Event aims to reach low-income families and assist with basic needs for summer FORT WORTH, Texas, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Catholic Charities announced today its continued partnership with TXU Energy to raise awareness in the Tarrant County community, especially those in need of assistance, about ways to cope with the high temperatures of summer. An extension of its signature summer safety awareness program, "Beat the Heat", TXU Energy is sponsoring an event on Friday, July 13, which will offer low-income customers a convenient location to address individual household needs, including energy bill-payment assistance along with information on the many other services available through Catholic Charities. "Catholic Charities is committed to serving the people in our community," said Heather Reynolds, President/CEO of Catholic Charities. "The working poor we serve each have a face, a story, and a need and we are called to help them, particularly in the summer time when bills can be much higher. Catholic Charities is lucky to have a great partnership with TXU ... working together we can accomplish so much more!" Catholic Charities and TXU Energy will distribute approximately 200 box fans to help individuals and families better deal with the summer heat. In addition, each "Beat the Heat" attendee will receive an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb and learn more about simple, low-cost ways to conserve energy and avoid heat-related emergencies. Representatives of Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and South Texas Dentistry will also be on hand to provide more information about other assistance programs they offer. Everyday, Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc. provides services to the working poor demographic, which is defined as individuals who spend at least 27 weeks in the labor force, but whose incomes fall below the poverty line. The Fort Worth poverty rate is five percent higher than the national average, according to a 2005 report by United Way of Tarrant County. In 2006, Catholic Charities assisted more than 9,500 individuals with emergency financial relief. Catholic Charities distributed more than $550,000 in TXU Energy Aid funds to more than 2,200 of these individuals. As a long-time TXU Energy Aid partner, Catholic Charities manages the temporary bill-payment assistance program in Tarrant County to help low-income households with their energy bills. "TXU Energy is committed to playing an active role in the communities in which we live and work," said Jim Burke, CEO of TXU Energy. "We truly value partnerships with life-changing organizations like Catholic Charities, and we are excited to help promote awareness of the many ways customers can stay cool and conserve energy this summer." In order to help families in critical situations meet their electricity needs, TXU Energy runs a highly successful and long-standing community assistance initiative, called TXU Energy Aid. Under this program, TXU Energy provides financial support to TXU Energy customers through selected social service agency partners across the state. These agencies administer these funds to low-income families requiring assistance to pay for their electricity. Since 1983, TXU Energy Aid has provided more than $40 million in bill-payment assistance, helping more than 300,000 families throughout Texas. For 2007, TXU Energy has pledged $5 million to the TXU Energy Aid program. Additionally, TXU Energy accepts donations for TXU Energy Aid from customers and employees, matching such contributions at a ratio of approximately $5 for every $1 donated. All TXU Energy Aid donations are returned to the local communities in which they are donated, and donations are tax-deductible. TXU Energy will make the same donation match to TXU Energy Aid for contributions collected during the upcoming Beat the Heat event with Catholic Charities. TXU Energy customers who want to make a contribution to help others in their communities can contact the TXU Energy Aid contribution line at 1-877-281-6359. Customers can also make a one-time contribution or a recurring pledge to the TXU Energy Aid program by completing the information on the back of their monthly TXU Energy bills or when making payments online. Families in need of a fan and/or assistance with their TXU Energy bill may contact Catholic Charities at 817-921-5381. About Catholic Charities, Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc. Catholic Charities is a non-profit organization meeting the needs of children, families, elderly, refugees and immigrants since 1910 in the diocese of Fort Worth, regardless of their faith traditions. Catholic Charities served over 91,000 individuals and families in 2006. Over 36,000 of those served were children. 97% of those served by Catholic Charities earn less than $35,000 a year, many of who are considered "working poor." Catholic Charities offers assistance through 29 service programs. More than 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to providing these services to those in need. Visit Catholic Charities at http://www.ccdofw.org/ for more information. About TXU Energy TXU Energy is a subsidiary of TXU Corp. TXU Corp., a Dallas-based energy company, manages a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy businesses primarily in Texas. In the competitive TXU Energy Holdings segment (electricity generation, wholesale marketing and retailing), TXU Energy provides electricity and related services to more than 2.1 million competitive electricity customers in Texas. TXU Power has over 18,300 MW of generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW of nuclear and 5,800 MW of coal-fueled generation capacity. TXU Wholesale optimizes the purchases and sales of energy for TXU Energy and TXU Power and provides related services to other market participants. TXU Wholesale is the largest purchaser of wind-generated electricity in Texas and fifth largest in the United States. Power generation and related businesses, such as TXU Power and TXU Wholesale, plan to transition toward the new Luminant brand. Visit http://www.txu.com/ for more information about TXU Energy and http://www.txucorp.com/ for more information about TXU Corp. DATASOURCE: Catholic Charities CONTACT: Anne Mason of Catholic Charities, +1-817-938-3183; or Lacy Walker of TXU Energy, +1-214-875-8046 Web site: http://www.ccdofw.org/ http://www.txu.com/ http://www.txucorp.com/

Copyright