Why is it that Texans pay 43 percent more for electricity that folks just up the road in Oklahoma? That’s the question posed this weekend by Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow. “We’re still getting ripped off,” writes Blow in a June 6 column. “In fact, Texans pay more for electricity than in all four neighboring states.”
As noted in the online edition of the Dallas Morning News, rates have increased more in Texas during deregulation than they have in most other states in the country — including most deregulated states. Texans paid rates below the national average for many years prior to deregulation and now consistently pay above it.
“This is complicated stuff . … and that leaves the electric utility lobbyists with the upper hand in Austin,” writes Blow. “So maybe we all need to rise up and communicate a simple message to our state legislators: Your future rests on electric rates.”
Want to get involved? Check out the Recharge Texas website.