[truthandlife]

How updated is Texas' grid?

[CindyDawg]

Is this what Ca. was riled about last year? I didn't understand their complaint but it had something to do with us not sharing at the price they set, I think.

[mtbopfuyn]

Why? Because we ARE the Lone Star state.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

bump.

[ladtx]

Texas. It's a whole other country. (Seems like I've heard that somewhere before.)

[Redbob]

This article leaves out an enormous amount about the historical reasons that Texas in't connected to the Eastern or Western "grids."

Like the story about the crew sent from one power company up to another company's plant on the Oklahoma border, a plant that wanted to be able to sell power to either state and had a cable connection to the Oklahoma grid.

Somehow in the middle of the night, the cable was cut; the president of the first company had sections of the cable cast in clear plastic and made into paperweights for his friends in Austin!

[Redbob]

BTW, I'd be surprised if the reason Texas uses so much more electricity than California wasn't that Texas has so much more industry than California - electricity is used for much more than just air conditioners, a fact you'd never pick out from the article posted.

[taxcontrol]

As a security 'xspert - I have worked with utilities. I have always beleived that the grids need to have several things occur to create a reliable network.

First, break the larger grids into smaller grids.

Second, duplicate the transmission grids so that each substation attaches to two local grids

Third, interconnect the local grids to larger regional grids. Create no less than 9 regional grids.

Fourth, require local grids produce 70% of their demand locally

Fifth, require power producers to connect to a minimum of three grids - both of the two local and the regional grid

Sixth, require that each of the 9 regional grids connect to at least 2 other regional grids.

Seventh, Break power production away from power delivery by requiring utilities to sell off power production facilities. Utility companies would act a bill collectors and distribute funds to power producers

Eight, Break power transmission away from the utility companies by requiring utilities to seel off grid assets. Utilities would own from the meter to the substation but would not own the lines supplying the substation. Grid companies would own the substation supply equipment (no less than two per substation) back to the power plants and grid cross connects. Power stations would only own up to the substation located at the power plant.

Ninth, require utilities to purchase power from the local grid spot market or from the local grid futures market. The grid companies would enforce the contracts.

Tenth, require 24 hr armed guards at all power plants and grid interconnect locations.

My SWAG at the cost impact would be about a 20% increase in the average national electric bill. Some locations like California and NY State would see a higher jump due to an increase in power production facilities. Other states like Texas, Washington, NV would see only slight increases due to the additional grid configuration.

Just my .02

[Willie Green]

Partly because of a historical desire for self-sufficiency and partly because of that famous "Don't Mess With Texas!" attitude.
The local utilities that comprise ERCOT have pledged not to sell their power to interstate customers.

An admirable, but ironic background for a state that has foisted NAFTA dependency and Enron Energy trading on the rest of the nation.
Texas, thy name is hypocrisy.

[jonalvy44]

Texas is very independent-minded, very true. It's also very hot, very dry, and experiencing a boom in population growth from migration, both legal and illegal.

I moved my family from Texas to NY because of this trend. Too often we were placed under drought alert, thus limited use of water. Water is kind of important for survival, as is electricity. Thus, we felt it was time to pack up granny and head to the hills. LOL We prefer the temperate climate of upstate NY and the abundance of water...Must be that Y2K thinking...

[DeFault User]

Sometimes I must alienate friends in the Carolinas talking about the way we did things in Texas. But generally I found it to be true that most Texas communities try to look 20 to 30 years in the future when planning for water, roads and utilities. It's easier now to make that 2 lane road 4 lanes, make the lake large enough for future water needs or build a reliable grid than have to play catchup later on.

[al_c]

Why Texas Has Its Own Power Grid.

Because we can! ;o)

[biblewonk]

Texas rocks because they have a lot of windmills and are building more as we speak.

[Dont Tread On Me Eh?]

unlike, say, New York City or Detroit, whose residents found out the hard way that lots of their power comes from Canada

It was the other way, around, actually - Canadians (Ontarians) found out the hard way that their power is interconnected with grids south of the border. Remember, the focus for Thursday's blackout is in Ohio right now, not anywhere in Canada.

[Texagirl4W]

Morning, MnM. This is an interesting read.

[Delbert]

Welllllll.....The lights at nite are burning bright,
(clap, clap , clap) Deep in the heart of Texas
We've got our A/C when it's a hundred and three
(clap, clap , clap) Deep in the heart of Texas!!!

[Tall_Texan]

"Freeze A Yankee" (circa 1973)

Freeze a Yankee.
Drive 75 and freeze 'em alive.
Freeze a Yankee.
Let your thermostats rise and give 'em a surprise.

Governor Briscoe promised us.
That if a any dang Yankee raised a fuss.
He'd turn off the gas, shut off the oil.
And let 'em all freeze and boil.

Freeze a Yankee.
Allelujah!
Save those confederate credit cards,
The South's gonna rise again!

[The South Texan]

Because we live in Texas and we can kick your ass!

[lewislynn]

June 13, 2003, 11:42PM

Your bills are facing a double whammy
Local gas, electric firms eye rate hikes


By MICHAEL DAVIS and NELSON ANTOSH
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

AT A GLANCE
A sampling of the base rates charged by gas companies in other cities.

