All Hail the Mighty Electric Market
August 28th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
At the Public Utility Commission meeting this morning, there were a few we’re-gonna-miss-ya tears for outgoing commissioner Julie Parsley, but none for the thousands of Texans having their electricity shut off in the face of stifling heat and sky-high rates. Once again, the three commissioners appointed by Gov. Rick Perry — including newcomer Donna Nelson — proved that their faith in the free market is unshakable.
Consumer groups and several Texas lawmakers have asked the PUC to declare an emergency moratorium on disconnections for the remainder of the summer. The moratorium is needed, the petitioners say, to protect folks, especially the elderly and ill, from life-threatening heat. Exact data on the number of disconnections due to non-payment this summer are spotty, but AEP — which covers most of South Texas — reports that it cut power to twice as many customers in June as last year.
The three commissioners, led by Chairman Barry Smitherman, rejected the moratorium, instead opting for a rulemaking project to explore the issue further. Smitherman, an inveterate deregulation proponent and author of If Jesus Were An Investment Banker, insisted that the competitive electricity market had already responded to the problem. He pointed to the six electric providers — including the three big ones, TXU, Reliant and Direct — that are offering voluntary programs.
“I think this is the way it ought to be in a market where parties differentiate themselves by services and price and features that they offer,” Smitherman said.
Commissioner Nelson said she was concerned about “perpetrating [sic] the notion that we’re the government and we’re going to step in cases like this when it’s a competitive market.”
But what has the “competitive market” for electricity produced so far? Planet-cooking coal-fired power plants; sky-high rates; a string of bankruptcies; cockamamie metering schemes; high-risk Wall Street buyouts; confused customers; political turmoil; and now the slow shredding of a universally applicable safety net for the most vulnerable people. The PUC’s response: Let the Market sort it out!
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
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