This article discusses the condemnation of former Texas Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea who sought to protect the profits of utility companies by refusing to correct pricing errors following the February grid failure in Texas. The base of the dispute came from ERCOT's decision to hold the price of electricity at the $9000/MWh max for an additional 32 hours after the Texas grid failure had been resolved. This price hike cost energy companies upwards of $5.1 billion, inducing numerous Texas power providers and retailers to declare bankruptcy.
D'Andrea had falsely claimed that he did not have the authority to approve of the price changes while, behind the scenes, he told utility companies that he had "tipped the scales" in their favor as best he could.
D'Andrea also used the fact that the other Texas PUC chairs had already resigned to his advantage, offering Texas lawmakers a unique opportunity to "secure promises" from him as the sole, remaining authority.
Governor Abbot has since asked for and accepted D'Andrea's resignation. It appears the that the price correction is underway, but the clock is ticking. According to the current law, ERCOT has the ability to correct pricing errors up to 55 days after the error.
Gary McWilliams and Kanishka Singh, "Texas AG says retroactive power-price cut okay; regulator ousted", contributed by James Adams, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 5 April 2021, accessed 19 May 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/texas-ag-says-retroactive-power-price-cut-okay-regulator-ousted
Critical Commentary
This article discusses the condemnation of former Texas Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea who sought to protect the profits of utility companies by refusing to correct pricing errors following the February grid failure in Texas. The base of the dispute came from ERCOT's decision to hold the price of electricity at the $9000/MWh max for an additional 32 hours after the Texas grid failure had been resolved. This price hike cost energy companies upwards of $5.1 billion, inducing numerous Texas power providers and retailers to declare bankruptcy.
D'Andrea had falsely claimed that he did not have the authority to approve of the price changes while, behind the scenes, he told utility companies that he had "tipped the scales" in their favor as best he could.
D'Andrea also used the fact that the other Texas PUC chairs had already resigned to his advantage, offering Texas lawmakers a unique opportunity to "secure promises" from him as the sole, remaining authority.
Governor Abbot has since asked for and accepted D'Andrea's resignation. It appears the that the price correction is underway, but the clock is ticking. According to the current law, ERCOT has the ability to correct pricing errors up to 55 days after the error.