People in Texas getting electric bills for $17,000

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

I almost had the same issue after I discovered a leak at my water meter. The deciding factor on who paid the huge bill came down to what side of the meter the leak was on. It ended up being on the backside so they paid for it.

originally posted by: samuelsson
a reply to: JAGStorm

How tf does something like this happen in a first world country, us none the less.

Same with some extended hospital visits.

To me living in a tiny country with universal healthcare and plenty of green energy this is insane. I know its not the same for a country of 330 million. But the us seems to be spending trillions on relieve that isnt even for americans. When people are dying of hypothermia in texas and have to pay over 100k for a hospiital visit. Its so backwards it beggers believe.

Because we're slowly crumbling into a third world country. There's really no other explanation.

This is not just because of deregulation, so I think they will see some big changes at least as to how the whole variable rates did not hit some higher level stop limit and just increased the prices using most likely an algorithm that freaked out as lets say out of 1 million on the plan only a handful actually used power compared to everyone else using zero electricity.

Texas has a deregulated market for electricity. It is designed so that when there's a shortage of electricity, the price will go up, and power companies will have an incentive to generate more electricity. That deregulated market also allows for the sale of unusual policies like the ones the Marrses have, plans with variable rates for electricity. And those are the customers who are ending up with these sky-high bills. The Marrs family spent hours trying to switch to a different company last week to find one with a more traditional fixed-rate plan. And normally, they would be able to do that. But the storm made that impossible. So they were just sitting there, watching the charges on their credit cards rack up.

So there are a number of companies that provide power that you can set up a plan with. In this case and others with massive bills they were on a variable rate plan which provides really cheap electricity when a lot of people are not using a lot under normal conditions, but something went wacky with millions out of power and just a few using massive amount compared to the zero all the others were using, so all of a sudden 2,000 per day due to the huge difference in use.

At some point I think those bills could be waved as these people did not use massive power, but it is also a weird threat if something like this happens. Maybe it is best just to sign up with a hard price per kilowatt and not some flex plan to save a little.

I have seen water bills waved due to leaks etc, so we will see with these, but it really has little to do with the deregulation part.

originally posted by: TXRabbit
and before some retard mentions anything green or political, this is ENTIRELY on ERCOT. They were given authorization to raise rates and they did so. Exponentially.

Link to Emergency Declaration 202 21 1

Exactly, and the chair and vice chairman among others on their board have resigned, rightfully so. It's been severely mismanaged.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca...

(Bloomberg) -- The chair of Texas’s power grid operator and four other board members have resigned in the wake of the energy crisis that crippled the state’s electrical system.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas Chair Sally Talberg resigned along with Vice Chair Peter Cramton and board members Raymond Hepper, Terry Bulger, Vanessa Anesetti-Parra, according to a filing.

The resignations come as the grid operator known as Ercot and state regulators grapple with the fallout from last week’s blackouts that left millions of homes without heat and light during a severe cold snap. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week called for Ercot leadership, including board members, to step down.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Maybe proceeds will go back to California and New York to help off set the cost of all their people moving to Texas.

What is this King Newsom’s Revenge.

You all can’t leave my state and think you’ll get a free pass...You will pay!

originally posted by: Edumakated
I saw this the other day. In particular, an article mentioning how the cost to charge a Tesla at home overnight shot up to like $900.

I don't know how this is allowed. I get there are savings to be had with pricing tracking to the market demand, but I think most homeowners would rather have consistency. I rather pay say a few bucks more with no surprises than save a few bucks a month only to get slammed during an unexpected surge. If surge pricing is going to be allowed, there has to be some caps in place to ensure pricing is reasonable during periods of unexpected demand.

What is crazy is that if a convenience store or gas station started gouging for bottles of water charging say $10/gallon or a gallon of gas based on demand during a natural disaster, the government would be all over it trying to prosecute but they are going to let utility charge someone $17,000 for a few weeks of electricity during a power outage? WTF?

