Deregulation Jolts Texas Electric Bills

[underpants]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Texas had some of the cheapest power rates in the country when it zapped most of the state's electric regulations six years ago, convinced that rollicking competition would drive prices even lower.

This summer, electricity there is some of the nation's priciest.

Power costs are rising in the rest of the U.S., but everything is bigger in Texas: On a hot day in May, wholesale prices rose briefly to more than $4 a kilowatt hour -- about 40 times the national average.

Prices in Texas have risen since the industry was freed from regulation, but these recent increases have been quite a shock for America's most audacious experiment in deregulating electric power. Five retail companies that sell electricity to homeowners and small-businesspeople have failed. That has left customers facing unexpectedly high bills when they are quietly and seamlessly switched to other, more-expensive retailers.

Still, there is little momentum for big changes. Many Texas officials believe that their system -- lots of elbow room and few binding rules -- will work out best for consumers in the long run. "The system is working the way it is supposed to work," says state Rep. Phil King, the Republican from Weatherford who is chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121625744742160575.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

---

Long article but a good read...oh and there is this too


Not long ago, Texas thought it had the answer. When then-Gov. George W. Bush signed the state's deregulation bill in 1999, he assured that "competition in the electric industry will benefit Texans by reducing monthly rates and offering consumers more choices." The law, which took effect in 2002, left few restrictions on what power generators could charge and what consumers could pay.

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[pnwmom]

80. How is everybody reading this article? Do you all have paid subscriptions?

Because I don't feel like signing up for the 2 "free weeks" and then having to cancel.

[tencats]

84. You can read the full article by going through this link.

Full article can be read by going through digg.com
http://digg.com/business_finance/WSJ_com_Deregulation_Jolts_Texas_Electric_Bills

[peacock]

85. Linky

Thank you!

[pnwmom]

87. Thank you! n/t

[Solly Mack]

107. Just saw this. Glad the link was posted!!!

Sorry for not seeing this sooner

[HowHasItComeToThis]

108. DEREGULATION AND FREE TRADE, JUST THEFT

[hobbit709]

2. Whenever big business is in favor of deregulation

You can guarantee that the consumer is going to get screwed.
Utility deregulation-see our new "low" rates
Insurance regulation-see above
Banks-see above
Oil trading- ditto

[ThomCat]

9. Absolutely! Deregulation means nobody looking over their shoulders

to make sure they're being honest or ethical. Deregulation is always a backhanded way of slipping in schemes to screw customers.
:(

[louis-t]

90. My Dad used to call it "teacher's out of the room"

This HAS been the plan all along. This makes repugs heads spin when I bring it up. I ask "has your cable bill gone down since deregulation? Has your gas bill gone down? Do you LIKE being lied to?"

[MisterP]

133. naw, they just demand tort protection for the corpos n/t

[fasttense]

3. All those republican red necks now paying huge electricity bills.

Pay back is hell.

"On a hot day in May, wholesale prices rose briefly to more than $4 a kilowatt hour -- about 40 times the national average."

The average U.S. household used 10,654 kWh a year in 2001, or 888 kWh/mo. At $4 kWH that would be over $3,500 a month. The average cost of residential electricity was 9.86 cents per kWh in the U.S. in March 2006. I like thinking of those repukes paying through the nose for the privilege of voting republican.

[starchimes]

13. Not all Texans are republican. I for one am not. I have seen

my electric bill go up some in the past few years, but not as much as others. My city opted out of deregulation and you can only get electricty from them. They try to maintain a consitent rate.

[Truth4Justice]

15. Everything in TX is bigger including thier electricity !

[Dr.Phool]

20. But, T. Bone Pickens is coming to the rescue!!!!

As the old adage says, "Beware of oilmen bearing gifts".

He's going to charge you as much for wind power, as they do for gas and oil power!

[desktop]

31. Since Pickens was the financier of swiftboating Kerry

He is a proven liar and fraud. I tune out anything he says.

[fudge stripe cookays]

49. Texas is one of the states that might be turning blue AGAIN.

Finger pointing is nasty habit.

Not everyone in Texas is Republican. The Democrats in Texas are some of the bravest and ballsiest people I know.

[raebrek]

101. Of course they are, their from Texas n/t

[TomInTib]

111. LittleMan lost Travis County, and won Harris and Dallas by

It's the Stupid Vote that's killing us.

