I've seen a number of articles about this recently. They are considering deregulating the electricity market here so that peak rates could be set at 3 times the current level.

The reason given is that high prices spur investment. But if you can charge whatever you want during peak usage and virtual mandatory consumption, what incentive do you have to increase capacity when you make 3x rates on scarcity?

I'm sure no one would game the system like Enron did with California, or HFT machines do to the markets.

Meanwhile, the EPA is forcing Texas electrical coal plants to close. We're basically being ****ed into charging high costs for electricity by the Feds when we don't really need to.

http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/06....

Quote:

The Brattle Group report to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recommends tripling the maximum wholesale price “from the current $3,000 to $9000…but impose this price cap only in extreme scarcity events,” said the report.

Consumer groups, some municipal governments, and some environmental groups counter that higher prices are the last thing Texas needs, pointing out its electricity already costs more than in many of the surrounding states.

“The proposal by PUC to raise the maximum bid from $3,000 up to $9,000 for one megawatt hour could put the squeeze on the average Texan’s wallet, costing a household an additional $480 a year in electricity cost."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg....

Quote:

Generators may be forced to close some plants that can't meet new pollution limits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Warren Lasher, director of system planning at ERCOT, said on May 25.

Dear Uncle Fed/State/Local: Just leave us alone for ****s sake. If nothing you do makes anything better, just dont do anything.

Txin1880 wrote..

If nothing you do makes anything better, just dont do anything.

Everything they do makes it better for someone. We just don't happen to be the recipients of that improvement.

Isn't electricity already super expensive in TX. Add to that your AC is on 24/7 for the summer months.

Great. Friggen' fantastic.

Quote:

Isn't electricity already super expensive in TX. Add to that your AC is on 24/7 for the summer months.

More expensive than average. And my city, Austin, has some of the most expensive electricity in the state because I subsidize the city's general fund with my utility payments. ****ing bastards.

This year I went without AC for as long as possible. I have an old house that was designed before AC was widely used. I just turned the AC on last week once it got up around 92-93*F here. I keep the thermostat at 80* which keeps the bills pretty low. I hate paying those ****ers anything.