Surely a generator would be a better option when Mother Nature gets her Medusa on.
Poor feller. Coping a bill of more then a couple of hundred would stoke my fires.
Can’t imagine a situation where 17k is asked for a basic utility. Crazy.

originally posted by: TXRabbit
and before some retard mentions anything green or political, this is ENTIRELY on ERCOT. They were given authorization to raise rates and they did so. Exponentially.

Link to Emergency Declaration 202 21 1

Ercot forced them to raise the rates

This incremental amount of restricted capacity would be offered at a
price no lower than $1,500/MWh.

All entities must comply with environmental requirements to the maximum extent
necessary to operate consistent with the emergency conditions. This Order does not
provide relief from an entity’s obligations to purchase allowances for emissions that
occur during the emergency condition or to use other geographic or temporal flexibilities
available to generators.

After reading that order and the DOE order they sound to be more concerned about emissions than keeping people safe. Ercot was even told to buy out of state if it was cleaner energy.
The punishing $1500.00 would have actually been cheaper than what the prices spiked to. I suspect these interventions contributed to the disaster and will probable come out in the wash.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

No kidding, one poster was lamenting..how can this happen? Anyway, I do have empathy for those affected( I always get confused, is it affected, or effected?)

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

I do feel for them, no utility bill should be able to be at those amounts for normal residential billing.

a reply to: JAGStorm

No, this isn't how it should work.

This is gouging and should be remedied as such. No one should have to face ruin over a #ing electric bill.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

I do feel for them, no utility bill should be able to be at those amounts for normal residential billing.

Yeah, someone should step in and create regulations so this kind of thing can’t happen... lol.

a reply to: fernalley

This
"This incremental amount of restricted capacity would be offered at a
price no lower than $1,500/MWh. "

And this

It’s true that spot, or current, prices for wholesale electricity have spiked by more than 10,000% since Feb. 10, according to Reuters. Based on scarcity of electricity and statewide demand for heat, the governor-appointed Public Utility Commission of Texas originally ordered ERCOT to raise the wholesale price to the state cap of $9,000 per megawatt hour. On Tuesday, the commission reversed that decision, allowing prices to remain beneath that cap.

Source

Makes me wonder where that excess $$$ is going?

hmmm....

Surely nobody would be using this tragedy to make a buck now would they

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

Such a lack of empathy in this statement...

Sad how one group has taken the opportunity to try and make a political example out of suffering people.

As much as this sucks for the people suffering, it is fun to see people completely confused by the concept of unbridled capitalism.

originally posted by: JAY1980

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah well, live by the sword die by the sword... figuratively speaking, obviously.

I’m sure a lot of these Texans were the very ones bragging about the superiority of their highly unregulated energy industry... that is, right up until they got hit with a $1000 a day electricity bills.

But now it’s costing them. So they’re bitching and moaning and calling foul ball.

Reap what you sow... as far as I’m concerned.

Such a lack of empathy in this statement...

Sad how one group has taken the opportunity to try and make a political example out of suffering people.

What are you saying?

Am I personally to blame and unsympathetic because Texans refused to accept a regulated energy industry? Or am I unsympathetic, purely because I dared to point out their refusal to accept a regulated energy industry?

I’m totally confused on what your actually trying to insinuate here dude.

a reply to: projectvxn

Of course it's gouging.

Some people, such as those folks who "resigned", need to answer for it. I wonder how much of a "golden parachute" they got??

This is nothing short of robber baron territory.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

Better option.

Solar panels on every residential house is mandatory.
Our taxes pay for install and upkeep. Add it to infrastructure spending.

Don't raise taxes. Move money from tanks , bombs, and bullets. Add it to the national defense funds.
This clearly makes us weaker as a whole. Does it not?

a reply to: JAGStorm

This is clearly a case of price gouging.

How can it not be?

I think this is price gouging and should be investigated. Just like those guys who bought up all the hand sanitizer and wipes and were almost charged with gouging.