Re:Texas poised to get own stock exchange – with less red ta...
by hn_230601 on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @11:56AM
(#40586518)
There are fixed rate and variable rate electricity plans in Texas.
With fixed rate you are on a 6-36 month contract where your rate is fixed typically around the $0.12/kWh you mentioned above.
Variable rate plans change the rate month to month but has never been near the $7.00/kWh you're claiming https://shellenergy.com/Historical-Rates
Griddy was the company that hit the headlines who sold at live wholesale prices as you used electricity had 29k customers and is not how the typical electric company in Texas works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griddy_(company)
Yes, everything is fine if you have money and can choose. Other states explicitly ban these types of pricing models because they are predatory and can result in the people who are most price sensitive ending up in financial ruin.
I have no doubt that ERCOT has some good people working there. At the macro level however Texas makes isolationist decisions like not engaging in interstate energy sales agreements because they would subject the energy industry in the state to more federal regulation.
You might be interested in reading the final report of the 2011 incident, where ERCOT agreed that having appropriate capacity to the Eastern and Western interconnects would have mitigated most of the problems. https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/Reportonthe...