Mar 30, 2009 | Legislative Watch
In recent days, all the major newspapers that serve areas of Texas under electric deregulation have called for legislative reform. On March 20th, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram opined that opt-out aggregation merits serious consideration by lawmakers. On March 26 the...
Mar 11, 2009 | Legislative Watch
Here’s a bit more bad news for consumers stuck in the state’s deregulated electricity market. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the number of valid complaints against Texas electric providers is on the rise. According to the March 11 article, nearly 1 in 5...
Mar 6, 2009 | Legislative Watch
Warning that the “fox is in the henhouse,” state Rep. Burt Solomons on Thursday announced legislation to revamp the board of directors at ERCOT, which is the organization that oversees the Texas power grid. Rep. Solomons said that he would replace the current board...
Feb 18, 2009 | Legislative Watch
A nodal project originally estimated to cost ratepayers as little as $59.7 million is now projected to cost $658.7 million under a budget approved this week by the ERCOT board. All consumer representatives voted against the new spending plan. ERCOT also approved a new...
Feb 13, 2009 | Legislative Watch
The state House committee charged with considering key electricity issues has a veteran lawmaker for its new leader. Carrollton Republican Burt Solomons, who this year begins his 8th term in the Texas House, was named Feb. 12 to helm the newly reconstituted State...
Feb 11, 2009 | Legislative Watch
Former state Sen. David Sibley, co-author of the Texas deregulation law, recently suggested to a reporter that he linked wholesale energy prices to natural gas pricing in Senate Bill 7 as a way to discourage the production of new coal plants and to phase out old...