Texas officials on Saturday announced investigations into the causes of the state’s extensive power outages and an increase in energy bills following the state’s winter storms.
Why it’s important: Millions of jeans lost power and water during last week’s storms. As a result, wholesale energy prices rose from about $ 50 per megawatt hour to $ 9,000, according to the WFAA, which noted that some Texans faced bills of up to $ 17,000 this month. .
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What is happening: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said in a statement after holding an emergency meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the state that “it is unacceptable that the Texans who suffered for days during the cold snap without neither electricity nor heat could suffer from soaring energy costs. ” “
- The Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUCT), the state’s utilities regulator, announced Saturday that it has opened an investigation into “factors that combined with the devastating winter weather to disrupt energy flow.” to millions of homes in Texas. ”
“The Commission also unanimously approved a series of steps designed to protect retail electricity customers who feel the financial effects of the ERCOT network event.”
– PUCT statement
Note: Abbott has described the Texas Electrical Reliability Council (ERCOT) as “opaque type, how it works.
What to see: Abbott said in his statement that he is working with lawmakers and the state’s lieutenant governor “to develop solutions that will ensure that jeans are not stuck in irrational increases in their energy bills.”
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