[AnneD]

127. To paraphrase Johnny Cash.....

(to be a Democrat in Texas) you get tough or die.

Been kicking it old school for 36 years in Texas.

[fudge stripe cookays]

137. You go girl.

Wish I was there to see the change I helped with four years ago! Couldn't handle the heat anymore, and wanted to finish my Midwestern-based book, so moved north to do more research.

Ya'll keep kickin ass for me. :thumbsup:

[AnneD]

144. We're just doing....

what come naturally.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WriteDown]

54. Don't you know??

Everyone south of Virginia is a redneck with a pickup truck who has a gun rack in the back.

[AlbertCat]

58. You get the State Gov you deserve!

I don't really believe that. I get sick and tired of being told I'm somehow responsible for the Bush Administration via the same argument.

Here...to be clear... :sarcasm:

Alas for TX. I feel for you folks baking under that big sky.

[brentspeak]

71. Yeah? And what about all the millions of NON-Republican Texan voters?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

74. Actually, the rural areas are the strong Republican areas.

This effects more the urban areas which is where the majority of Democrats live.

Rural areas are still largely served by co-ops which are not charging as insanely high of rates. So, in this case many of Republican voters are less damaged by the high rates than the Democratic voters.

[FREEWILL56]

136. You might as well kick in a few more dollars and buy solar for that much $.

Rates for buying installed pv systems are generally between $5.00 and $10.00 a watt. This you would own and would produce power far beyond that day as they usually have guarantees between 20 and 25 years on the pvs.
I guess this is a sad state of affairs when a few pukes are robbing all of the other pukes. Crooks robbing the crooks. Too bad some dems are getting robbed too in the process of course.

[napi21]

4. All Texans should keep that in mind when they vote in Nov!

Dimwit Shrub left a lot of scars on Texas that I'm sure are still haunting all of you! I lived there when he put in that stupid "no child left behind" nonsense, and the only thing I herd from EVERYBODY who had kids in school was that the teachers were now "teaching to the test" instead of insuring that the kids actually understood the basics of the subject.

[underpants]

5. Something like 20% of Texas high school grads needed remedial classes their first semester

I remember reading that when NCLB was in the works.

IN Virginia we call the tests SOL--no really we call them SOL Standards of Learning

Inacted under Gilmore I believe.

[desktop]

17. Texas just passed new English standards that 99% of Teachers opposed

Living in Texas myself I am accustomed to the back wards ignorance of a lot of the people here. They have a state school board here that decide what students should learn and what books should be used. They decided English should be taught in a way that 99% of the states English teachers opposed. Add this to their doubling of school graduation credits for athletics like football and you have a state that will continue to graduate dumb asses. It would be a joke if it weren't all to real.

[underpants]

27. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[hobbit709]

6. My comment back in 2000 when W got "chosen"

Texas got double whammied-we got George as president and Goodhair as governor. Everything that's happened since has proved it.

[wilt the stilt]

11. Ironic

That a poor student like Bush tries to set up a system for learning. He is a kid whose Mon taught him by flashcards. That is hardly learning and look what we have. A person who doesn't grasp subject matter. Texas- We wish you would secede from the Union.

[rebel with a cause]

98. I don't wish Texas would succeed from the union (there are

some good people there) Just that all the people that think like George Bush, voted for him in 2004, and still support all the republican policies would leave the country. And I think I am being reasonable with that wish, although I don't know any country that I would wish them on.

[AnneD]

130. Obviously you cannot distinguish REAL TEXANS from FAUX TEXANS.....

REAL Molly Ivins, FAUX George Bush
REAL Ann Richards, FAUX Karl Rove
REAL Bill Moyers, FAUX Karen Hughes
REAL Dan Rather, FAUX T Boone Pickins

Hope this helps.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. Suprise, Suprise! (Gomer Pyle voice) nt.

[mwb970]

48. Citizen's arrest, citizen's arrest! (same voice) /nt

[paparush]

91. Can I get me a uneeform? (Ernest T. Bass voice) /nt

[raebrek]

102. I think you are short one, surprise, surprise, surprise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer_Pyle

edited to add link

Raebrek!!!

[alarimer]

8. Mine is $200 this month.

$169 last month and only $80 in May. Costs per KWH jumped from 13 cents to 22 cents this last bill. My usage has not really increased; I've tried to be careful.

I am so pissed about this.

