Legislative Position
Legislative Proposals for a More Competitive Electricity Market
The Sunset Advisory Commission has issued important recommendations pertaining to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and The Electric Reliability Council of Texas. TCAP supports many of these recommendations, but believe additional reforms are needed.
**UPDATED APRIL 15, 2011
Electric Consumers and the 82nd Texas Legislature: Bills of Interest
1) TCAP SUPPORTS: Fixing the broken wholesale market enforcement system.
Because of a loophole in Texas law, generation companies found to have violated wholesale energy rules face no requirement to return illicit profits.
House Bill 2133
- Legislation by Rep. Burt Solomons grants the Public Utility Commission authority to assess larger penalties and to order companies to disgorge illicit profits. To watch a short video on this issue and for more information about HB 2133, click here.
2) TCAP SUPPORTS: Creating a new choice in the electricity market.
Consumers are confronted with a bewildering array of electricity offers in the deregulated market. The fine print frustrates consumers who wish to make apples-to-apples comparisons.
House Bill 1006 and Senate Bill 948
- Legislation by Rep. Sylvester Turner and Sen. Wendy Davis creates a requirement that Retail Electric Providers offer among their regular selection of products one standardized deal with terms set by the PUC. REPs would be free to set the price of these deals and would continue to enjoy the full freedom to set terms, conditions and prices for all their other electricity products. To learn more about his particular issue, click here.
3) TCAP SUPPORTS: Reforming ERCOT.
The organization that manages the Texas power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has a history of mismanagement and over spending.
House Bill 2134 and Senate Bill 661
- Legislation by Rep. Burt Solomons and Sen. Robert Nichols gives the PUC greater authority over ERCOT’s spending and use of debt. These bills emerged from the Sunset Advisory process. Read more about ERCOT’s history of mismanagement.
4) TCAP SUPPORTS: Encouraging Market Investment while Saving Tax Dollars.
Cities and other political subdivisions wishing to use debt to finance long-term electricity acquisitions face a hurdle relating to the legal definition of personal property. As a consequence, cities have been stymied in their efforts to use low-interest municipal debt to purchase long-term supplies of power.
Senate Bill 1393
- Legislation by Sen. Kel Seliger specifies that electricity purchased by a governmental body for its own governmental needs meets the definition of personal property in the Local Government Code.
5) TCAP SUPPORTS: Keeping an Eye on Excessive Electricity Prices.
During the recent blackouts, several of the state’s electric companies began selling wholesale energy at 40 times their normal cost. These high prices end up getting paid by home consumers. And yet the public has remained in the dark about which companies ratcheted up their prices during the crisis.
House Bill 3248
- Legislation by Rep. Gary Elkins would require the prompt identification of electric companies that submit excessive bids in the state’s spot market for wholesale energy. To watch a short video on this issue, click here.
