Texas’s deregulated electricity market, which was supposed to provide reliable power at a lower price,last week. For two decades, its customers have paid more for electricity than state residents who are served by traditional utilities, a Wall Street Journal analysis has found.
Nearly 20 years ago, Texas shifted from using full-service regulated utilities to generate power and deliver it to consumers. The state deregulated power generation, creating the system that failed last week. And it required nearly 60% of consumers to buy their electricity from one of many retail power companies, rather than a local utility.
Those deregulated Texas residential consumers paid $28 billion more for their power since 2004 than they would have paid at the rates charged to the customers of the state’s traditional utilities, according to the Journal’s analysis of data from the federal Energy Information Administration.
Texasses
The culprit? Renewable energy.
what a surprise? all private corps are chasing profit n more customers Utility should be public as it is essential service
kimmasters That's $28b ripped from Texas' economy. Small business and retailers should be angry - this money could've bought their goods.
If Texas could deregulate air and let the magic of the market set the price, hypoxia would kill a good number of them and they wouldn't need so much electricity.
Texas needs to be accountable for their actions and repay the Federal Government. Not following Regulations or Winterizing a private electrical grid is not an American problem.
How much have people served by “traditional utilities” paid in taxes to support the grid? It’s like saying people that go to private schools pay more for education.
willaustinphoto Its going to nearly always cost more if it is for-profit than non-profit, if there is no competition involved.
That’s what Republicans mean by deregulation. Fat cats screw the people for more profit and our elected officials enable it. Free market...
Duh
Deregulated Texas electricity includes in the costs brown envelopes full of to GOP associations .
Deregulation for the profit of a few at the expense of everyone else. Texas has been run by corrupt idiots for quite a while.
TimGiles01 And they are doing nothing to change this.
TexasBlackout SenTedCruz GregAbbott_TX GQPIsTheNewGOP reverseSocialism
That’s only a fair comparison if the deregulated areas are the same as the traditional utility areas.
They managed to make PG&E look halfway decent.
It has been an amazing journey with you Dennis66536 making money from the comfort of my home, I promise I was going to tell everyone about you. he a honest trustworthy reliable for he transaction Dennis66536
Freedom Texas utilities' style appears not to be free. It is merely freedom to line someone's pockets
They could also play Dice Chess
Make up to $106 with the aid of your PC or cellphone every 24 hours, send me a message now to get started
bymichaeldunn No wonder they want no regulation.
Solar, wind and subsidies the three reasons for the current exorbitant pricing.
smartdissent Does your editorial board know this?
Tatortots2003 QPAC2021 MAGA Regulations keep people safe, alive, healthy. That’s why we have ‘em. Don’t understand? Go ride down a deregulated elevator.
But I thought de-regulation was a magical potion for wealth and wonderfulness
Stupid’s
kmeeo Another GOP lie, like trickle-down economics?
Wasn't this always the point?
tedcruz You just keep screwing your constituents over & over! Next time, at least have the decency to give them a reach around!
silkybo1 Don't pay extremist bills
DavidBegnaud This is THE headline. MeidasTouch SteveSchmidtSES
smartdissent So now nobody can say they don't see the corruption. But they will. That whole, 'Independent Electrical Grid' BS is how Texas rips their people off. Sounds good, but it's costly and will be costly again and the wealth will run wild as Texas manipulated the system to do. Good Luck
DavidBegnaud Vote BLUE in 2022.
And in other news they elected a fucking moron as senator. Coincidence?
Jesus left Texas
The focus here is how consumers paid so much more, like they got ripped off or something. Why is the story not focused on how this profit was not used to build a better grid?! Why is biden going to go bail them out? The grid needs the investment from the $28 billion profit.
TAG22713227 FreeDumb!
Such is what comes of mindless deregulation.
FromWhimsy I shit, didn’t need a study to tell you that. Without being regulated, they can charge whatever they want. If Texans keep electing republicans and don’t start regulating their grid, they shouldn’t get any more fed $$$$.
But they're the best, the biggest, don't want no help from nobody and they love their republican lying politicians.
BillReyno The rich just keep getting richer
Thank you Texas for .20 gallon for gas increase in Washington. Nothing like a little screw up to help the rich in the futures market.
“The roughly 60% of Texans who must choose a retail electricity provider consistently pay more than customers in the state who buy their power from traditional utilities” - Must choose? Sounds like some class action law suits.
SenTedCruz
Why am I not surprised? Republicans trickle down economics has never worked. Tax break entitlements to the rich, we promised it would pay for itself, that also never worked. It's all a scam to keep the rich in power and make the rest of us suffer.
