Energy Future Holdings Corp. has won court permission to pay down as much as $750 million of a $2.15 billion bond issue, a move that will save $66 million in interest this year, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Energy Future’s request for an early partial payoff was approved after a brief discussion at a bankruptcy court hearing yesterday. The money’s going to one of more than half a dozen camps of creditors battling over the value in the big energy company, which has everything from mines to get coal out of the ground to a big stake in a transmissions business that’s operated under the watchful eye of Texas regulators, Oncor. Dallas-based Energy Future had an exit strategy in mind last year when it filed for chapter 11 protection. That strategy fell by the wayside after the Oncor stake became a takeover target. The Oncor stake is going up for auction, and the rest of Energy Future is up for grabs in bankruptcy. The company is trying to round up a consensus for a restructuring plan that will allow it to divide its businesses while avoiding a big tax bill.