[HereSince1628]

18. It's not even August yet. I can't imagine what that'll look like when AC season arrives

Of all the things I found remarkable about whacko College Station, the overnight heat of August was one of the most profound. I remember people dropping from the heat during midnight league softball games.

We've not run AC here in Wisconsin at all this summer. Our last month's bill was $80.

[awoke_in_2003]

65. This is Texas

it has been AC season for some time.

[HereSince1628]

132. Texas has 5 seasons the normal 4 plus August. Without AC Aug is apocolyptic

And August was always the season when the fire ants swarmed into the AC and clogged up the contacts on the relay that turned the whole thing on and off.

I spent too many years in Texas not to appreciate that it's in the 90's over much of the state from April thru Sep. Few states have anything like August on the Brazos. I just loved having to wear mittens to protect my hands from the steering wheel of my car, it gave the notion of a "glove box" a unique regional meaning.

[awoke_in_2003]

140. The one pay of is

being able to wear shorts on christmas (oh, and year round motorcycle riding)

[TBF]

24. Consider yourself lucky -

we are in the suburbs of Houston in a 2500 sq ft house. My bill last month was $675 (doubled from the month before). I ran around changing filters, turning thermostats up, and had the AC technicians come out just to make sure everything was functioning properly.

Of course I looked back at last year and the summer (June, July, August) months had spiked then too, but the rates were much lower. In the winter we can have months where it's under $100 because we rarely need to turn on the furnace. So it's just the opposite of the northern states.

With all that said, that deregulation crap is ridiculous and no we don't want GWB back in Texas.

[elehhhhna]

45. my house, houston suburbs alos, 2500 sf, last month's bill: $460

from TXU. Just signed 2 year deal w/ them that caps KWH price at around 16 cents.


2 a/c units, and we have a pool filter that runs about 4 hrs per day.

Are you a Reliant customer?

[margotb822]

75. My mom bought those thermal drapes

They're not particularly stylish, but they do a great job of blocking sun/heat. She said it has made a significant difference in her bill. I guess anything is worth a shot...

[TBF]

106. Yes, I've made sure the windows -

on the front side of the house that get the bright morning sun all have blinds and curtains pulled now. My kids are also home for the summer so I've got to watch the doors more too so they aren't leaving them open if they run outside.

Maybe it was a good wake-up call. I walk around turning off lights now :)

[LeftyMom]

77. 16 cents a kWh! I just checked my SMUD bill- thier higher summer rate is $0.0929/kwh

That's before discounts, etc. My total bill for my two bedroom townhouse was all of $36. And I ran the air a lot, because otherwise the second story gets really hot.

[elehhhhna]

95. where do you live? and can you send me some electricity?

[LeftyMom]

100. Sacramento. And you'll have to pay for shipping.

Maybe Texas should just string a whole lot of orange extension cords up to my living room.

[TBF]

104. We have First Choice power - and it looks like I need to be doing

some cost-comparison shopping. We have 2 AC units & I had forgotten to nudge them up a little (keep them at 70 in winter, sometimes lower, to prevent the furnace from kicking in). I've put them up to about 75 now and I make sure every morning that the windows on the front of the house are blinded so less sun penetrates. We had TXU back in Dallas and I am going to check out their website. Thank you (we are in Pearland)! ;)

[starchimes]

113. These are the rates for Garland, TX

which is a suburb of Dallas. If you live here you have to use Garland Power and Light.

Off Peak (Nov. 1 – May 31)
Customer Charge (monthly) $5.34
Energy Charge (first 600kWh used) $0.0528 per kWh
Energy Charge (each kWh above 600 kWh) $0.0370 per kWh
Recover Adjustment Factor* $0.0644

On Peak (June 1 – Oct. 31)
Customer Charge (monthly) $5.34
Energy Charge (all kWh) $0.0561 per kWh
Recover Adjustment Factor* $0.0644


Current TXU rates for dallas are approx. .16 per kWh

You couldn't get me to move into Dallas now

[rebel with a cause]

99. Here in Southern Illinois we have the best of both worlds.

:sarcasm: Freezing in the winter and burning in the summer. When the ending of the rate freeze hit us in the mid-winter, our heat bills either doubled or tripled. There was an outcry and the government quickly took steps to change the matter. Prices were brought down somewhat, but we still had to pay those super high bills already received. I live in a small house and our bills are outragious some of the time. What I don't get is that when the weather is colder or hotter than usual, the power companies get to charge us more money for the energy per unit they supply us. Don't try to explain it to me, I know why they say they can, I just don't get why they should be able to do this for any reason.

edited because we had a rate freeze that ended and that is different than regulations and the ending of that.

