Low-income Texans to see increase in electric bills

[SoCalDem]

Low-income Texans to see increase in electric bills
By The Associated Press
http://www.wacotrib.com/hp/content/gen/ap/TX_Power_Prices.html

AUSTIN — About 391,000 low-income Texans will see an increase in their electric bills because lawmakers drained a discount fund to balance the state budget.The Texas Public Utility Commission started notifying low-income homes on Monday that a 10 percent discount on their bills will be discontinued next month."There's going to be rate shock next month when low-income Texans open their electricity bills," said Tim Morstad of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "There is a real concern that eliminating this discount during the peak of the summer could put people in danger of excessive heat."

The average customer pays a 65-cent fee each month on their electric bills to raise about $200 million a year for the System Benefit Fund.But the money will be used for programs largely unrelated to electricity, including Medicaid.The discount fund began in 2002 as part of negotiations that led to deregulation of the electric utility industry in about 75 percent of the state.At its peak, almost 800,000 Texans received a 17 percent discount on their bills. In May lawmakers eliminated the discount, beginning Sept. 1.Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said that shifting the funds is equivalent to a hidden tax.

snip


Carol Biedrzycki, executive director of Texas Ratepayers' Organization to Save Energy, said the program's money should be removed from the state treasury to prevent another raid by lawmakers."It was their job to make sure that money was safe and that it was dedicated to help people pay their electric bills," she said. "There's something wrong when the people you thought would protect the money take it away."


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August 9, 2005 - 1:30 a.m. PDT

[acmavm]

1. Let's see, what do you call people who take money that was intended

for one use, that isn't theirs, and divert it or deprive the intended recipients of it?

Usually their called thieves aren't they?

[SoCalDem]

2. We call them republicans

:)

[acmavm]

3. Yeah. The new definition has to be in that new dictionary I've

been intending to purchase.

[bushisanidiot]

7. Republicans!

they're nothing but cheating, lying, greedy, idiots

[ClintonTyree]

4. This just in: The rich continue to enjoy their tax breaks

We now continue with our regular programming.

[izzie]

5. We need govt. over sight on such things.

But just wait when they get the water.

[Mairead]

6. The money is given by ratepayers as a gift to the needy.

So what we have is gift money being stolen. A poor-box being robbed, as it were.

Surely that's actionable even in Texas!!

[Javaman]

14. The religious rw don't give a damn about the poor...

Meek schmeek, only the rich are inheritiing the earth. The rest of us are getting the royal screw job.

[malaise]

8. Texas loves Bush

they can pray about this. It's God's divine plan for them.

[mrbill]

9. lots of Texans might think you can petition the lord with prayer.

Never thought about praying for my electric bill, it went up 10% last month. Oh lord send us a cold front from Canada.

Do you speak for g*d?

Got a problem with Texas?

[SoCalDem]

10. My electric this month was $331.67..

and almost $50 of it was the little "extras" they tack onto every bill:grr:

[mrbill]

11. $286.17

n/t

[Reciprocity]

27. I'm a Texan, and my bill was $266.66 this month. n/t

[oneighty]

15. Wow

Ours is 68.00 a month or a little less this year. That is for two apartments.

180

[SoCalDem]

16. A 5 ton A/C and being in the desert is pricey

but I need to be cool..no matter what the cost..Life is too short to be all hot & sweaty (for no good reason :evilgrin: )

[oneighty]

18. I bet

our winter heating costs will balance the books. My wife just received a window AC for her birthday. We will be storing it in the shed until next summer I think.

Stay cool you with the 'evil grin'.

Hahahaha.

180

[SoCalDem]

19. In winter we barely ever run the furnace

so it is a trade off:)

[Rainscents]

31. Wow, that's a lot!

I get my bills every other months and my summer months bills is usually $50.00, and during winter months, I pay, $130.00 every other months.

[ekelly]

37. No kidding

We moved just north of Ft Worth in 2000. Came here from Wisconsin.

Everyone kept telling us, "But....there's no state income tax in Texas! It's cheaper to live in Texas! Blah, blah, blah....."

BULLSHIT!

They tax the crap out of us on EVERYTHING!
There are like 10 lines of "extras" at the end of the phone bill, elec. bill, water bill, etc.....

The price of water is outrageous here.

[malaise]

28. NO problem with Texas

I actually have a niece and a nephew born there. I have no gods. I believe in nature.

