commodity in interstate commerce. The indictments were filed on April 8, 2004. On August 15, 2005, Reliant announced that it had reached a $445 million settlement with the states of California, Oregon and Washington, resolving civil litigation claims against the company related to the sale of electricity in the California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001. In March 2007, Reliant agreed to pay a $22.2 million penalty in addition to a $13.8 million credit provided in a previous settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Environmental record Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified Reliant Energy as the 36th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 34 million pounds of toxic chemicals released into the air every year. Major pollutants indicated by the study include sulfuric and hydrochloric acid as well as manganese, chromium, and nickel compounds. In December 2007, the US state of New Jersey sued Reliant Energy, claiming that emissions from a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant hurt the state's air quality. New Jersey claims emissions of smog and acid rain components sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from Reliant's Portland Generating Station in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, drift into its territory. The lawsuit also claims that Reliant violated the federal Clean Air Act by modifying and operating the plant without required pollution control equipment and construction permits. In February 2012, in response to an EPA ruling, GenOn Energy announced they would be shutting down the Portland Generating Station in 2015. Reliant Energy claims to have made efforts toward more environmentally safe practices through the use of renewable resources such as solar energy, wind power, landfill gas, and coal refuse. See also CenterPoint Energy Deregulation of the Texas electricity market Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) California electricity crisis References Further reading "Parent firms of HL&P and Entex to merge." Houston Chronicle. "Houston Industries bid looks to the future." Houston Chronicle. "NorAm played it safe to be #3 gas firm." Houston Chronicle. External links Houston Industries Incorporated (Archive) FERC Settlement Details Summary and Analysis of Reliant Energy NRG Energy Companies based in Houston American companies established in 2001 Energy companies established in 2001 2001 establishments in Texas Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 Corporate subsidiaries