Apr 26, 2010 | Legislative Watch
Spending by the operator of the Texas power grid should be more closely monitored, and companies that improperly manipulate the wholesale market should face the prospect of greater penalties. Those are just two of the recommendations found inside a report issued last...
Mar 29, 2010 | Legislative Watch
What if our taxes went up every time a single state agency reported increased expenditures? Texas Department of Transportation needs more money? Hike taxes! The state expands a few prisons? Hike taxes! Of course Texans wouldn’t stand for such a knee-jerk budgetary...
Jan 26, 2010 | Legislative Watch
May 15th – mark it on your calendar. That’s the date of a public workshop scheduled in Houston devoted specifically to consumer rights under the state’s electric deregulation law. Sponsored by State Rep. Sylvester Turner, the first annual “Consumer Rights Electricity...
Jan 21, 2010 | Legislative Watch
In a split decision for consumers, the state’s Third Court of Appeals this month has ruled that certain utility interest payments should not be used to increase the calculation of stranded costs in Texas, but also that certain federal tax benefits for utilities should...
Jan 14, 2010 | Legislative Watch
The Texas Public Utility Commission failed to explicitly consider costs to electric consumers when it awarded billions of dollars in transmission construction projects last year, a state district judge has determined. The finding, part of a case that could impact how...
Dec 8, 2009 | Legislative Watch
A contentious new measure that will require wind generators to install devices that help control voltage levels on the grid has been approved by the ERCOT Board of Directors. The devices produce what is known as “reactive” power, which is different from...