[Bridget Burke]

17. How nice that you know "God's divine plan"

And how nice that you claim to come from a country with no problems. Let's just ignore the Amnesty International reports.

[Ilsa]

12. The poor can justgo to the mall to cool off. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Until they are arrested for loitering.

Republicans: they steal from the poor to make themselves "look good".

[mrbill]

13. in the 40's/50's people went to movies theatres to cool off.

they were 25-cents back then.

[TahitiNut]

21. Yep. We did.

We also relied on lemonade, iced tea, and lawn sprinklers. Last month, our air conditioning compressor crapped out. With temperatures and humidity in the 90's, I was required to resurrect those old approaches for about a week. Iced drinks, wet towels, low-tech fans, 'casual dining' in air-conditioned restaurants, rides in the car, and retreats into the basement all came into play once again.

[Ilsa]

23. I've done that before, and got stared at.

Well, I was visiting some friends in the Navy in south Texas and their AC was broken. It was about 105 and humid. I put on my swimsuit and sat outside with the water hose running tepid water on me. The household eventually came around to my way of thinking ad joined me on the deck under a hose.

[Katidid]

20. Wonder how the folks in Crawford

are going to feel when their electric bills increase ... most of those folks are "Low-income Texans".

The situation is getting more and more ridiculous ... unbelievable!

:shrug:

[krkaufman]

22. Sounds frickin' criminal to me... n/t

[one_true_leroy]

24. here's what i notice about it...

negotiations are made to foster deregulation and assure that the poorest are not completely shafted (remember enron and california). a tax is levied to collect that assurance (a deregulated private corpo surely isn't going to charity work). fund is stolen. corp remains deregulated, and now makes more money from the poor people. insane.....

i didn't read the article, but are they still going to collect the fee from other users?

[VegasWolf]

25. Once again, gays or non-wealthy people that vote Republican must

be some of the stupidest people on Earth.

[Not_Giving_Up]

26. That explains it

I'm out of work, and was receiving a small discount on my bill (like $15 a month...I live in a trailer and it's HOT here, my light bill has nearly hit $300 this summer). I noticed it wasn't on the last bill.

[VegasWolf]

29. Texas Republicans should just ask God to pay their bills, after all,

he owes them for keeping gays away from marriage.

[lastliberalintexas]

30. Not surprising given everything else that happened in the last Lege

We only thought we'd already hit rock bottom in this state. :eyes:

[BabboonBush]

32. I just feel so sorry for those Republicans.

They are so persecuted all the time and all they want to do is help the poor. You know, "compassionate conservatism." Awwwww, I feel Ssooooooo sorry for 'em.

Probably they went to St. John's with that money or something. AND for sure they parsed it out to their business/energy cronies.

[AnneD]

33. I always give extra ...

when I pay because cooling is almost a medical necessity for elderly and medically fragile in this hot climate. I will not give if they feel they can mis appropriate. I am so pizzed about this session. It has been one of the most mean spirited group(mainly GOP) I have ever gone before in testimony. We are still fighting a stupid med bill that has the potential to kill school kids. I think they need to be taken out back and put out of their misery.

[SoCalDem]

34. We do too. we are on "level-pay" which is fantastic

that way we don;t get blindsided by fluctuating bills.. Our settlement month is November, and i usually have a few hundred extra paid, so i get a refund check from Edison every year..just before Xmas:)

[tibbir]

35. Great. Another wonderful thing inflicted on those least able to pay

by our current legislature. I'm one of the Texans who'll be affected by the change. Those assholes ought to rot in hell.

[PassingFair]

36. That's OK! High energy prices will encourage

folks to CONSERVE ENERGY!

SEE! It's a WIN WIN!

May I have another Kool-Aid, please? I get headaches when I don't get my kool-aid....

[SoCalDem]

38. Funny story about conservation..

A few years back we got an "official" notice that since we were in the midst of a (forever) drought, water rates would be going up dramatically, if people did not conserve. They included a brochure with all kinds of nifty ideas on how to save water..We were told that unless we all conserved, the rates would practically double.

2 or 3 months pass, and there's an article in the paper that says that "due to the fact that people were using way less water than anticipated, there would be a rate increase to cover the :lost revenues"..

:crazy:

[NYC]

39. That happened to us with electricity.

Quite a few years ago.