Texas regulators yesterday agreed to scuttle NextEra Energy Inc.’s $18 billion purchase of Energy Future Holdings Corp., finding that the deal was not in the public interest, Reuters reported. The three-member Public Utility Commission of Texas found that the deal, a key component of Energy Future's plan to exit an approximately three-year bankruptcy, placed too much risk on ratepayers, its members said in a public meeting Thursday. Energy Future is the majority owner of Oncor, the state's largest power network. The commission said that it was concerned about the debt of the combined company, the independence of Oncor's board and payments to the parent company at the expense of Oncor.
