Last month, Texas resident Royce Peirce paid $387.70 to heat his two-story house. This month, he owes $8,162.73 — and counting.
Amid freezing temperatures and another looming winter storm, Texans are facing a second crisis: astronomical power bills.
thedailybeast.com/dollar5152-pow…
Amid freezing temperatures and another looming winter storm, Texans are facing a second crisis: astronomical power bills.
thedailybeast.com/dollar5152-pow…
Why are these energy bills so high? You can thank Texas’s power grid for that.
The U.S. is divided into three grids: one covers the eastern states, another the western states, and then there’s the Texas grid, ERCOT, which covers nearly the entire state.
The U.S. is divided into three grids: one covers the eastern states, another the western states, and then there’s the Texas grid, ERCOT, which covers nearly the entire state.
Now you might be wondering: Why does Texas have its own power grid?
If you’re familiar with the state’s history and public policy, you probably already know the answer. In short, Texas has its own grid to avoid dealing with the federal government.
texastribune.org/2011/02/08/tex…
If you’re familiar with the state’s history and public policy, you probably already know the answer. In short, Texas has its own grid to avoid dealing with the federal government.
texastribune.org/2011/02/08/tex…
What we’re witnessing now is a collapse of the state’s power grid.
Amid freezing temperatures, the imbalance between Texas’s staggering electricity demand and its limited supply caused prices to skyrocket from $20 per megawatt hour to $9,000 per megawatt hour — a 450% increase.
Amid freezing temperatures, the imbalance between Texas’s staggering electricity demand and its limited supply caused prices to skyrocket from $20 per megawatt hour to $9,000 per megawatt hour — a 450% increase.
One wholesale power supplier, Griddy, made a surprising decision.
CEO Michael Fallquist told Griddy’s 29,000 customers to abandon his service and switch providers: “We want what’s right by our consumers, so we are encouraging them to leave.”
dallasnews.com/business/energ…
CEO Michael Fallquist told Griddy’s 29,000 customers to abandon his service and switch providers: “We want what’s right by our consumers, so we are encouraging them to leave.”
dallasnews.com/business/energ…
But Democrats like @JulianCastro are calling out Republican leadership for exacerbating the issue:
“This is becoming the worst state-level policy disaster since the Flint water crisis … This is not the breakdown of the system. This is a system that is broken down by design.”
“This is becoming the worst state-level policy disaster since the Flint water crisis … This is not the breakdown of the system. This is a system that is broken down by design.”
Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising “some form of” federal investigation into Texas’s power situation, headed by the Energy and Commerce Committee.
So will Royce Pierce have to pay that $8,162.73 bill? For now, he’s saying “this is a later problem.”
He hopes a relief package from the state will help cover the costs.
He hopes a relief package from the state will help cover the costs.
Are you a Texas resident who’s been personally affected by the skyrocketing cost of energy bills?
Tell us your story below.
Tell us your story below.
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