Hmmm... somehow this didn’t make it into the tedcruz stand up set at CPAC
Corruption full stop. Raping Mother Earth while picking Texans pockets. And they’ll ask for more.
Wait, can we blame this on Enron too? 🤔😳🙄😂🤣🤦♀️
All that so they can stay Red🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
FromWhimsy Fuck Texas
Thieves, thick as, they are.
Monopoly!
Texas GOP like
Well...that didn’t go as planned...or did it? If I were a Texan I might be a little pissed off about that.
Enjoy your “freedom”.
Freedom is expensive, right? Except, it can't hold up against the climate. So what the hell are you paying for Texas?
So they paid a state tax
Freedom! Whoo-hoo!
But, FREEDOM!!11 am I right? It’s not like freedom is free...
Ouch!
But let’s vote red lol 😂 choootiyas
texasgov TexasGOP start explaining why your decisions cost Texas residents much more then other states with federal and state oversight. Also the shutdown of essential services affecting the state and fuel prices in America to rise for all. Teamsters TexasTribune
But wait, there's more Aren't Texans proud of Being 'taken'? GovRickPerry thinks so
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It has been an amazing journey with you Dennis66536 making money from the comfort of my home, I promise I was going to tell everyone about you. he a honest trustworthy reliable for he transaction Dennis66536
We pay around €0.28 / kWh in the EU with tax..(some lower). Just check if you get spooked.
Wonder who pocketed that 28 billion? Also, wonder why didn't they spending some of that to weatherwise their power grid after 2011. Also, wonder if even Republicans will vote for a Republican Candidate in future elections? Of course..they will....what's a few billion matter.
Well technically we’re going to have to repossess everything that the people bought with their salary money aren’t we right because the big shots are the ones who were behind it so we’ll just take the money from there
You do realize only about 2000 or so residents in Texas were on the variable rate plan. Most did not experience the huge spikes that were all over the news stations.
Somebody, please tell them.
This shouldn't be news to anyone with common sense. Only news to people who think 'regulated' is a dirty word.
Lehman's Non-Electric Catalogue has off grid, non-electric tools & homesteading supplies...
So that means we’re all getting rebate checks right yeah
Enron rises again!
Power company execs: “That makes us smart!”
bUt NaT gAs Is So cHeApp
Supply/Demand free market price controls don't work for critical resources the user MUST consume.
Lol! And they threaten to secede. Can't wait
Everythings bigger in Texas.
Good hopefully they notice and vote the people out if not idk
That is a lot of poverty created in Texas for millions of workers
Still some of the cheapest power rates in the nation last I checked.
There's no deregulation anywhere that resulted in lower endprices. It's nothing but a neoliberal faury tale.
Indeed, texans have been ripped off... and the situation will continue... they will not change the system...
The republican con jobs continue. Good luck all you suckers get on that bandwagon; you’ll pay the price and in ways you can’t imagine.
For years our electric companies produced the power disturbed the power and maintained the grid and collected the money and it worked perfectly until we decided to fix it so here we are now what?
The larger the grid is, the cheaper the electricity is.
Tawnell Somethings should not be deregulated. The efficiencies achieved by deregulation create little wiggle room in error compensation. Utilities, police, military, health care, post office, election systems cannot be left to self correct. The consequence can be deadly.
Shocker
Thank your Republican State government! It will be fine; even if we don't take care of it! They have done that with the citizens also. Where is your Senator Cruz while being paid by you?
WSJ loves deregulation. Privatize the profits. Socialize the costs.
That article doesn't mention the priority given wind and solar and the absence of capacity contracts. Here's a little more insight:
Junior Senator Cruz couldn’t show up to speak with President Biden for assistance for Texans
Privatizing profits then begging from government when losses are incurred at the “end”.
Shocking
Cons are stupid and vote against their own best interest all the time.
Com amor repartimos mantimentos do 3º ano a salvação de Jesus para dos problemas do dia a dia, Nova Igreja Pentecostal 2ª 4ª e 6ª 19:hs, Sede Mundial Avenida Ulisses Guimarães Quadra 34 no conj. Raimundo Portela (Promorar) Teresina, Piauí, Brasil!
And yet Texans vote for Republicans, including that lying anti-human tedcruz. Why is that? That's the real story. Why do people vote against their own self-interest? WSJMurdochRag
OF COURSE THEY HAVE. privatization to make utilities 'more efficient' is a scam to fleece pockets. when government officials call for privatization as an option that can outperform services that public/civic orgs normally perform, be skeptical. kleptocracy
thanks
China is responsible for over 500,000 American deaths & 2.5 mil worldwide. All of variants 2 Covid R from the Chinese virus & yet the Democrats Block Rep. Andy Barr’s Amendment to Prevent COVID-19 Relief Funds from Going to China. The Dems R owned by China & don't care about USA.
