company was created in 2001 as part of the Texas electricity market deregulation.
When the state of Texas deregulated the electricity market, the former Houston Lighting & Power (HL&P) was split into several companies.
[5] Seeking opportunities arising out of the deregulation of the electricity industry in Texas, in late 2004 four private equity firms—the Texas Pacific Group, the Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Hellman & Friedman of San Francisco—combined forces to purchase Texas Genco from the transmission & distribution provider utility Centerpoint Energy for Houston.
This coalition of firms acquired Texas Genco—which was the second largest operator of power generation facilities in the state—for a price of approximately $1.9 billion—using just $900 million in cash.
In late 2005, these private equity firms announced the sale of Texas Genco to NRG Energy of Princeton, N.J., for a price of roughly $5.9 billion.