electricity

Regulators at the Public Utility Commission of Texas may take steps toward overhauling how electricity is bought and sold in the state on Thursday. Consumer advocates and energy experts fear the changes could increase electric bills without improving the grid.

Texas is still at risk of power blackouts this winter in the event of extreme weather like the catastrophic February storm that buckled the state’s electrical grid and left millions of people without heat for days, the nation’s grid monitor said Thursday.

Though meteorologists expect a mild winter for much of the United States, forces overseas are already sending prices up.

Shopping for an electricity plan in Texas can be confusing. Here are four tips to avoid overpaying.

In Texas’ deregulated energy market, high prices during times of scarcity are often considered a sign that the market is working. But many utilities say the high price of natural gas during the winter storm was different. They're calling it price gouging.

“Nobody should be in that kind of heat because their power has been removed,” Betty Gregory said. “That’s violence. That’s spraying me with guns, if you turn off my power and turn your back. I'm serious. I’m very serious. This heat is not playing.”

Texans were asked to cut back on their electricity use for a week because of “tight” power grid conditions, according to ERCOT officials. They still haven’t said what caused the plant outages.

The operator had urged electricity conservation earlier this week as several power generators unexpectedly went offline as temperatures rose this week.

The shutoff moratorium was in place for the better part of 2020 due to the crushing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium will be lifted on June 18, two days before a forecasted hotter-than-normal summer arrives, and shutoffs can resume in the final week of the month.

The group that controls the state's electrical grid released its seasonal assessment Thursday, saying it should have enough of a reserve to protect against an unexpected jump in demand.

Senate Bill 3 would require all power generators, transmission lines, natural gas facilities and pipelines to make upgrades for extreme weather. Its prospects are uncertain in the House, which is scheduled to take up a series of related, standalone bills on Tuesday.

Experts worry the remaining corporations will become “huge monsters that can't fail,” which could stifle competition and increase costs for ratepayers in the long-term.