SarsCasm we should privatize the immune system, and the privilege of sharing your facial expression.
WSJ doing a hatchet job on a RED state! Times have changed. Please cover the south’s crappy everything!
I live in Texas and here is the deal: customers must lock in fixed rate terms and can visit to get the cheapest contract. I suspect most folks don’t and are auto’d to variable monthly, which is typically more expensive than fixed by 2-3 cents
Spot：a small town in China Condition：After a great meal Sry, no surging price here
Citizens from Myanmar are still not receiving any Covid vaccination due to militarycoupinMyanmar WhatsHappeningInMaynmar MilkTeaAlliance ChinahelpMilitaryCoupforOwnbenefit
Deregulated electricity is a stupid thing. It has to be treated as a natural monopoly. Some states in th USA are quite behind the rest of the developed world
pattersonscott That's what these Midwest states get, they let these old white male Republicans, Control their lives, wake up, Vote!!!
Don’t tell this to your dinosaur Editorial Board! They loathe facts when making a point...or anytime.
Not sure where the reporter got the numbers from but my bill in Texas is 1/3 of what used to be in New Jersey...
Having lived in Texas, I can tell you that it was by far the most expensive electricity I ever paid for. It was a sticker shock when the bill came in every month.
I live in Dallas, own a home, and my power bill is roughly $115 a month, very manageable for me, but I know everyone is different.
Pay more for less. Sounds like quite a deal.
This is what deregulation does. It gives corporations the green light to give poor service at a higher price. so people don't understand when Republicans say they want smaller government they want less regulations so companies are free to pillage the American people's pocketbooks
95% only bad news(
That’s literally the point actually..lol
We were not just in the dark but the pipe bursts caused Billion in damages for too many of us. Winterize. Blame game wont help us Texans.
Same situation with California wildfires. Companies caring more about their investors than their infrastructure.
I mean. Texans aren’t that smart. They have a reputation for being pretty dumb.
You didn't think all those traders and speculators in the market were free did you?
So the deregulated market doesn’t really benefit consumers - go figure
It’s the worst. Choose providers. Choose plans. For Electricity WTF!
Wait a minute just a couple years ago a comparison was done between Ca and Tx with regard to electric bills and going green, Tx bills were pretty cheap compared to Ca bills
Yet, Texans still want the privilege of not being “regulated.” Amazing thought processes!
So what, big govt monopolies and burocracy never fails?
The fruit of the Wall Street Journal’s years of labor have ripened.
Rick Perry.
Another half correct WSJ article.
All the huge homes being built for the rich moving from the coasts, would not want their utility bills...😂
Is this failure of deregulation or failure of ill preparation which could happen under heavy regulation?
$0.11 per kilowatt hour in South Texas. Cheaper than almost anywhere I've been in the country. Not sure how you arrive at that conclusion.
Remember, every time someone rich talks about freedom or rights, he is talking about his own
Keep voting Republican Texas. It’s working well for you 😉
If people took the effort to shop around and lock in rates, you won't find a place in the US with lower rates than Texas. My rates are double in Ohio what thry were in Texas when I lived there.
ieeesmartgrid ~~
it's important to understand the mousetrap they plan to catch you in
thank you very much for your work
Has Paul Gigot called you liars yet?
deregulation always FAILS because greed takes over if no one is watching these crooks the great recession was caused by deregulation ......the very worst economic system is unregulated capitalism.....you just have thieves, mobsters and crooks running everything then
Truck driving was also Deregulated in 1980.. The pay has cratered. No young people hardly go into the profession. Average driver age is approaching 60. Inexperienced drivers with 2 weeks experience have fatal accidents daily... In 5 to 10 years you'll notice it....
Here is some research material GovAbbott in case you do not know! You failed us! And we will vote you all out! GOPChairwoman GOPLeader GOP tedcruz SenTedCruz TedCruzisADisgrace GOPCowards
Isnt this what texas voted and still votes for. Did they not know when they signed up what could happen. Im confused on this one. It does prove people need to be educated to vote in their own damn interests.
Thank you! Us texans just have SO MANY GOOD NEWS!! THIS IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! GOD BLESS!!!! ❤️
Republicans fvcking society, example 437,624
What’s ridiculous is people think you can have a capitalist market for a resource the service provider has no pricing controls over.
This is how American business behaves unregulated...Republicans would rather you be gouged. Every time Republicans deregulate an industry...the people suffer...
Sounds about right for Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas right? The corruption, the bills?
