A U.S. bankruptcy judge told Texas power giant Energy Future Holdings yesterday that it can move ahead on auctioning off its transmission arm, Oncor, the Dallas Morning News reported today. Judge Christopher Sontchi set the deadline for opening bids for March 2. The process is expected to stretch through the summer and attract some of the largest players in the Texas power industry. EFH filed for bankruptcy in April, seeking protection from $40 billion in debt largely amassed during a 2007 leveraged buyout by private equity firms KKR & Co. and TPG. EFH announced it was putting Oncor up for auction in August after Hunt and NextEra offered competing bids for the company. EFH CFO Paul Keglevic put the value of NextEra’s bid at $18 billion. In November, Sontchi put a halt to the process, telling EFH it was moving too quickly and had failed to work with creditors. Tuesday the power company filed a motion arguing it had carried out the judge’s orders and requested that the auction process resume.
