AUSTIN, Texas – A recent survey from the Census Bureau estimates that about 7.5 million Texans have had to cut back on necessities like medicine and food to pay their energy bills. Some can’t afford to pay them at all.
After a deadly winter storm in 2021 killed hundreds, the Texas Legislature and Public Utility Commission (PUC) made changes to the way the electricity grid operates. It included requirements for power plants to weatherize their equipment with penalties for not complying. Texans have complained about higher prices since this summer. Experts say consumers are paying the price for so-called “reliability” so a tragedy like that doesn’t happen again.
"Texas, and in particular its electricity market, have been mismanaged for more than 20 years," said Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston. "And so for the past 20 years, the Texas electricity market has been focused on the lowest cost provider, the lowest cost delivered. And that has come at the expense of maintaining equipment and maintaining capital. And so for the next several years, Texans are going to have to pay to rebuild the grid."
Texans are shelling out even more cash because of rate hikes from local providers and the soaring price of natural gas. It’s hurting Hirs' wallet too.
“Last year, a monthly electricity bill might have been $125. And today it's now $190,” Hirs said.
Costs are also rising because of the economy.
“We have inflation that's driving some of the fuel costs which drive higher prices. We also have the ongoing war in Ukraine and the energy crisis in Europe,” said Dr. Emily Beagle, a research associate at the Webber Energy Group. "Now that it's getting colder, people will be consuming more electricity to heat their homes than they may otherwise have been in sort of the shoulder months between the summer and where we are now. So hopefully, [prices] will come down. But it's hard to say because that cost is so dependent on so many of the other these other external factors."
Dr. Beagle added that there are some possible solutions.
“Increasing the amount of renewable electricity that we're producing in the state could help drive those costs down, keep them low in the future, save Texans money,” Dr. Beagle said. "In addition, building more transmission so that we can use all of that electricity that we have get it to where we need to use it, as well."
The PUC blamed higher energy bills on the increased price of natural gas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) added that it also has to do with extreme heat this summer, and the cost of running the grid conservatively.
Texans can try to bring down costs themselves by conserving energy. Both Hirs and Dr. Beagle recommended that consumers adjust their thermostats and install more insulation if they have the means to do so.