Use the ShermanAntiTrustAct against .ERCOT_ISO
what a shocker
The “free market” is a euphemism for making the rich richer, while we’re free to freeze.
😳 WOW So the Libertarian GOP model of ultra free markets is all BULLSHITE ? But endless tax cuts for Billionaires still creates jobs Right ? & Pays for itself Right
NewYorkStateAG OUR COURTS MUST DEMAND WE GET OUR MONEY BACK & THEN SOME!!!
Where in Texas do I get cheaper than the 8.9 cents per kWH I've been paying? I didn't realize I was over paying this whole time.
Nonsense. Costs would've just been externalized to union pensions and pay raises that would have then resulted in a series of rate hikes to account for such generous giveaways. Literally every power grid operation up and down the west coast encounters this.
And there not going to change a thing so next time people get ready to freeze your asses off with no water . It’s almost a dictatorship government but a lot rich people that don’t give a shit about the people
Um, coulda told you that without an investigation.
Glad I was sitting down.
Texas set up a system for a few people to make a lot of money all under the banner of “deregulation”. It’s schemes like this that give deregulation a undeserved black eye.
foggybottomgal Anyone ask KyleBiedermann if he will secede *before* asking FEMA and DoE to give TX billions of dollars to cover this mess?
So much for capitalism’s favorite argument
Wow. Politicians funded by big energy made it so big energy made more money under a guise of competition. Shocker
I'm shocked , shocked I say !! NOT
I’m surprised Ontario has cheaper energy than Texas’ average. This is $CAD too.
Can you check if we could have ‘paid less’ for medical costs if a certain central agency regulated costs? 🤔
DON’T MESS WTH TEXAS...THEY’RE REALLY DUMB
The is owned by Murdoch so you know it’s bad.
Same would happen to the healthcare insurance market if deregulated, which the gop wants.
You know things are bad when the is writing about the *failures* of deregulation.
Who are you and what did you do to the Wall Street Journal? weird how you are sharing the idea that capitalism is failing lol
Note: 'Wall Street Journal' Yall love reading and sharing and commenting
jasomnambulism What failed Texas was socialism in the form of the green new deal. What we need is more fossil fuels. Can I get a job at The Wall Street Journal now? I can even blame this on cancel culture if you want me to.
You think regulations cost businesses money? Not as much as deregulation ends up costing you, sucker.
You think regulations cost businesses money? Not as much as deregulation ends up costing you, sucker.
.GOP again creating disasters.
This is actually pretty fucked up
It didn't fail everyone! There have been many pockets filled over the past 20 years. This proves politicians are either the most crooked soulless people or the absolute dumbest in the world! We need to start correcting the cesspool immediately! It's a Sad Time for Texas!
But I thought rEguLaTiOns & gOvErnMent were the problem? 🥴
No, they opted for a variable rate. They didn't bitch when their rates were next to nothing.
In case you think large utilities have too much red tape (yes they do) at least the stability they provide has benefits. The PNW has some of the least expensive and most reliable power in the nation due to the federal/regional/local partnerships developed from the FCRPS
The author if the deregulation bill, David Sibley, argued that Texas consumers saved billions, in an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News today. Can you liberate your numbers from the paywall so more citizens can see? See Sibley’s piece here:
The state should pay for the overages and the companies should average out the annual costs and only charge that. But, look at key point. After deregulation, consumers paid MORE for electricity
PROOF THAT 1 - WE NEED 2 GIVE TEXAS BACK 2 MEXICO 2 - TEXAS POLITICIANS HAVE BEEN MORONS FOR DECADES 3 - BRIBES DO WORK 4 - SHOCKINGLY CORPORATIONS DON'T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE THEY EXIST FOR PROFIT 5 - W/ OUT CONSEQUENCES NO ONE WILL DO THE RIGHT THING
Does deregulation ever work?
You don't think that the Originators of the deregulation plan didn't know that consumers would be paying more for their electricity over time? Of course, they did. The rich get richer. Always.
Why would anyone think they did this to save customers money? This “deregulation” and “privatization” was all about making money for these companies. Anyone who thinks differently is naive or has never met a Republican!
Republicans. They love to fuck shit up, make rich people richer, and screw everybody else.
cooperchip1 Why can't tge Texans be normal and have regulations?.
Wow. So how dat Capitalism, free market stuff working for ya? I think we Socialists will grow purely by attrition... The Capitalists are too busy killin' themselves. Soon, from winter and sommar, there'll be none of them left. Jejeje
The rich get richer. The poor get poorer.
Texas and Kansas in a race backwards frugality.