[spag68]

135. NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT

I feel certain that the Crawford ranch of his will be up for sale soon after he is chased out of the white house. Since the real estate market is in free fall, the Saudi prince will bail him out again, by buying it for above market value. Just another little piece of America that the Saudi thieves own. little george will be cutting brush in South America safe from all those nasty prosecutors.

[alarimer]

142. My apartment is about 500 square feet.

Roughly one-fifth the size of your house and yet my bill is just under one-third of yours. I think I got the worse deal here.

[Skink]

86. And that is for about 450 Sq feet probably.

[DemoTex]

10. Maestro, cue the strings!

:nopity:

[groovedaddy]

12. Deregulation & Privatization = bendover & take it in the ass!!! n.t

[Serial Mom]

30. The RAYGUN MANTRA! n/t

[HereSince1628]

14. System is working just as it should...

exactly what is it about redistribution of wealth by overpriced utilities that we don't understand? We are just stupid whiners.

[underpants]

16. DING!

that's why I highlighted it :thumbsup:

[Frank Cannon]

19. Energy deregulation: Making lives better everywhere

When will people finally get hip to this fucking scam.

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. Inelasticity of demand

IT. DOESN'T. FUCKING. WORK.

[Blue_Tires]

33. it works perfectly for the right people...

i don't know who wasn't expecting this eventual outcome...

[notadmblnd]

22. So deregulation was to drive prices lower, instead lower priced companies went out of business...

can they spell ENRON?

[TooBigaTent]

23. Remember all those bumper stickers throughout the south, esp. in Texass, during the 70's...

They said, "Drive fast, freeze a Yankee"

Well, it's time for a reversal. How about, "Turn up the AC. Burn a Texan"?

[Igel]

117. It wouldn't hurt us any more than it would hurt those in Jersey.

Depends on the fuel for producing the electricity, if any.

Texas, at least last fall, wasn't on the national electrical grid and hadn't been (ever, I think). When I read that, it said there were no plans to connect it.

The US electrical grid could collapse, non-Texan prices could go down or up, and it wouldn't show up on my bill. Our grid is self-contained. And, if the WSJ is right, not just self-contained but also partially segmented by region.

Although they *were* talking about linking to the Mexican power grid last fall or winter. I think mostly to provide emergency power--I don't remember which way the electrons would be moving.

[fudge stripe cookays]

138. Don't remember those.

I do remember the ones that said "Welcome to Austin. Now go home."

[Xipe Totec]

25. Many Texas consumers feel competition in the state's energy markets has been a costly failure

From the Houston Chronicle:

When Texas lawmakers agreed to open the state's power markets to competition back in 1999, one promise was on the tip of many tongues — lower prices.

"Competition in the electric industry will benefit Texans by reducing monthly rates and offering consumers more choices about the power they use," then-Gov.
George W. Bush said at the time.

Then-state Sen. David Sibley, who was a key author of the bill, put the promise more bluntly:

''If all consumers don't benefit from this, we will have wasted our time and failed our constituency," he said.

Eight years later, many consumers are calling deregulation just that — a failed waste of time.



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5192807.html

[underpants]

29. Soounds like abuncha WHINERS to me

[lovuian]

76. they failed and stole from the poor business and everybody

this only made these companies rich

[desktop]

26. Texas has the highest property insurance rate in country because no regulation

For quite some time Texas has had the highest property insurance rates in the country, because the insurance lobby has the Texas legislator bribed to the hilt to allow them to charge anything they want. More results from a lack of regulation.

[Phred42]

28. All aspects of Energy Need to be Nationalized

Production, Distribution, R&D

It's a matter of National Security.

We can no longer afford to allow Greed to Trump National Well-being or National Security.

[hedgehog]

57. That may sound like a good idea, but look what's happening here in New York.

A group of private investors want to use eminent domain to run a power line from Upstate down to NYC to carry hydropower from Quebec. The proposed line would end up running through some farm yards on the way. I have a power line on my farm, but it's on the edge and doesn't cut the place in half.

New York State Regulators turned the project down because the local people were united against it. Guess what? The Federal Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor is in the process of approving the line!

