Utility provider TXU donated $5,000 to Gov. Rick Perry's campaign in November, just a few weeks after the governor signed an executive order speeding up state permitting for coal-fired power plants.

Retired TXU chairman Erle Nye also gave the Perry campaign $2,000 the day the order was signed and another $25,000 in April.

That month, Perry and TXU executives jointly announced the company's plan to build 11 new coal-burning power plants, mostly in East and Central Texas. The proposal has sparked opposition from environmentalists who say the units will increase air pollution.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell criticized the fast-tracking of permits for the coal-fired plants, saying Perry was overly influenced by “polluters who write big campaign checks.”

But Perry spokesman Robert Black said that the November donation from TXU's political action committee was one of several $5,000 contributions received from the same event in Dallas.