Texas senators, armed with an emergency mandate from the governor, blew past typical procedures to pass a bill requiring energy regulators to retroactively lower prices during the February winter storm that knocked out power for millions.
A truck drives past a highway sign in Houston on Feb. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AUSTIN, Texas (CN) Last month’s winter storm has whipped the Texas Legislature into an unusually frantic state this week.
On Monday, state senators suspended the chamber’s rules, voted without a public hearing and bypassed the typical March 12 deadline for filing new bills in a scramble to pass an emergency statute aiming to reverse billions of dollars in electricity costs imposed by the state’s grid operator, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas.
(Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday he had made correcting "inaccurate excessive charges" billed during the winter freeze by power .
By Texas News Desk
Mar 10, 2021
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would keep Texas leaders from closing churches during a disaster such as the pandemic. A number of religious leaders testified this week, including Frank Pomeroy, pastor of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Pomeroy said he couldn t understand how it had become necessary to pass a state law to protect a constitutional right. The bill would amend state law to shield churches from emergency orders. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is making it a priority issue for the legislative session.
Photo: Getty Images
(Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday he had made correcting "inaccurate excessive charges" billed during the winter freeze by power .
(Bloomberg) Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked state lawmakers to decide whether action is needed to address $16 billion in alleged overcharges for electricity during last month’s blackouts.Legislators will debate whether the state’s public utility commission should direct the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator known as Ercot, to retroactively adjust prices with the local power market facing a potential financial crisis.The decision to add the issue as an emergency item in the current legislative session comes after regulators declined to take up an independent market monitor’s recommendation that charges be reversed on overpriced power over the course of two days.See also: Texas Watchdog Says Grid Operator Made $16 Billion ErrorTexas is continuing to grapple with the fallout from last month’s grid emergency, which cut power to millions during a deep winter freeze and left dozens dead. The utility commission ordered electricity pric