Workers repair a power line in Austin, Texas, USA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2021.
Thomas Ryan Allison | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday urged the state of Texas to pay the huge electricity bills that dozens of Texans reported after the severe winter cut power and raised energy prices.
The icy conditions last week caused major power outages and a dizzying demand that left millions of people without heating and electricity. Now, with the resumption of energy in most of Texas, some families are facing utility bills of up to $ 10,000.
“For people who get these exorbitant electricity bills and have to pay to fix their homes, they shouldn’t have to bear the responsibility,” said Turner during an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “These exorbitant costs are to be borne by the state of Texas and not by individual customers who did not cause the catastrophe this week.”
The high utility bills in Texas are due to the state’s unregulated power grid, which is almost cut off from the rest of the country. In the market-oriented system, customers choose their own energy suppliers. In many cases, when demand increases, prices also increase.
The Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), which manages energy for about 90% of the state, was not prepared for the cold conditions and the increased demand for energy as people tried to heat their homes.
“Everything that happened last week was predictable and preventable. Our system in Texas was designed for the summer heat and not necessarily a winter event,” said Turner.
“Climate change is real and these major storms can happen at any time,” he added. “These systems need to be air conditioned … we need to open the Texas network.”
Exorbitant projects have led Republican Governor Greg Abbott to hold an emergency meeting with lawmakers to discuss how the state can reduce the burden on consumers.
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“We have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills that are a result of the harsh winter and power outages,” Abbott said in a statement after the meeting.
“We are acting quickly to alleviate this problem and we will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions to help Texas families and ensure that they are not stuck with skyrocketing energy bills,” added Abbott.
Representative Michael McCaul, R-Texas., Said on Sunday during an interview with CNN that the state will use the federal government’s humanitarian aid funding to support clients with high payments for public services.
After more than 3 million people in Texas lost power last week, ERCOT said it has returned to normal conditions and restored power to millions of customers. More than 30,000 people in Texas still had no power since 11:30 am on Sunday, according to recent data from PowerOutage.us.
More than 1,300 public water systems have been shut down due to extreme weather and more than 15 million people were under orders until Saturday to boil their water, according to the Texas Environmental Quality Commission.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for 77 Texas counties on Saturday, unlocking federal aid for Texans, grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. The state’s goal is to have all 254 counties under the declaration.