Texas wholesale utility rates were $3,000 per kilowatt hour this summer. In August the Public Utility Commission (PUC) increased the maximum rate to $4,500 per kwh. For some reason private companies didn't rush to build new electrical generation the last eighty some days. Thus, the PUC vote for another increase. Bloomberg reported:
The cap, which is typically reached during the hottest days or a sudden shortage of supplies, will be raised to $5,000 a megawatt-hour on June 1, 2013, $7,000 a megawatt-hour on June 1, 2014, and $9,000 a megawatt-hour on June 1, 2015
The $9,000 per kwh rate, a 200% increase, should provide visibility for the next Enron to set up a series of sham companies and lever market disequilibrium, be it from super hot or frigid days. I expect Texas electrical consumers to be burned from high bills. The PUC looks more like a private corporate commission, but that's pure Perry.
1 comment:
I will never understand how a "deregulated" market of middlemen makes for a cheaper electricity rate to consumers.
It all comes from the same transmission lines owned by a single entity, by definition a monopoly.
Every single "Retail Electricity Provider" is a well-compensated broker that only INCREASES costs of essential utilities across the board in the exact amount of their compensation for their "services".
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