(Reuters) – Elected officials in Texas say the state should help pay for attractive electricity bills sent to residents after the devastating and deadly winter storm that caused disruptions.
Texas has an extremely unusual unregulated energy market that allows consumers to choose from dozens of competing electricity suppliers.
Some suppliers are selling electricity at wholesale prices that are rising in sync with demand, which has risen while a record freeze has hit an unusually cold state, killing at least two dozen people and killing more than 4 million people. at the top; about 30,000 people were still without power on Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.
As a result, some Texans who were still able to turn on the lights or keep their refrigerators running woke up with $ 5,000 bills for just a five-day period, according to photos of bills posted on social media by consumers. upset.
The Dallas Morning News said a supplier offering a wholesale tariff plan urged thousands of customers to change suppliers before the storm to avoid high prices, but many felt it would take too long to change suppliers.
“The bill should go to the state of Texas,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday. “When they receive these exorbitant electricity bills and have to pay for their homes, to repair their homes, they should not take responsibility.”
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told CBS that both the state and the federal government should help with the bills.
US Senator Ted Cruz, who was forced to interrupt a holiday trip with his family to the Mexican resort of Cancun after public outrage, distanced himself from the free market system he had previously praised.
“It’s wrong,” Cruz wrote on Twitter. “No power company should have wind because of a natural disaster, and Texans should not be hit by ridiculous rate hikes for last week’s energy disaster. State and local regulators should act quickly to prevent this injustice. “
Abbott convened an emergency meeting of state lawmakers on Saturday to discuss the issue, saying in a statement that they have a responsibility to make sure Texans “don’t get stuck with rising energy bills.”
On Sunday, the governor told reporters that the Texas Public Utilities Commission will order electricity companies to stop 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 issued civil investigation requests to power companies regarding outages, their contingency plans and prices, saying the companies had “mismanaged” the weather emergency.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a major declaration of disaster for Texas, which provides federal funding for those affected by the storm, including assistance with temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans.
All power plants were back online this weekend and power was restored in most homes as the weather returned to normal, but concerns remained about the water supply, with millions of Texans being advised to boil water before use. Houston officials said the city’s water was safe to use without boiling since Sunday.
Reporting by Linda So in Washington and Jonathan Allen in New York; Edited by Daniel Wallis