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/power-line-pits-citys-energy-needs-against/49812/

http://www.upstatenycitizensalliance.com/


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11761635

[Riddler]

32. Rule of Thumb....wherever a Republican is in charge, the citizenry, in general, gets screwed

[skoalyman]

34. "The system is working the way it is supposed to work,"

of course it is ass back wards :think:

[brentspeak]

73. No, he was telling the truth

The system worked exactly as it was supposed to...for the energy traders.

[mod mom]

35. The Dems need to raise the GOP De-Regulation as a campaign issue.

:mad:

[harun]

55. They need to raise it a tactical way

Saying "woohoo we love to regulate" won't do any good. But explaining how Repub's deregulation was for the sole purpose of making rich people richer and screwing Joe Sixpack will show how Dem's are ideologically different than Repub's.

Showing people that Dem's don't want to regulate because they think they are smarter than private industry, but that they want to protect the little guy from getting screwed.

[depakid]

119. Hard to do that when the Dems have been complicit

Many have gone along merrily for the ride- tarring every other Democrat (and the party in general) in the process.

[mod mom]

121. Certainly the DLC have but this is a chance for Obama to use "change in Washington"

to mean something to people's everyday lives.

[Trajan]

36. Competition .....

Yeah ... right ...

For them: it is always a race to the TOP (prices), or a race to the BOTTOM (wages) ....

They are destroying our nation ...

[LibertyLover]

37. We have the same problem in Maryland

Deregulation has led to very high prices for natural gas and electricity. There is a move to re-regulate the utilities, which of course the utilities are fighting tooth and nail. When deregulation kicked in my utility bill doubled, while my usage stayed the same. And thanks to the law, the power companies can raise rates without the state's public utilities commission approving them, so rates went up another 40% in June, having gone up a year ago by 50%.

[Mnemosyne]

109. NW PA, had my home insulated and cut usage in half, but,

the rate for NG has almost doubled in the last 2 years and my bill never went down. :(

Gawd, I hate these greedy bastards.

[Deny and Shred]

38. Texas energy companies were happy to stick it to California in 2000

and many Texans thought that was just desserts. I guess Texans are seeing where the loyalties of energy companies lie when given a choice between supporting their fellow statesmen and big profits.
Don't mess with Texas... well TexANS are being messed with, by their own bread and butter.
Deregulation WILL cause some firms to fail, the industry to consolidate, and apparently prices to rise. This last part is where this version of the free market deviates from the textbook. Economies of scale are apparently used to stick it to the consumer, not to pass on lower production costs to those consumers.

[Kingofalldems]

39. Deregulation and "at will" employment practices

How did the people of Texas get tricked into supporting this crap?

[RedLetterRev]

96. It's not so much that they "got tricked"

there's a helluva lot more to it that folks can see from the outside.

Lemme 'splain the best I can, and this post is all lovin', no hatin', so readers please take it in that spirit. I'm a very gentle soul and always try to seek peace or offer it where I can. Here goes nuttin'.

I've lived in Texas three times. Let me say this as a born and bred Tarheel; if there's anyplace else on earth I could easily live and love if I couldn't live in NC any more, it's Texas. If there's any people on earth I love as much as native North Carolinians, it's native Texans. They're good folks and a long ways from stupid.

But for a long time, the Railroad Commission, which for some odd reason came to regulate gas and oil, has long been corrupted. It is a mafia unto itself, has its tentacles into everything and wags the rest of government. It's not the Texans who are making stupid and greedy decisions. One can easily and reliably place it on an extremely well-placed, well-monied mafia within the state government. Just as the Jebby-ites have let on about Floridians (and my last stop before returning home to NC was FL), they've pulled a marketing coup to make it appear like "oh, those stupid Texans" just like most of America believes "oh, those stupid Floridians, can't figure out a butterfly ballot".

It's bullshit, pure and simple, designed to cover up criminality on a massive scale. A huge amount of news and real knowledge doesn't get beyond state borders and the oil mafia know it. They've made Dogdam sure.

For example, many Democrats and nearly all Republicans disbelieve that the 2000 election was stolen. I was in FL from 1996 until 2002. I voted in the 2000 election and lived where I could see my voting precinct from my house. It was 2 blocks away. When I walked my dogs at 7:30 the morning after the election, before the first recounts had begun, there were shredder trucks in front of my precinct and video reports on Channel 7 of the same thing happening all over south Florida. Gee, my ballot and thousands of other (conveniently, from Democratic precincts) weren't even frickin' picked up to be counted in the first place! And now, they were being destroyed before they could ever be counted, Katherine Harrison citing some obscure loophole in FL election law.

