Direct Energy (Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.) has acquired the competitive electric customer base of Entergy Solutions Ltd., located in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. This comprises more than 100,000 residential and commercial customers who are in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and South Texas, U.S. The acquisition will increase Direct Energy's Texas customer base to more than 1 million customers.

The addition of customers in Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth will grow Direct Energy's market presence to about 10% in those areas, positioning the company as the largest nonincumbent provider in Houston and one of the largest competitors in Dallas/Fort Worth. Direct Energy's overall ERCOT market presence will be boosted by two percentage points to approximately 18% as a result of the acquisition.

Direct Energy will honor the existing terms of agreement that Entergy Solutions had in place for its customers with equivalent or lower rates.