Reliant Energy is one of the largest independent power producers and electricity providers of the United States. It generates approximately 16,000 megawatts of primarily fossil-fuelled power and distributes electricity to both retail and wholesale customers. The company was founded in 2002 and has its headquarters at Houston in Texas
In the state of Texas, Reliant Energy distributes electricity to nearly 1.9 million customers. This retail section ranges from residential to small business, commercial, industrial, government and institutional customers. For individual customers, the company offers online account benefits like having easy access and online payment of bills besides being able to view, print previous bills and compare electricity usage to previous year. The business customers of the company range from single location industrials to multi-site national corporations.
Reliant Energy in also involved in the generation of power and in its wholesale segment, the company owns, has interests in or leases 37 operating power generation units. These are located in five key power consuming regions in the United States and include a combination of intermediate, base load and peaking units. It serves government, industrial, commercial and institutional customers in the Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey interconnection.
In 2002 with the deregulation of the Texas electricity market, Reliant Energy Inc separated into two publicly traded companies. These were Reliant Resources Inc and CenterPoint Energy Inc but two years later, Reliant Resources changed its name back in order to align its corporate identity with its brand identity. Its main competitors after the deregulation of the market were companies like Direct Energy, Stream Energy, Gexa Energy, Cirro Energy and StarTrex Power.
At the end of the year 2006, Reliant Energy was the second largest mass market electricity provider in the state of Texas. It had annual revenue of around $10.9 billion USD and employed more than 3500 people. The complete deregulation of the electricity market in Texas in January 2007 brought an opportunity to the company to provide its customers with a wide range of products, flexible service options, and competitive prices tailored to meet the individual requirements of its customers.
Besides its business interests, Reliant Energy is also involved in a number of community programs, sponsorships and energy assistance initiatives to reach out the people it serves. The company runs an interactive learning site, Teach Me Energy, where kids, teachers and parents can know more about energy. Its CARE Program and ReBuilding Together Houston initiative provides assistance to those customers who require help during tough times. Other than this the company also plays an active role in the community by sponsoring sports teams, facilities and events.
Reliant Energy is committed towards environmental concerns as well. This includes compliance with federal, state and local regulations on air emissions, waste water discharges and industrial waste disposal. Other measures to protect the environment comprise of developing the portfolio of renewable energy products which use wind, solar power, landfill gas and waste coal as well as by educating customers on the importance of energy conservation.
Wikipedia
