Re-Regulating the Electric Biz in Texas
February 20th, 2007 at 10:26 am
The Senate Business and Commerce Committee is meeting this morning to discuss a slate of bills — SB482, SB483, SB484, and SB485 — authored by chairman Sen. Troy Fraser that would roll back some of the abuses in Texas’ deregulated electricity market. As the Republican from Horseshoe Bay presented his bills it was clear he still is deeply unhappy with the skyrocketing cost of retail electric costs in the state and in particular with TXU.
Fraser noted that the Texas energy deregulation market has been held up as a model for the nation. It’s a truly scary thought, especially once Fraser pointed out how the “free market” has failed consumers. The senator asserted that 70 percent of the market, in particular industrial use, is working well. Fraser showed a graph that indicated that even as gas and oil prices have gone down consumer rates continue to climb.
“Residential users are paying from 100 percent to 200 percent more for their power,” Fraser said.
Meanwhile, TXU’s profits have almost tripled in the past year. Hmmm. Could these facts be related? Fraser sure thinks so.
His bills offer a panoply of solutions. One of the more interesting targets wholesalers. Presently, a wholesaler cannot dominate more than 20 percent of the wholesale market statewide. SB 483 changes that 20 percent standard from statewide to a given zone. For example, TXU controls 56 percent of the energy in the north zone of the Dallas area. This would prevent a single company from dominating a zone, according to Fraser.
It would also impact new permitting. For example, if a certain company had a new coal plant in an area, its might be forced to sell of some of its existing assets to remain under the 20 percent cap. Fraser said he was going to offer an amendment that would exempt companies if their new facilities used clean coal technology.
The lobby is here in the committee room in force. Fraser has no plans to pass out any bills today. This is just the first salvo in a fight that will be going on for the rest of the session.
April 5th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
[…] before - that he’s not going to follow his Republic counterpart Sen. Troy Fraser’s lead in passing tough anti-TXU legislation. I guess the lobbying onslaught is getting to him. The Senate […]