Vistra cuts costs, says it’s Texas’ No. 1 power seller

Vistra Energy, the Irving power company best known for its TXU brand, is cutting costs and jobs as it absorbs its latest acquisition and challenges NRG Energy for the biggest share of the state’s retail electricity market.

Vistra told state employment officials this week that it is trying to create efficiencies after buying Ambit Energy of Dallas, a company that sold electricity plans through a network of consultants. Vistra bought Ambit in November for $475 million in an allcash deal.

Vistra is eliminating 50 jobs at Ambit's call center in Plano, according to Vistra’s notice to the Texas Workforce Commission. The cuts are part of a reorganization as the two companies combine their operations, according to the notice.

The cuts, while not taken lightly, are necessary to position the company for the future, said Vistra spokeswoman Jenny Lyon. The call center will remain open.

Ambit, which got its start 13 years ago, had 1.1 million residential customers in 17 states, with nearly two-thirds of them in Texas. More than 250,000 independent consultants sold the plans, according to Ambit.

The purchase has fortified Vistra’s leadership position in the residential retail electricity market in Texas. Vistra said it now controls 32 percent of the retail electricity market in Texas, making it the leading residential retail power company in the state. Vistra’s market share rose from about 25 percent before the Ambit transaction. Besides TXU, Vistra brands include 4Change Energy and Express Energy.

NRG Energy, which has headquarters in Houston and New Jersey, has been the No. 1 residential retail market leader in Texas. The company controlled more than 30 percent of the retail power market in Texas before it bought Dallas-based Stream Energy in a $300 million all-cash deal in August. The deal included Stream’s 600,000 residential customers.

NRG brands include Reliant Energy, Discount Power, Green Mountain Energy and Cirro Energy.

NRG did not comment on its market share in Texas.

As they buy up smaller competitors, Vistra and NRG Energy have jockeyed for position as the biggest electricity seller in Texas. Together, Vistra and NRG now control about two-thirds of the deregulated Texas power market. Direct Energy is in third place, controlling another 10 percent of the Texas market.

The job cuts at Ambit are scheduled to begin on Feb. 14, according to Vistra. Employees will receive two weeks of pay for each year of service, outplacement assistance and three months of subsidized health insurance benefits.