Texas electricity bailout means a child not yet born could pay for February’s disaster as an adult
Opinion
Texas electricity bailout means a child not yet born could pay for February’s disaster as an adult
State lawmakers are looking at adding a monthly charge on your electricity bill that could last for decades. How much? Who knows?
Are you ready to pay an extra fee on your monthly electricity bill as a bailout in this so-called free market electricity system?(Karen Lieber)
Ha, ha! You got punked by Texas state government!
You thought the electricity establishment would take some responsibility for billion-dollar debts incurred by February’s killer storm freezeout. You hoped state leaders would protect consumers from the grave mistakes made by others.
As the 2021 session of the Texas legislature winds down to its final three weeks, members appear ready to address only only part of what ails the Texas electricity grid.
Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021. Some of the state’s electricity providers are financially underwater in the aftermath of the February power outages. Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune
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An approximately $2.5 billion plan to bail out Texas’ distressed electricity market from the financial crisis caused by Winter Storm Uri in February was approved by the Texas House Thursday.
The legislation would impose a fee likely for the next decade or longer on electricity companies, which would then get passed on to residential and business customers in their power bills. Lawmakers on Wednesday said they could not yet estimate how much it would impact Texans’ electricity bills.