(Reuters) – Elected officials in Texas said the state should help pay for some of the eye-watering electricity bills sent to residents after the devastating and deadly winter storm that caused widespread power outages.
Texas has a highly unusually deregulated energy market that allows consumers to choose between numerous competing electricity providers.
Some suppliers sell electricity at wholesale prices in sync with demand, which skyrocketed when a record-breaking freeze grabbed a state unaccustomed to extreme cold, killing at least two dozen people and at its peak cutting out power for more than 4 million people; Some 30,000 people were still without power on Sunday, said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
As a result, some Texans who were still able to turn on the lights or keep their refrigerator running had bills of $ 5,000 for just five days, according to photos of bills posted to social media by angry consumers.
The Dallas Morning News said a provider offering a wholesale pricing plan had urged its thousands of customers to switch providers before the storm to avoid high prices, but many felt it would take too long to switch providers.
“The bill must go to the state of Texas,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Sunday in an interview with CBS News. “If they get these exorbitant electricity bills and they have to pay for their homes, fix their homes, they don’t have to take the responsibility.”
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told CBS that both the state and federal government should help with the bills.
US Senator Ted Cruz, who after public outcry had to cut off a vacation trip with his family to the Mexican resort of Cancun, also distanced himself from the free market system he had previously praised.
“This is wrong,” Cruz wrote on Twitter. “No power company should get a windfall due to a natural disaster, and Texans shouldn’t be hammered by ridiculous rate hikes for last week’s energy debacle. State and local regulators must act quickly to avoid this injustice. “
Abbott called an emergency meeting of state lawmakers on Saturday to discuss the issue and said in a statement that they had a responsibility to make sure Texans “don’t get stuck with sky-high utility bills.”
On Sunday, the governor told reporters that the Texas Public Utilities Commission will order electricity companies to interrupt sending electricity bills to customers. The commission is also issuing a temporary moratorium on disconnection for non-payment, Abbott said.
Separately, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has placed civil investigation demands on energy companies regarding the power outages, their contingency plans and pricing, saying the companies were “severely mistreating” the weather emergency.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a major Texas disaster statement that makes federal funding available to people affected by the storm, including assistance for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans.
All power plants were back online this weekend and power had been restored to most homes when things returned to normal, but concerns about the water supply remained, with millions of Texans being advised to boil water before use. Houston officials said the city’s water was safe to use without boiling as of Sunday.
Reporting by Linda So in Washington and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis