AUSTIN — Texas energy leaders are pushing a market redesign of approximately $480 million per year that they said will solidify reliability of the state’s electric grid, but stakeholders are
AUSTIN — Texas energy leaders are pushing a market redesign of approximately $480 million per year that they said will solidify reliability of the state’s electric grid, but stakeholders are
“As our state takes appropriately aggressive measures to stem the tide of a disease with outsize potential to spread and harm our citizens, we must include provisions to assist families at increased risk of losing power, water and sewer service,” DeAnn Walker, the utility commission chairwoman at the time, said.
But no state money was dedicated to promoting the program to the general public; utility customers not on a special low-income list
were responsible for requesting the relief. And behind the scenes, lobbyists for utilities and trade associations were meeting with state officials in an attempt to hollow out the program.
KUT
A pedestrian carries a gasoline can in South Austin during February s winter storm. Hundreds of thousands of Austinites lost power during the freeze.
Texas regulators on Friday chose not to lower the price of electricity in the days following last month’s blackout. The decision has massive implications for Texas ratepayers, electric companies and power generators.
During the deadly Texas blackout last month, the wholesale price of electricity skyrocketed to its highest allowable rate: $9,000 per megawatt hour. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, allowed it to stay that high for days after.
In a hearing Thursday before the state Senate s Committee on Business and Commerce, ERCOT said maintaining the high price was necessary to manage the re-powering of parts of the grid that had been cut off.