Texas' Blackout Avoidance Measures Could Cost Billions
Texas’ efforts to stave off future blackouts could cost ordinary households a couple hundred dollars per year, a filing by a Texas industrial group suggests.
The filing, submitted last week to the Public Utility Commission by a group called Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, says that a new pricing policy under consideration at the PUC would have cost Texas $4.7 billion had it been in place last year. That figure translates to nearly $17 per month, or about $200 per year for the average Texas household. However, the relationship between the new pricing policy and ordinary Texas households is indirect ...
Comments (8)
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
wind, solar, conservation; wind, solar, conservation... why don't they get it?
cal morton
... how about they add $7 a month to the bills and put $2 into a fund that helps customers to install solar on their roofs or property. We could be generating many MWhs of electricity at peak demand times within a couple of years... and creating jobs... and increasing air quality.
Rudy Gonzales
ERCOT, Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature have failed grossly their responsibility to the people of Texas. Higher electricity rates should never have occurred as Texas, and every politician in Austin, have known for over twelve years that Texas would have to comply with EPA Clean Air Act. And yet Texas allowed Coal burning plants to be built, when gas prices had and have been going down. Electric Rates are based on Gas rates and that has been going down. But the powers in charge for the past 10 to 12 years have sen fit to do as they pleased, without federal consideration. Rick Perry and the Pansy-Wansy Legislature have gone against the federal government as if they don't have any rights to have any say in the "Clean Air Act." Every TEA-Republican politician in Austin is culpable and responsible for this increase. Fire every TEA-Republican in Austin who voted to go against the federal government's "Clean Air Act." The coal plants that have gone up should be converted to gas production at the expense of the owners who knew better, but were given a pass by Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature.
Elmo
Thank David Sibley for passing deregualtion. You promised us we would have blackouts and what happened in California could not happen here. Well it has. You have handed higher rates and blackouts while putting money in your pocket as a lobyist
jpt51
What the heck did Gov Perry do with the $6 billion bonds taxpayers approved in 2009 that would upgrade transmission lines and avoid this crisis? We've been had - again taxpayers! Why do we keep falling for Republican lies that repeatedly sell us a pig in a poke?? Big business gets sweetheart electric rate deals (after making political contributions) ands the average Texan pays a disproportionate share that only increases. Wake up Texas. Thinks aren't going to change if you continue to vote with your eyes closed. Hey, those great $7,50/hr jobs Perry creates is not going to get us out of this mess.
David Spratt
By all means vote Obama ,, and the green power will flow freely. The " Government " will pay for it and we all will reap the benefits of cheap, renewable , green power. All these dirty coal fired power plants that are killing us will be shut down,,, thousands more coal miners will lose their jobs,,, but they can be retrained to install solar panels and erect wind turbines ,,, training , panels and turbines paid for once again by " the Government." The EPA will be free to further regulate and curtail all this dangerous " Fracking" ,,, further putting more people out of work ,,, which will be a good thing. They too can be trained to install even more solar panels and wind turbines. Oh it will be a wonderful Utopian country filled with millions of electric cars,,, turbines on every street corner, solar panels covering every inch of free space and virtually free electricity for all. I can hardly wait.
Linda Wilson
How about passing the costs on to companies and homeowners who crank their AC down to 70 degrees or below and keep lights blazing 24/7? Why penalize those of us who keep our AC at the recommended 78 degrees and know how to turn off a light when we leave the room?
Rudy Gonzales
Texas' electrical power grid is based on natural gas prices. The Conservative "Deer in the head lights" governor and the gross failure of ERCOT to allow the building of coal powered units, smacks of partisan politics on steroids. There has been a steady decline in the quality of representation for the people of Texas in Austin from the current "conservatives" in office.
con·serv·a·tive? ?[kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv]-
disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
Say it with me. Existing conditions mean nothing will change under the conservative banner and things will continue to erode into oblivion under this mantra.
Throwing money into Austin will not fix the problems de-regulation was supposed to have fixed and allowing coal fired production plants to be built without regard to down-wind states or federal EPA compliance is just plain confrontational. Change must be made to the Legislature and the governor's office to effect real representation for the people in Texas.