She knew Dogdamn well those ballots were never intended to be picked up and made sure of it. She also made sure the document destruction company trucks were at each precinct before business hours when for some strange reason she couldn't get couriers there the night before to deliver ballots to the tallying places.

Idnat strange.

That, my friends, I saw with my own eyes. Do you think one INCH of that video ever got outside Florida? Bet none of you ever saw it, but everyone from Boca to Key West did. That's my point. None of that information gets beyond state lines. So all anyone perceives outside FL and TX where Republicans have control of the borders is what they want you to perceive -- that the only reason they're in power is because their constituents are idjits, not because they're the biggest and slimiest crooks on earth. Jayziz said thayz not crooks so their constituents must be idjits, right?

See how it works?

Same thing is going on with Texas. There's a helluva lot of disinformation and I wish we'd listen before we diss. There is a wealth of dirt just waiting to be put together if we can set aside the stereotypes.

I mean, let's examine what political figures have spewed out of Texas that we know about from the outside. Look who's trodden through the Railroad Commission, look at where they are now, and you'll see a trail of destruction, dirty money, mysterious deaths -- it reads like a frickin' Tom Clancy novel, but scarier.

Please don't blame all of Texas for the workings of a small but extremely powerful, extremely corrupt and completely amoral cabal (see Williams, Clements, Bush, Gramm, Pickens, Carol Keeton Strayhorn McClellan whoeverthehell she's shtupping this week to grab more power, et al).

And for the commenter way back up-thread. Easy, there, friend. Not all southerners drive pickups with gunracks. My pickup is usually employed for hauling hay. My gunrack is by the back door, my guns only being used in case I have to protect my partner's assistance dog against critters from the woods. She's a gentle creature in whom we've invested a lot of emotion, training, love and time. There are creatures in the country that could hurt her -- she's like a child to me and she represents mobility and freedom to him. Secondly, there are wide Blue patches in the south. Our very, very rural county has always been Blue, and while I'm only 15 minutes south of a much-much redder Virginia, it's still south, still rural and still very Democratic. Please don't write us all off, k?

Peace. There are huge, huge, clues we're not putting together when we're misdirected into believing how stupid someone else is... just thinkin' out loud and hoping for the best.

:grouphug:

[Not Sure]

129. Thank you.

Great post. I admire your ability to communicate so generously.

I am prone to going off and feeling bad about it later. I have a lot to learn.

[RedLetterRev]

131. Not a problem

The only real strength we have as Progressives now and the only one we'll be able to count on if/when the world truly turns to shyte is the ability to communicate. There's so much disinformation, it's so subtle and it's so easy for us to be lulled by what we don't know. That exactly is what makes it easy for the Wurlitzer to fill in the gaps with horseroar. Be wary.

I got a big face-full of it when I joined the Army some thirtymumble years ago and my fellow soldiers found out I was from NC. You wouldn't believe how many people asked me about Mayberry. Then they found out I was from the mountains. You wouldn't believe how many more people asked me if I wore shoes and if I had to get up at 4am to hoe the grits.

No shit.

AFAIC, the "poor dumb Floridians who can't figure out a butterfly ballot" meme and the "fumducker Texans who keep putting crooked repugs in power despite the entire world knowing the politicians are pure-dee crooks" amount to SSDD. We're all systematically being fed the same stereotype crap that isn't being fed inside those state borders. Believe me, there are battles going on inside those borders about which news isn't getting out. I can only report about it because I've been both places (and escaped). There are a lot of good bloggers here telling the stories (I've been following MadFloridian for several years, and quite a few others). There's a lot more they can't tell because they just can't be everywhere.

Oh, I wish to Dog that someone would/could recover those videos from Channel 7 Miami of those document shredding trucks. I know damnwell they existed at one time, but it's been 8 long years and that's more than plenty of time for more shredding to have occurred. I know equally well that the whole of south Florida also saw those news clips, so somebody, some time is going to revive that story. Of course, that was well before YouTube, but maybe, just maybe there was one VCR going. YNK - Ya Nevah Know.

About feeling bad -- don't. Passion is what makes and keeps us Progressive. It's a good quality to have. A good Progressive uses every situation as a vehicle to education.

