REALITY CHECK - - ELECTRICITY PRICES ARE STILL TOO DAMN HIGH

Another trusted partner has come forward at our request to refute the very recent industry claim that Texas has the most successful electricity retail market of all North America.  Refer back to our earlier posting dated 7 December, 2010.

Recharge Texas is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan consumer advocacy initiative dedicated to reducing the cost of electric power for cities.  It is sponsored by the Cities Aggregation Power Project (CAPP), a statewide non-profit corporation that pools public sector purchasing power to negotiate lower and more stable prices for its more than 100 Texas city and other political subdivision members. CAPP is a successful municipal aggregation project.  Learn more at http://www.capptx.com/.

Read more here about Recharge Texas and its blog posting on this subject made 22 December, 2010.  Be sure to click on the bar chart to open a larger view.

HISTORY OF ELECTRIC DEREGULATION.....

I discovered two excellent, comprehensive and factual reports on the history of electric deregulation in the nation and the state of Texas.  Persons with a serious interest is this matter will want to explore this in-depth reading material.  It is highly recommended.  Both reports challenge electricity deregulation and deem it a failure. 

Public Citizen, the people's voice in the nation's capital, is the organization that has authored one of the reports and the other was written by Mr. Jake Dyer who is with the CAPP coalition of communities project here in the state.  Use the links below to find the reports online:

http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2384
http://www.capptx.com/?q=node/5

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2008, a group of six West Texas cities operating in the state's deregulated market tried and failed to use a bulk purchasing strategy in order to lower rates for their constituents.  The strategy, known as opt-in aggregation, is explicitly authorized by Senate Bill 7, the deregulation law for this state.

However, as the cities of Cisco, Comanche, Dublin, Eastland, Hamilton and Snyder discovered in 2008, the aggregation provision in the law doesn't work particular well in practice.

The cities managed to sign up 1,600 households during an extensive outreach program and then attempted to negotiate a bulk rate power deal on their behalf. But citing the relatively small number of customers, the REPs either decided not to participate or would not offer prices lower than those already advertised on Power To Choose.

Organizers of this effort concluded that they would have been more successful using another bulk rate purchasing strategy, known as opt-out aggregation. However, opt-out aggregation is not permitted under Senate Bill 7.

Source for these facts is CAPP, Cities Aggregation Power Project,Inc.

HEADLINE......Texans Endure Second Highest Electric Rate Increase in the US

Hot off the press......just posted today by the Cities Aggregation Power Project (CAPP) bloger.  Click here to read the story and see the chart.

"URBAN MYTHS" ABOUT RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY......

The City of Houston's website, "Houston Consumer Choice", urges Houstonians to become better informed electricity consumers.  It further states:

• "Informed consumers have saved hundreds of dollars on utility bills according to the Texas Public Utility Commission.
• You should also know your choice of power supplier does not affect the reliability; Center Point Energy is responsible for that. 
•  Consumers must take some responsibility for protecting themselves when the price rises too much.  Some people may prefer to buy the cheapest possible electricity. Others may choose a supplier offering "green power." It's your choice. And remember to conserve energy whenever you can".

That same website addresses quite well many myths associated with 'Right of Choice' all residential electricity customers have.  Learn more about these myths here. 

AN INTERESTING READ.......How to defend higher rates: the Fruit Salad Approach

Mr. R. A. (Jake) Dyer, Policy Analyst for Cities Aggregation Power Project, Inc.(CAPP), a good friend of REAP, is moderator for the blog associated with his organization.  In a recent post on that blog he counters claims made by industry groups here in Texas that deregulation has benefited consumers.  A revealing chart and factual data is included in the article.  Click here to read the article.