A bankruptcy judge ordered mediation to try to resolve how creditors of Texas' largest power company, Energy Future Holdings Corp., will divide payments that are a key part of ending its year-long bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. The mediator will help parties determine if a $805 million proposed settlement contained in the company's bankruptcy exit plan is fair and how to divide the money. "I think it is appropriate and important to give mediation a chance to succeed," said Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi at a hearing yesterday. Energy Future filed for bankruptcy a year ago under the burden of $42 billion in debt and weak power prices. The company has proposed spinning off its unregulated Luminant power plants and TXU retail utility, a business known as TCEH, to investors holding $24 billion of secured debt. The parent company's creditors would be repaid through the sale of the parent's investment in Oncor, a regulated power distributor that is not bankrupt and is estimated to be worth at least $18 billion.
