All the Latest Texas Electricity Market News — All the Time
News from TCAP
BLOG: Will Mexico Developments Undercut Authority over ERCOT?
ERCOT is an island unto itself — that is, unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission takes over. And that at least remote possibility has captured the attention of the state’s top utility regulator. “I’m very, very concerned about it,” said Public Utility...
read more
BLOG: Federal Study Examines Electric Reliability, Natural Gas
Regulatory planners, industry officials and others looking to guard against blackouts must focus more of their attention on the nation’s natural gas delivery systems and its natural gas-fired plants. That’s among the key take-away findings from a new report by the...
read more
BLOG: $105 Million Settlement in Market Manipulation Case
$105 million — that’s how much Barclays Bank and several former energy traders will pay after being accused by federal regulators of improperly manipulating electric prices in California during 2006 and 2008. Although less than the $487.9 million originally sought,...
read more
BLOG: Wind Power to Surpass Coal in Texas, Expert Predicts
With the expected retirement of several aging plants and the continued growth of wind power, the production of electricity from wind turbines may soon supersede that from coal in Texas. That’s the word from University of Texas-Austin research fellow Joshua Rhodes, who...
read more
BLOG: Despite generation retirements, ERCOT projects sufficient power
Texas should have sufficient generation capacity to safely keep the lights burning for the coming months — even given the announced retirements of several big generating plants. That's the word this week from ERCOT, the organization that manages the state's main power...
read more
BLOG: TCAP Documents Continuing Drop in Electric Complaints
Continuing a generally downward trend that began nearly a decade ago, electricity complaints filed with state regulators have dropped to a new post-deregulation low, according to a new report from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power. All told, Texans filed 4,175...
read more
BLOG: Proposed Oncor deal better than previous ones, advocates say
After several failed bids by unsuccessful suitors, it finally appears that Oncor Electric, the state’s largest transmission and distribution utility, may be close to changing owners. An offer by California-based Sempra Energy to acquire the utility for $9.45 billion...
read more
BLOG: Critics Warn Proposals Could Hike Houston-Area Power Costs
You flip a switch, your lights come on. The more power you use, the bigger your bill. It sounds simple and it is — and yet just below the surface lurks a tangle of engineering constraints, big-moneyed interests and a fantastically complex wholesale power market. And...
read more
BLOG: New Agency Chair Questions Pending Oncor-Sharyland Swap
Saying she wants to get the details right for ratepayers, the new Public Utility Commission chair is raising last-minute objections to a multi-million deal between the Oncor and Sharyland utilities. But DeeAnn Walker — who was appointed PUC chair on Sept. 20 and who...
read more
BLOG: Solar Strides Raising New Utility Rate Challenges
The Texas solar industry has just came off its best quarter ever, and experts now predict the market here could become the nation’s second largest within just five years. The solar industry also is making strides nationwide — utility-scale installations grew in 2017...
read more