Why?
The majority of Texas residents are on a fixed-rate plan, where the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) is locked in, and the bill is based on usage. However, some are on what s called a variable-rate electricity plan, where the price paid per kWh used fluctuates based partly on the wholesale price of electricity, could see sky high bills in the next month or so due to the sharp escalation of wholesale electricity prices during last week s winter storm.
According to the plan comparison website ElectricityPlans.com, market watchers estimate 25-30% of Texans are on a variable-rate plan. People on a fixed-rate plan have made the conscious decision to sign a contract with a retail electricity provider, said Rebecca Bridges with ElectricityPlans.com, and to maintain that contract year after year, or to shop every year for a new provider.
The Texas Legislature officially kicked off its 87th session last week, an every-other-year tradition that sees lawmakers of all stripes gather in Austin to pass a two-year budget and a few laws that could, in theory, improve the quality of life for Texans of all stripes if we’re lucky.
This year, the still raging coronavirus pandemic has been the topic
du jour in the Texas Capitol, as it’s been in every nook and cranny of the Lone Star State for these past ten interminable months.
Since each of the Legislature’s two chambers are independent bodies (Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick runs the state Senate, while the Texas House just installed Republican state Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont to be its new House Speaker), each group has kept with tradition by charting out its own set of coronavirus-inspired restrictions and rule modifications to try and keep lawmakers and the public safe from the deadly disease still floating through the air.