Thursday, October 25, 2012

Texas PUC Sends Electricity Rates up 200% by 2015


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:

userabuser said...

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".