There are utility companies in Texas that offer flexible pricing which offers very low if not almost free electricity when demand is low. Those customers should have understood the other side of that equation.
Those Texans will be on the hook for power prices that at times spiked 9000 per cent.
This is why I spoke out against this plan. The people pushing it said prices would decline. Instead they jumped to near the top in the US. Only way to fix it is to pull it out by its roots.
How readily is that pricing ($ per kWhr) available and known to the electrical (homeowner or business) consumer when he turns on a light or his electrial furnace or water heater? If it changes, how is such notification made to the consumer at that moment?
Or is it like after you filled your gas tank at the pump, you are told the price per gallon of the gas you used (which could be anywhere from $3.00 to $300 per gallon)?
That's why I never get variable rates. While you might pay a little less during low demand, there is essentially no cap to the potential cost. It is very similar to selling short in the futures market. You have some potential gains, but effectively unlimited liability. No thanks.
We were supposed to have fixed pricing since we generate our own hydro power just up the road. But then our bill came and it was nearly double.
We were using alternative heat (propane and kerosene) to keep the house nice and toasty during the outages. There was no need to suddenly use extra watts to heat the already warm house. So, how in blazes was the bill so high, huh? Thieves!
Also, there was no need for any blackouts here. Our subdivision has around 90 houses but those are mostly tourist rentals. There are only 6 houses with full time residents. If the power company can generate enough power to all those houses during tourist season with a/c running full blast to compensate for 110 degree summer heat then they can certainly power 6 houses during a freeze.
Multiply that by the countless other subdivisions with weekend rentals. No freakin’ way should we have been short of power. In fact, they were opening flood gates to send water down stream to help with those hydro plants.
Big fat liars and thieves.