Peak electricity bill in Texas: Greg Abbott promises relief

by



[ad_1]

Register for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to date with the most important news from Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott held a meeting with other state leaders on Saturday to discuss the spikes some Texans are seeing in their energy bills following a massive winter storm that caused power outages for several days statewide.

The meeting came after numerous reports that Texans received exorbitant electricity bills despite having no electricity during the storm. A Texan, according to the New York Times, received an electric bill of $ 16,752. Not all residents will see the tips in their invoices.

In a statement, Abbott called the meeting productive and said leaders “are moving quickly to alleviate this problem and will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions.” The meeting was held by conference call.

Winter storm of February 2021

  • When will my water come back? How can I get water while I wait?

    We do not know. State and city officials are asking for patience – and telling Texans with running water to boil it. Take whatever steps are necessary to prepare for several days without water. Officials in Austin, for example, said on Feb.19 that restoring water services would likely be a multi-day, city-wide process. We have a few resources here, but your best bet for finding free water is to check out your local media.

  • Am I going to have a big energy bill?

    Perhaps. People across the state have received big energy bills. One resident, according to the New York Times, received an electric bill of $ 16,752. Gov. Greg Abbott said his office was working with lawmakers to lower bills. Not everyone will be faced with huge bill spikes. Austin, for example, has fixed base rates. If you are concerned, consult your utility provider. Learn more here.

  • How can I get updates?

    Sign up to receive news from us by sending “hello” to 512-967-6919 or by visiting this page.

  • I was without electricity for over a day. Why do people call these outages?

    When the state’s power grid operator began implementing deployment blackouts at 1:25 a.m. PT on February 15, these were intended as a temporary measure to deal with an extreme winter event. Instead, some Texans go much longer without power, facing days without power instead of the originally planned 45 minutes.The power grid was designed to be in high demand during the summer, when the Texans turned on. their air conditioning at home. But some of the energy sources that feed the grid during the summer are offline during the winter. So when Texans stayed at home during Sunday’s storm and demanded record amounts of electricity, the state’s electricity grid could not keep pace.

  • Wait, do we have our own power grid? Why?

    Yes, Texas has its own power grid run by an agency called ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The story is long, but the short version is this: Texas has its own grid to avoid dealing with federal regulations. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act, which assigned the Federal Power Commission to oversee interstate sales of electricity. But Texas utilities do not cross state borders. ERCOT was established in 1970, following a major power failure in the North East in November 1965, and was tasked with managing grid reliability in accordance with national standards. Note that Texas is not all on the same power grid. El Paso is on a different grid, as is the Upper Panhandle and part of East Texas.

  • I read online that wind turbines are the reason we lost electricity. Is it true?

    No. Lost wind power is only a fraction of the reduction in power generation capacity that has caused blackouts among millions of Texans. An official with the Texas Electric Reliability Council said on Feb.16 that 16 gigawatts of renewable power generation, mostly wind, was offline. Nearly double that, 30 gigawatts, had been lost from thermal sources, which include gas, coal and nuclear power. “Texas is a gas state,” said Michael Webber, professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin. “The gas is failing in the most spectacular fashion right now.”

  • How can I stay warm? How can I help others?

    The National Weather Service encourages people to close blinds and curtains, congregate in one room if possible and shut others’ doors, and stuff towels into cracks under doors. Wear loose layers of warm, light clothing. Eating snacks and staying hydrated will help warm the body. Some cities provide warming centers and transportation as needed – find local resources here. If you have the resources or are able to donate financially, find nonprofits that help people here.

  • See more coverage

Along with Abbott, the heads of the Senate and House – Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, respectively – were also on the roll.

Members of both chambers also attended the meeting, including chairpersons of Senate committees responsible for drafting the House budget and supply, as well as chairpersons of the Senate House Affairs and Commerce and Energy Resources committees. .

The discussion with lawmakers, according to the governor’s office, centered on calculating the cost of these skyrocketing energy bills and “how the state can help reduce that burden.”

Abbott’s office also announced on Sunday that the governor would provide an update at 2:30 p.m. Central time on efforts to provide water and other supplies to communities across the state.

Later this week, House and Senate committees will meet to investigate how the outages happened and what roles entities like the Electric Reliability Council of Texas played in those power outages.

“Thursday begins questioning relevant stakeholders as to whether something went wrong, what went wrong, who is to blame and, more importantly, what solutions moving forward we can do. as a state legislature … ”said State Representative Craig Goldman, a Republican from Fort Worth who chairs the House Energy Resources Committee, in an interview broadcast by NBC-DFW on Sunday. .

Disclosure: The New York Times has financially supported the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and sponsors. Financial support plays no role in the journalism of the Tribune. Find a full list here.



[ad_2]

Source link