The Failure Of Electric Deregulation

In their infinite wisdom, the Republicans in the Texas Legislature deregulated many electricity companies in Texas a few years ago. At the time, Texas had some of the lowest electricity rates in the nation. But the legislators assured Texans that the deregulation would result in even lower rates because of competition. They were wrong.

Those Republican legislators were either incredibly stupid or they were bought off by the electric companies. Since deregulation, the price of electricity has done nothing but get more expensive every year.

It has gotten so bad that Texas now has some of the highest electric rates in the United States. "Competition" has given the electric providers exorbitant windfall profits instead of the promised lower prices for the consumers.

Consumers today are subjected to contracts written in language a lawyer couldn't decipher, companies promising low prices and then going out of business, and companies promising one price but charging another higher price.

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) has proposed some rules changes that it hopes will solve some of these problems. The changes they propose would require:

Clear language in electricity marketing materials and contracts as well as an end to "fraudulent, unfair and deceptive" promotional techniques.

Consent by consumers for any plan changes.

An end to automatic renewals.

Plans must be one of four types: guaranteed fixed price; limited fixed price that allows some changes; indexed price that is tied to other rates; and variable price that allows rates to change.

All contracts must be offered in English and Spanish.

Any vagueness in a contract will be construed to favor the consumer.

These are good changes and they should be made, but they will not solve the problem of skyrocketing electric rates in Texas. There is only one thing that can do that -- th regulation of all Texas electric providers.

These companies have shown us they cannot be trusted to operate fairly when deregulated. It is time the legislature acted to correct their mistake of deregulation. The only problem is that the Republican lawmakers are in the pocket of the big energy companies (and most other large corporations).

This makes it important to vote for Democrats in state legislative races in the coming election. They are the only ones that can be trusted to put the consumer first.