Texas Should Bear the Responsibility of Paying Residents' High Energy Bills, Houston Mayor Says

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Feb 21, 2021 10:11 PM EST

An aerial view from a drone shows electrical power lines running through a neighborhood on February 19, 2021 in Austin, Texas. Amid days of nationwide frigid winter storms in which 58 people died, more than 4 million Texans were without power for much of the past week, with about 13 million Texans being forced to boil tap water in the aftermath of the strain on infrastructure. (Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday urged the state of Texas to pay for the residents' ballooning energy bills after a severe winter storm caused a power outage and spiked energy prices.

Last week, major grid failures and increasing demand left millions of people without power amid the dangerous weather conditions. As power resumes for most Texas areas, many households are left with an energy bill as high as $10,000, CNBC reported.

Turner argued that the enormous electricity bills and the bills to repair homes should not be put on the residents' shoulders.

"Those exorbitant costs should be borne by the state of Texas and not the individual customers who did not cause this catastrophe this week," Turner said in the report.

High Energy Bills in Texas

The increasing utility bills in Texas are caused by the state's unregulated power grid that's nearly cut off from the rest of the country. Customers pick their power supplier in the market-driven system, which in many cases when demand increases, prices also go up.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) was reportedly unprepared for the cold conditions and surged in demand for power as people tried to warm their homes. ERCOT manages the power for around 90 percent of the state.

Turner said what happened last week was foreseeable and preventable, adding that Texas' system is suitable for summer heat and not a winter event. The Houston mayor also cited climate change, saying it is real and major storms can occur anytime.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is urging a federal investigation on the rising prices of natural gas in the Midwest and other regions, according to an NBC News report.

Smith said natural gas spot prices increases as high as 100 times typical levels, which forces utilities and other users to incur high prices that many were passed to consumers.

In her letter, Smith said the price increase would affect consumers and the financial stability of some utilities. She sent her letter on Saturday to federal regulators such as the Energy Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

A spokeswoman for FERC said the agency would look at the senator's letter and respond in due course.

Smith added that the Biden administration and Congress should consider financial support to utilities and customers who may be experiencing a cash crunch due to the spike in natural gas prices.

On Saturday, the White House announced that President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas and asked federal agencies to state additional resources to address the situation.

Energy Crisis in Texas Amid a Winter Storm

Houston's chief elected official warned people, two days before the storm, to prepare as they would be facing a hurricane. However, no one saw the energy crisis that would come amid the low temperatures as Texas' power grid collapsed, shortly followed by its water system.

Power outages were experienced throughout the day on Monday, ultimately leaving four million people without power, which caused grocery stores to shut down and hotel rates to amp their prices, according to an Associated Press report.

Tags Texas, Power Outage, energy bills