Ditching electric competition would cost Texas
A capacity market won’t assure reliability, but it would cause Texans’ electricity bills to rise.
Temperatures reach 97 degrees with a sensation of 105 degrees in Dallas on Monday afternoon, June 14, 2021, as ERCOT send a conservation alert asking Texans to reduce electric use through Friday.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)
By Bill Peacock
1:30 AM on Jul 18, 2021 CDT
This op-ed is part of a series published by The Dallas Morning News Opinion section to explore ideas and policies for strengthening electric reliability. Find the full series here:
Twenty years ago last month, Texas began its experiment to bring competition to its electricity market.
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Following the February deep freeze that nearly collapsed the Texas power grid, state Republican leaders promised to fix the grid’s problems fast. As it turns out, the fixes were half-fast.
When the freeze hit, Gov. Greg Abbott wrongly singled out frozen wind and solar generators for blame. However, the near-collapse was due mainly to freeze-related failures at natural gas, coal and nuclear plants and associated fuel equipment. It left millions of Texans without power, caused billions of dollars in damages, and more than 100 deaths. It’s no surprise, by the way, that Abbott went easy on natural gas. The oil and gas industry represents his biggest political contributor, according to the Associated Press.
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