80th Legislature: A Good Start, But Not Far Enough On Electricity

State Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) and  State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) have introduced legislation that would allow for some price caps on electricity and (King’s would) reinstate a rate discount program for low-income Texans and provide for some sanctions for companies who fail to market their services outside their home territories.

This legislation would help deregulation work more as it was intended to, according to the authors.

However, consumer advocates say what we all know to be true: it doesn’t go far enough:

Consumer advocate Tim Morstad, an analyst for AARP, said the bills don’t go far enough. He noted that the legislation does create a protected rate for customers or safeguard customers against disconnections during extreme weather conditions.

Some of the more “toothy” electric market bills are those of Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth), who has legislation that would examine re-regulation, and Sylvester Turner (D-Houston), who has several pieces of legislation related to consumer protection and the electric market.