Did anyone think that consumers would benefit from Texas's deregulation of electricity? Stockholders, maybe, but not consumers.
DanPatrickTX and GregAbbott_TX KenPaxtonTX SenTedCruz JohnCornyn if we aren’t male, white, religious or a business, we Texans exist only to rack up your vote tally and profit margins?
Well well well..... anyone who thinks free-market deregulation is a solution is delusional. California, Alberta, Ohio (just to name a few) had free market deregulation with high prices and brown/blackouts all too common. Electricity is something that should be in public hands.
jaramilloutier
If you centralize everything the recovery of such catastrophe would not be possible in few days. Centralization = government monopoly don't be fooled by communist propaganda
'Deregulation' is a scam. Guess nothing was learned from the Enron debacle.
One issue = deserve to lose
So what you’re saying is that the GOP plan for market competition to lower healthcare costs is also a pipe dream? I can’t believe it.
Winner!
As it turns out, letting companies charge as much as the market will bear with next to no regulation ends up with consumers bearing as much cost as possible and the services given being as cheap to produce as possible. Who would have thunk it?
Another gop cornerstone proven to be full of shit
So regulations are good?
Fox News: This is all AOC’s doing.
You mean the invisible hand of the market does not create an economic Shangri-La?
JohnCornyn you should retweet this since you’re such a fan of the Wall Street Journal
It's a conservative Big Deregulation Lie. I hope the people in Texas understands how much the Big Lie cost them in treasure and souls.
It failed because the DOE refused to allow Texas power plants to exceed their emissions output to supply electricity to their citizens and forced them to buy out of state at insane prices. Your dumbass green regulations caused this disaster
Typical republican mismanagement.
Literal communist propaganda
Pay me now or pay me later.
Good thing you have such a watered down and misleading series of headlines on this, you almost had an honest piece of journalism for a second there. First, you declare a benevolent motive (open by making an excuse for them) not just greed. Then say it failed 'last week' not 20yrs
I am shocked... SHOCKED... that turning over vital infrastructure to cutthroat capitalism resulted in rising prices for diminishing infrastructure. 😲 But, surely this happens nowhere else in the marketplaces the GOP so desperately wants to keep unregulated. Surely!
This is why you can’t let the GOP be in charge of anything 😂😂🤡🤦♂️
realsamlawrence
Woops, totally not on purpose either!
Duh! 🙄
Texas is just one big corrupt cesspool.
So it accomplished deregulation’s main goal which is just get the companies more money regardless of how it effects people
How much do people pay? In Southern California we’re paying .16-.36 per KW seems even higher than what’s talked about here.
how much renewable energy does the Texas grid have?
It’s almost like they failed to learn what deregulation did to the financial industry, and then tried to apply it to the energy sector. They failed to learn from history, and will keep repeating it until we vote them out. 😳
So is saying Texas REPUBLICAN politicians such as tedcruz JohnCornyn GregAbbott_TX DanPatrick are too stupid to understand consumer economics... or is saying Texas REPUBLICAN politicians are greedy bastards kowtowing to donors OVER CONSTITUENTS LIVES for 20 YEARS
I’ve come to realize that; the only objective of “Conservatives” is to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Racism, capitalism, deregulation, war profiteering and social hotbuttons issues are just vehicles to achieve their goals.
Because it was all another lie.
It’s almost like utilities are not in a perfectly competitive market. In fact, with high barriers to enter, they are monopolies and should be regulated by the government
Republicans lie about their policies to constituents because they only work for the rich and powerful but need to votes from the suckers who believe their lies and the idiots who think there’s no difference between republicans and democrats.
Having a private business that can seemingly charge whatever the fuck they want for a vital utility seems like a bad idea
A case study in what happens when you deregulate. When utilities are left to their own devices, consumers do not gain. They pay...and pay....and pay...
Why total revenues? How many different variations of the analysis were considered before you found one that gave a good headline? 1st thought is a state as large AND populous as Texas has a more expensive (regulated) grid to maintain? Does the effect persist if you remove T&D?
Which EIA data sources were used to create this analysis?
The illusion of choice was just selecting the middle men who would take your money.
Remember ENRON...no one does corruption like Texas
GOP
Customers may never watch and compare the electricity price. 16c/kWh looks not much different from 10c/kWh.
Total failure in Texas.
Let’s be honest. What Texas GOP did years ago is side with big utility executives & cleared the way for them to exploit the people of Texas. Removing vital regulations means utilities can charge more, invest less in resiliency & thus profit more. Losers are the people of Texas.
The failure was the politicly driven push to wind & solar energy production. Hopefully the world will take note & scrap this BS. Before it kills more people.
GregAbbott_TX
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