As many of you are aware, the group “Citizens for Energy Choice,” consistently uses deregulation in Texas as an example of what Florida should strive to be. In April, they submitted an opinion for the Tallahassee Democrat claiming, “When Texas did this 20 years ago, their citizens soon realized lower costs in restructured markets and increased alternative energy production.”
In case you missed it, Bloomberg ran a story earlier this week regarding Texas’s current struggle to provide electricity to consumers this summer. The article states that “wholesale electricity prices have shot up by as much as 21,147% to $3,848.69 a megawatt-hour across the Texas grid. On Monday, they jumped 36,000% to average as much as $6,537.45 a megawatt-hour across the Texas power grid. It’s a record that has turned the Lone Star State into the most expensive place to buy power in all of America’s major markets.”
“There is a very good reason that in the past 20 years no other state has followed Texas’s lead regarding utility deregulation,” stated Joe Gibbons, board member of Floridians for Affordable Reliable Energy. “When utilities are not regulated, consumers get a raw deal.
The grid becomes unreliable and there is no one to hold accountable. Additionally, when the grid does not belong to the utility provider, energy prices soar and that is exactly what we are seeing happening currently in Texas. Vulnerable populations, including the poor and those on fixed incomes, end up suffering and with temperatures reaching record highs, the results could be deadly. It is not a model Florida should ever try to emulate.”
For more info Joseph Gibbons, Gibbons Consulting, 954-684-1880