Houston
Utility: CenterPoint Energy
Base rate: $9.60
Last change: 1986
Plans: Requested increase to $14.75

Chicago
Utility: Peoples Energy
Base rate: $9.45
Last change: 1985
Plans: No rate changes planned

Denver
Utility: Xcel Energy
Base rate: $17.37
Last change: Reduced to $17.37 a month from $18.14 in 2002
Plans: Remain stable through rest of year

Pittsburgh
Utility: Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania
Base rate: $8.87
Last change: Increased on April 1 from $7.61
Plans: Slight increase anticipated

St. Louis
Utility: LaClede Gas Co.
Base rate: $12
Last change: In 1996 from $11
Plans: No comment on plans


Source: Chronicle survey


Houstonians will be hit with a one-two punch this summer on their natural gas and electric bills if local and state officials approve rate hikes sought Friday.

Citing increased natural gas costs, Reliant Energy asked the Public Utility Commission to allow it to raise the price it charges Houston residential customers and small businesses by 9 to 12.5 percent.

CenterPoint Energy, meanwhile, asked the city of Houston on Friday to approve a 53 percent increase in the base rate it charges residential customers for natural gas, the first such increase in 17 years.

CenterPoint said it needs the hike to cover increased operating and maintenace costs of its system. This increase is not tied to the rising costs of natural gas, the company said.

"After 17 years, our costs have definitely increased, particularly in our utility plant investment and our labor costs," said Georgianna Nichols, president of CenterPoint's Houston natural gas operations.

A residential natural gas bill consists of two components: the base rate, a minimum amount a customer pays even if no gas is used; and a fuel rate, the actual expense the company incurs buying gas to resell to its customers. CenterPoint is allowed to pass its fuel costs to customers.

The base rate now for a residential gas bill is $9.60. CenterPoint wants the city to allow it to increase that rate to $14.75.

On the average bill, the base rate is about one-third of the bill and the fuel costs make up the other two-thirds. The average bill of a customer using 4,000 cubic feet of gas per month is now about $40.83. If the increase is approved, it would rise to $45.47.

CenterPoint is seeking changes in the base rate of all classes of its customers. Large industrial customers would receive a decrease in their base rate if the Houston City Council approves the company's request. The average large user's monthly gas bill will drop from $183.67 to $181.65, CenterPoint said.

Large users are receiving a base rate decrease, the company said, to "lessen the growing disparity between the rates charged to large commercial customers and the actual cost of providing service to those customers."

A base rate increase must be approved by the city council. If the request is approved without delay, it would go into effect on July 18. The filing was made Friday. It was not expected to appear on the city council's agenda for next week.

Some industries that use large amounts of natural gas are struggling to remain profitable as their overhead costs have soared along with gas prices, said Art Gelber with The Gelber Group, a commodities trading firm in Houston.

"Utilities are having to raise prices across the country, and it's going to get worse this winter," Gelber said. "The short-term answer is demand destruction, the closing down of large industrial operations, which is going to add to the unemployment rate."

Last month, TXU Gas Co., the natural gas company serving Dallas and much of North Texas, filed for a similar increase. If granted, its base rate, or monthly customer charge, would increase about $3, from $9 to $12, said Kimberly Morgan, a spokeswoman for TXU Gas.

CenterPoint must file for the increase in every municipality in which it operates. As a result, it will file in the city of Houston first and then make similar filings in the outlying cities in its service area, said Alicia Dixon, a CenterPoint spokeswoman.

A base rate increase will also be sought for customers in unincorporated areas served by CenterPoint. That increase, however, only needs to be be approved by the Railroad Commission of Texas.

CenterPoint's natural gas bills include a fuel rate increase that took effect in February. That increase pushed the average bill for a homeowner up by about 26.5 percent.

The company can receive a fuel rate adjustment automatically from the city and the Railroad Commission twice a year, in February and August.

Natural gas is about twice as expensive now as it was a year ago. At this time last year, the benchmark futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was running about $3.20 per thousand cubic feet. On Friday, the contract for July delivery to the Henry Hub in Louisiana closed at $5.67 per thousand cubic feet, up 6 cents.

Reliant Energy's newest request for a hike follows an increase of 8.2 percent for residential customers, which went into effect in March, a boost that was also based on escalating costs for natural gas.

Since the company is limited to two "fuel factor" increases per year, prices for residential and small businesses in the Houston area will be fixed for the rest of 2003 even if the cost of gas goes above $6.10 per thousand cubic feet, which is the level used in Reliant's latest application.

The current fuel factor for the price of electricity is based on a natural gas price of $4.96 per thousand cubic feet as of last January, while the $6.10 is a New York Mercantile futures average, involving 12 months, calculated during 20 trading days. The January application was based on 10 trading days.

The new rate will go into effect only after approval by the Public Utility Commission, which could occur in late July or early August. The higher rates would then be calculated into customer bills starting within days.

Reliant estimates that a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will see an increase of $9.32 per month, from $101.22, if billed today, to $110.54.


Chronicle reporter Wendy Lee contributed to this story.

[Iwo Jima]

One reason that Texas has its own power grid is the same reason that it has its own air force -- the better to sever ties when Texas once again decides that it should be its own sovereign nation.