On Aug. 29, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) named 17 projects to advance in a new state-funded loan program meant to bolster the Texas electrical grid.

Among those on the short list: a project supposedly sponsored by NextEra.

One week later, the PUC shot down the project after it became clear NextEra was in the dark about being included on an application for a power project.

“The application has failed the due diligence phase of the loan application process, and the project will not be eligible to receive a loan from the TEF,” PUC said in a Sept. 4 press release. “NextEra Energy notified the PUCT this week that it is not a party to the loan application.”

Application 162 listed Aegle Power and NextEra’s request for a piece of the new $5 billion Texas Energy Fund (TEF) to fund a gas-fired 1,292-MW electrical generation project in the Rio Grande Valley.

Aegle Power’s original project application did not include NextEra as a sponsor. The company was added in a follow-up submission, according to the PUC.

After the state published a list of project applications under review last week, NextEra informed the PUC it wasn’t a sponsor of the Aegle Power project. The company requested to be removed from the filing.

Hart Energy was unable to contact Aegle Power or locate its website. According to a 2023 PUC filing by Aegle, the company said it was seeking $3.5 million of funding for a project and had already spent $16 million for a gas-fired generation system in Texas’ Cameron County.

Kathleen Smith is listed as the company’s president. In 2017, Smith pled guilty to embezzling funds while serving as president of Chase Power Development, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas.

On Sept. 4, two Texas legislative members who sit on the TEF Advisory Committee said they intend to discuss the matter with the PUC at the group’s next meeting.

In a joint statement, Sen. Charles Schwertner and Rep. David Spiller wrote, “We learned that the Public Utility Commission and its contracted program manager, Deloitte LLP, advanced a problematic and unqualified application submitted by an energy executive who was publicly convicted of fraud in our state. … We intend to address these concerns at our first hearing, which will be held on Oct. 8.”

Voters approved the Texas Energy Fund created by the Texas Legislature during the last election cycle to improve the reliability of the state’s electrical grid. Of the 72 original applicants, 17 were given an initial OK and then moved into the program’s due diligence phase to determine economic viability. The process is expected to take months.

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