Tag Archives: deregulation

I’m sure they’ll evaluate themselves objectively

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? In October, Colorado-based E3 Consulting offered a plan for how the Public Utility Commission should redesign Texas’ deregulated power market. It produced a 44-page proposal, paid for by energy giants NRG and Chicago-based Exelon. Now … Continue reading →

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Sure hope our grid can handle a bunch of crypto

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. With interest surging in digital currencies and the blockchain technology behind them, more and more investors and operators are turning to Texas, lured by its cheap energy and hands-off regulatory approach. The … Continue reading →

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In case you’d forgotten, we still haven’t fixed the power grid

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It has other problems too, which we also haven’t addressed. Millions of Texans lost power in February 2021. Hundreds died as a result. Tens of billions of dollars in damages were lost. Billions were just transferred from consumers by government … Continue reading →

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Who’s worried about electricity in Texas?

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The guy who writes The Watchdog for the DMN, for one. The people with real power in this state, not so much. I was lonely. For more than a decade, it was as if I were the only North Texas … Continue reading →

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The final official death toll from the big freeze

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s undoubtedly an underestimate. Texas has added 36 more deaths to the official death toll from the February snow and ice storm, bringing the total to 246 in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history. … Continue reading →

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Another upward revision of the freeze death count

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Buzzfeed News takes a deep dive. The true number of people killed by the disastrous winter storm and power outages that devastated Texas in February is likely four or five times what the state has acknowledged so far. A BuzzFeed … Continue reading →

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Are we headed for a June special session or not?

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Too soon to tell. Right now this is just the usual end-of-session venting and frustration. With the future of the power grid and voting laws in Texas hanging in the balance, tensions among the top political leaders in the Legislature … Continue reading →

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How many times will we fail to fix our power grid?

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

By “we”, I mean our Legislature, and the PUC, and the Governor, and the Railroad Commission, and pretty much everyone else in charge of this state. Ten years ago, Texas power plants froze during a fast-moving winter storm, causing rolling … Continue reading →

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So we bail out the electricity providers

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I don’t know enough about our weird electricity market to suggest a viable alternative to this, but it sure doesn’t speak well of our system. An approximately $2.5 billion plan to bail out Texas’ distressed electricity market from … Continue reading →

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SCoTX punts on ERCOT lawsuit question

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Wimpy. The Texas Supreme Court punted Friday on a question dogging millions of Texans affected by last month’s catastrophic power failure: Can ERCOT, the state’s grid manager, be sued? The state’s highest court ruled 5-4 that it won’t decide — … Continue reading →

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The opening bid on power outage response

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad, but there’s a long way to go and not a lot of detail just yet. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Monday announced seven priority bills responding to the winter weather crisis last month that left millions of … Continue reading →

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ERCOT’s overcharges

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas made a $16 billion error in pricing during the week of the winter storm that caused power outages across the state, according to a filing by its market monitor. Potomac Economics, the independent … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Griddy

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Bandwagon time. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Monday against electricity retailer Griddy, claiming it misled customers using deceptive business practices after some customers reported bills costing tens of thousands of dollars. These charges were incurred during Texas’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Suing Griddy

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be interesting. A Chambers County resident filed a class-action lawsuit against electricity retailer Griddy on Monday, accusing the provider of price gouging customers during last week’s freeze. She is seeking $1 billion in relief for affected … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Republicans are determined to learn the wrong lessons from the blackouts

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s kind of amazing, and yet completely on brand. With millions of Texans having lost power during the winter storms, key players in the Legislature say one of the most immediate reforms they will push for is recalibrating the state’s … Continue reading →

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The power to pay more for electricity

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Deregulation really does create jobs. When Texas deregulated electricity markets 16 years ago, the Public Utility Commission created the website Power to Choose to help consumers through the power buying experience. But what was promoted as an easy, free way … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: 2016 Electric Power Usage Update

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: 2015 Electric Power Usage Update

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Use less, pay more

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ain’t utility deregulation grand? More than 70 percent of electric plans offered in the Houston area contain terms that may penalize customers who don’t use a certain amount of power, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of more than 300 … Continue reading →

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Another data point on Uber and Republicans

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Josh Barro. Republicans have hailed Uber, the smartphone-based car service, as a symbol of entrepreneurial innovation that could be strangled by misplaced government regulation. In August, the Republican National Committee urged supporters to sign a petition in support of … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: Home power analysis, 2014 edition

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Davis presses the attack on Abbott’s obstruction on chemical info

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I know, it’s a little lazy of me to do a post based on a campaign email, but this missive from the Wendy Davis campaign is the best roundup of the incendiary chemical disclosure issue and the potential fallout from … Continue reading →

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The Uber debate

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Chron’s op-ed pages featured a point/counterpoint on Uber and its push to enter the Houston market, which would require changes to various city ordinances. Here’s the pro-Uber piece: Imagine it’s Friday … Continue reading →

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Uber

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mark me in favor of this. A smartphone app could be the subject of the year’s most spirited regulatory battle at City Hall, as lobbyists line up for a fight that pits taxicab companies against a car-service technology company called … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Will we have enough power?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not. From the EDF. It’s understandable that no one seems to have noticed a strongly worded letter to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) last Monday demanding more action to … Continue reading →

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The epic fail of utility deregulation

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Surely no one is surprised by this. The winners and losers in the nation’s wave of utility deregulation are clear. The winners? Shareholders and executives. The losers? Customers and workers. Over a decade of deregulation, the frequency and duration of … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: Energy pricing 2012

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is a guest post that follows up on an earlier guest post. Last year, I wrote a guest article for Off The Kuff where I discussed the complexity of trying to get a good price on your electric bill. … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

San Antonio chooses its solar provider

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Under a bright winter sun Wednesday, CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby introduced the companies selected to build one of the country’s largest solar projects and a solar manufacturing plant in San Antonio, an investment of more than $100 million. … Continue reading →

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On getting the best deal with variable electric rates

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Note: The following was written by my friend Dan Wallach, who thought I might be interested in sharing it here. He was right. My thanks to Dan for putting this together. Everybody in Houston has the ability to select any … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

There’s more than one way to do it

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting story about the different approaches being taken by Austin and San Antonio to draw clean energy jobs to their towns. While Austin has taken the traditional route of offering various types of incentives to help create a market … Continue reading →

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New frontiers in sports branding

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Would you like your electrons in burnt orange or maroon? In a deal put together by sponsorship broker IMG College and Branded Retail Energy, a Dallas-based company that markets electricity through affinity partnerships, the schools will create university-branded power companies. … Continue reading →

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Brown’s energy plan

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Completing our trifecta of Mayoral policy examinations, we come now to Peter Brown’s energy plan. As with other policy matters, Brown goes into more detail than the others – David Ortez recently wrote that Brown is “winning the policy campaign”, … Continue reading →

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Tuition reregulation passes the Senate

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Off to the House. The Texas Senate unanimously approved legislation today that would sharply restrict the ability of public university governing boards to raise tuition. The measure now goes to the House. Lawmakers granted boards of regents virtually unfettered authority … Continue reading →

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Deregulation fail

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that electricity deregulation working for you, Texas? In the decade since Texas deregulated its retail electricity market, rates have skyrocketed higher than any other state with such open competition, according to a report released today. Commissioned by the Cities … Continue reading →

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