B/B!

[jwirr]

40. Deregulation is based on a false assumption that the rich who control

the utilities/economy are sinless and can be trusted to do the right thing but the users are sinners. Thus the rich do not need regulation or laws to protect us against their behavior. Thus our emperor with no clothes is allowed to write signing statements to override any law he does not want to obey.

[Indenturedebtor]

60. Exactly. I'm sure we're all familiar with the devout belief that the Rich are just better people

God made them rich because they are noble and just and faithful :puke:

A lot of people truly believe that!

[jwirr]

114. Those who believe that have not been paying attention. nt

[Indenturedebtor]

115. Or they've been paying attention to the wrong things

There's a steady stream of "A good citizen is rich, patriotic, shops alot, goes to church, has a big house, blah blah blah." Our heroes are rich people who were born rich but managed somehow to get richer. Pfleh.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. Two words should strike fear in any ordinary person's heart:

"deregulation" and "flexibility."

The first is a code word for "crazy pricing."

The second is a code word for "screwing over the employees."

[lumberjack_jeff]

42. Yikes! I pay $0.065 per kwh

Six and one-half cents. Texans pay up to $4. I'll keep my blue state.

[underpants]

50. Yeah that is outrageous

Virginia used to be set at a 18% ROI for Vepco/Dominion Power/whatever they are calling it now

Oh and have you noticed that the power cuts off more than it used to?? Molly Ivins had a great article on the fact that just was no risk in the electricity-it was too reliable so the powers that be (pun intended) made it less reliable and more risky. This was part of the whole dereg/capitalism/how can we make another dime off this process.

[paparush]

43. Republican Free Markets Mean -

Free of Regulation
Free of Oversight
Free of Competition
Free of Ethics
Free of Morality
Free of Common Sense
Free of Long Term Thinking

[oldskool]

44. The DECIDER said you can start by

turning off your air conditioner. I wonder if the WH has the
windows open yet? FU Chimpy!!!

[Tab]

46. Where's Enron when you need them?

Ah, Texas.

[BlueJac]

47. Chalk up another victory for the Dictator Bush!!

Freeing up the market........fucking hogwash. Raping the public more like it!

[Dukkha]

51. My sympathies to the Dem Texans

to everyone else there...

Guess you'll have to sell one of your hummers!

[Avalux]

89. Thanks. My electric bill is outrageous this summer; been super hot so far.

There are people in my city who are living without electricity because they can't afford it - it's a huge problem. Those who drive hummers aren't really affected.

[harun]

52. When are Repub's going to realize this individual freedom they

are toting is only individual freedom for the rich and powerful to fleece those who have no power to stop them?

Then you are individually free to pay them all your money.

[Maestro]

56. Yep. It has been news in Texas for some time.

Glad to see it getting more national attention. The only good thing about this for me personally is that I found Green Mountain Energy. This is my provider, not the cheapest, but at least its cleaner than the others.

[Javaman]

59. I knew this crap was coming around the bend....

Here in Austin, I recently got the opportunity to switch to wind power at a locked in rate for 15 years. I jumped at the chance. Plus, I got a new thermostat from the city and got in to averaging.

I pay 100 bucks every month. Period. During the off hours the power is ticked down and redistributed.

[underpants]

66. Smart move there Javaman

:thumbsup:

[whistle]

61. Enron redux...k&r

[PatGund]

62. Gee, just like in California

They claimed that deregulation would make power costs go down. And with that promise, the voters voted for it.

Instead it opened the market to Enron and the like gaming the system, and increased power costs so badly that it was used as a wedge issue to recall Gray Davis.

Texas now knows what California discovered. Delregulation drives energy costs though the roof

[MindPilot]

116. Now the rethugs in Cali are trying to claim that the reason prices went up

is because there wasn't "enough" deregulation. :eyes:

[PatGund]

63. dupe

[Politicub]

64. Deregulation is one of the biggest boondoggles foisted on the public

Deregulated utilities never, ever results in lower pricing. The utilities talk a good game, but the consumer is the one who gets screwed.

Here in GA, we get the privilege of paying more for natural gas a $20 or so 'franchise fee' for the joy of having gas deregulated.

