Houston pays more for the same energy
03:58 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 28, 2008
By Dave Fehling / 11 News
HOUSTON -- Here in Houston, we’re known nationwide for our unbearable summers, but maybe we should be known for the unbearable cost of trying to keep cool.
We continue to have some of the most expensive electricity in the nation, and it may only get worse.
It’s not like this everywhere. Texas is one of only 14 states that has stopped regulating the price of electricity.
The result?
“Rates charged to household consumers have been skyrocketing not only in Texas, but in every single state that has adopted deregulation,” consumer advocate Tyson Slocum said.
It’s now been a decade since Texas lawmakers deregulated the electricity industry, and we’ve been tracking it ever since, hearing your complaints about sky-high bills and confusing contracts. Where do things stand now?
Average monthly bills for summertime usage have made a steady climb and are now at about $220 in Houston. Compare that to the national average for the same usage: about $160.
That means electricity in Houston is 38 percent more expensive. Consumer advocates call the difference startling. “And that is to us is why deregulation is a failure and we ought to think about ending this experiment,” Slocum said.
A failure for consumers but for the electricity industry?
“The industry looks at Texas as a success story,” Platts Energy News reporter Tom Tiernan said. “If you’re a generating company, Texas is a good market to be in.”
It’s simple economics.
Houston is a great place to generate and sell electricity because companies can charge so much more for it than in many other states. The consumer group Public Citizen found that nationwide, power companies have made $4 billion more in profits by being unregulated.
http://www.khou.com/business/stories/khou080528_ac_energyprices.35063d4b.html
