Critics say the bills could lead to untold billions in added costs to customers and minimal benefits while ignoring needed efforts to reduce electricity demand.
by votes of 22-9 and 31-0, respectively. The bills represent a push toward funneling more money to natural gas energy production in the state, which supporters say will improve the electric grid because those generators can essentially come on with the flip of a switch. Lt. Gov.
SB 6 would direct state funds or electricity customer payments to hire one or several entities to build as much as 10 gigawatts — enough to power 2 million homes during peak electricity demand — of what’s likely to be natural gas-fueled power plants that would come online and potentially run for days only in cases of emergency. Schwertner has referred to it as an insurance policy against disaster and argued it’s the only bill that “absolutely guarantees” new, on-demand power generation.
Critics have questioned whether state-funded plants would truly stay offline until an emergency strikes or would instead be turned on more often and interfere with market competition. Opponents have also argued it would be inefficient to let a gas plant sit dormant, and consumer advocates have raised concerns about rising bills for consumers.
“It represents a costly tax on consumers that does not improve reliability,” said Michele Richmond, executive director of the Texas Competitive Power Advocates, which represents natural gas power generators. “Unfortunately, it sends a clear message that Texas does not believe in the competitive market and will result in state-owned generation systemwide.”
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