Texas Mayors Unite to Show Support for Cities Aggregation Power Project Inc

By admin • April 28th, 2009

Texas Mayors descended on the Texas capital recently in search of answers to high electric rates. Denison Mayor Robert Brady and Lewisville Mayor Gene Carey and others spoke on behalf of more than 150 respective communities statewide. They attended Texas House committee meetings on the subject of Electricity Regulation.

It is a well known fact in the Electricity Industry that, just like anything else, if you want a good price you can have it. Just buy a lot of it, and guarantee that you will buy it for a significant amount of time, and show that you can afford it.

Some still complain that Texas Electric rates are higher than they should be after deregulation. And a few Mayors and Legislators agree, the Mayors say just form large buying groups called aggregations, and buy wholesale.

Walmart is it’s own aggregation, as far as Electricity in Texas and probably other places is concerned. So, let those who would create a buying group do it. In fact, if you have large ELECTRICITY BUYING in mind, for your organization CONTACT US and we will get you in touch with the right parties to get you an aggregated price on Texas Electricity. Your group does not have to be in the same town, they just all need to be in Texas.

But what I question is the need for the following Bills submitted to this years Texas Legislature: Do we need to add more regulatory paperwork? Or do we need to just allow groups to aggregate their electricity buying power together as they see fit? Keep in mind that Texas is a leader in the amount of laws on the books. Lawyers make fun of Texas on this point often. And also many laws we have in Texas makes us a leader in laws with no teeth, and laws that make no sense. I remember in my law classes how we would talk about this arcane law on the books in Texas, where presumably it is illegal to carry a pair of of wire cutters to town. So, before we sign in a bunch of nonsense, lets make aggregation easier for all involved.

I think also the Mayors and Legislators alike should realize something when they are wanting to change how business is done. Texas, with all it’s leadership on the subject of regulation has done little to get the word out about deregulation. Most people don’t really realize that they can get lower rates today. And for the ones that do, they fear change. That is part of your high prices right there.

I say spend a little advertising money, (you can help the economy at the same time) and let people know that they can change, it is safe to change, and how to change electric companies. Sooner or later, the business competition will let them know, and word of mouth, but truly, most people pay higher rates now because of sheer ignorance. I say let these Mayors and Legislators do a little more with electricity education.

Let’s also keep in mind that a few electric companies went bankrupt by trying to give lower rates, and locked their customers in at these rates, then oil and gas took off. Lets not legislate in Electric Power failure. Why don’t we allow the markets to work? And give them a hand, but not constrain them with undue regulation.

Take a look at some of the House Bills that were proposed. They were summarized in the San Antonio Business Journal.

* House Bill 2782, by Keffer, would limit ownership or control of generation capacity to no more than 20 percent of total generation capacity within each of ERCOT’s four congestion zones. This is intended to enhance competition and mitigate market power abuses.

Some of the following such as disallowing electric disconnections during intense heat may have already been addressed. And lets hope House Bill’s 2851 and 2782 define what “market power abuse” would be, before unleashing regulatory enforcement by the PUC. You would think that if there were harmed people, by any entity that there are also remedies available. Is this a necessary bill?

* House Bill 2781, by Keffer, calls for ERCOT to abandon its efforts to surcharge certain wholesale electricity costs by specific geographic points known as nodes. The creation of this so-called “nodal” system is projected to cost nine times more than original estimates. It also will likely increase consumer bills in many parts of Texas, he says.

* House Bill 2780, by Keffer, would permit cities to create and implement opt-out citizen aggregation programs. This would enhance competitive options for all market participants and lower prices.

* House Bill 3245, by Rep. Solomons, would implement a series of important customer protections, including prohibitions against electric disconnections during days of intense summer heat.

* HB 2851, by Rep. Farabee, would allow entities harmed by market power abuse to participate in enforcement actions brought by the Public Utility Commission.

The above mentioned House Bills were summarized and printed in the Tuesday, April 14, 2009 edition of the San Antionio Business Journal

Authors comments are italicized

mulesmurf

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