HOUSTON, TX — The Air Conditioning Contractor Association of Greater Houston (ACCA-GH) has filed a complaint with the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) against Reliant Energy. The contractor association is accusing the utility subsidiary of cross-subsidization, specifically name and logo use.

According to ACCA-GH, under Texas Restructuring Law, utility subsidiaries are allowed a five-year window to use the name of their parent if they use a disclaimer following the name. The association admitted that technically, Reliant is not cross-subsidizing, but ACCA-GH has decided to go ahead and fight to close this loophole.

For more information, contact Betty Kristofferson, executive director, ACCA-GH, at bjkrist@aol.com (e-mail).

Publication date: 02/05/2001