[Gamey]

67. To all the red Texans....HAHA!

[TheCoxwain]

68. We need Eco Entreprenuer friendly laws

I read an Op-ed piece by Tom Friedman that said in Germany,
Utilities have to buy back the excess electricity produced by
home owners  at 8 times the market price -- I am sure a law
like that will go a long way in helping folks in TX. Apart
from reducing home electricity bills - this will create a mass
market for renewable energy products at the very minimum.  Not
sure if the Big Oil and Big Coal will like that very much.

 

[samsingh]

69. of course the system is working as it should - repugs want the corporations to

make lots of money at the expense of the average folks. and they are! it's working for a repug utopia.

never mind that the costs are out of control. it's good for you! :sarcasm:

[FloriTexan]

70. I live in a suburb of Dallas...

and am with Reliant. My bill for June is $320 for my 1200 square foot home and believe it or not I think that is cheap! We do need some new windows and doors replaced BUT our bills when we were with TXU were upwards of $500.

[underpants]

82. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[ooglymoogly]

72. Look at this way....not only is it a license to steal for the energy

barons, it is a windfall for K Y manufacturers.

[unpossibles]

78. color me not shocked.

of course the free market deniers will do what is expected of them. lather, rinse, repeat.

So how many industries have we seen this happen in now?

[damntexdem]

79. Yeah, the system's working the way King thinks it should:

driving energy prices, and energy-company profits, way up.

Now we in Texas are getting a little of what California got from Enron.

[4_TN_TITANS]

81. It always turns into a Southern = Repub thing to dance on...

Does anyone here know that Nashville is actually BLUE?

[liberal1973]

139. I disagree

The way the Dixie Chicks were treated by the ahole who owns the building they played at in Nashville.

[Overseas]

83. Phil Gramm told Phil King that y'all are a bunch of whiners and would get over it in time. //nt

[OnionPatch]

124. Yep. Those high electric prices are just a mental thing.

[louis-t]

88. Whenever you hear the word "choices" from repugs...

DUCK!!!!!

[benld74]

92. Deregulation = Higher consumer prices Get it now people?

[lurky]

93. If they really thought deregulation would lower prices,

corporations wouldn't be lobbying so damn hard for it. Do you really think they would fight for a policy that would make them LESS money?

[underpants]

94. Maybe they are just true believers

of course until that faith fails you, in which case the government has plenty of money...probably not yours but someone's

[elehhhhna]

97. Dereg= Corporate free-for all, price fixing, and massive violations of

antitrust laws.

[Kingofalldems]

103. Hey freepers--How do you explain this?

Did the repub elite lie to you again?

[AlCzervik]

105. i just got from Houston on tuesday, i visited some friends and they told me their

electric bill for last month was almost $600. I lived in Texas from 1997-2000 and back then our a/c bills would get as high as $250 but hearing what they're paying now was just a jaw dropper.

[McCamy Taylor]

110. It is Enron all over again---plus they are using high prices as excuse to build more NUKES!

[YvonneCa]

134. Yep...

...do they have many "Grandma Millie's" in Texas? :7 Seriously, I feel bad for the people having this happen to them.

[Elidor]

112. "Many Texas officials believe that their system will work out best for consumers in the long run."

It is to LOL.

"In the long run, we're all dead." John Maynard Keynes.

[Maat]

118. Ah, my hubby's business-partners/friends in Tejas ...

Rethuglicans all ... might be inconvenienced by this!

[peanut2010]

120. This country is deregulating itself into the poorhouse

[Scooter24]

122. My house is about 4900 sq ft and my bill comes to about $1100/mo.

with TXU. Pretty high, but with all the things that are running in this place it doesn't surprise me.

My highest bill was $1450, lowest was $800.

[rainbow4321]

123. I do the averaging plan thru TXU

So year round my bill is between $300 and $350..no suprises in July/August or December/January.
They put the amount I would pay if I were NOT on the plan and I've seen it as high as $450-$500. House is 2 story, each story has an a/c unit, 2100 sq ft..no significant trees (none that shade the house)...and it, unfortunately, faces east-west. Pretty sure they skimped on installing the a/c system..it's always given me a headache one way or another. Damn heatpumps.
Looking back, I wish that I had put more thought into the a/c situation when I bought the house--would have looked for a one story with tree/shade coverage and sure as hell not one with all the windows east/west!!

[MadMaddie]

125. I never understood

"convinced that rollicking competition would drive prices even lower"

It makes no sense to me...I think maybe it's true for certain industries but the electric industry is not one of them.

[Skittles]

126. I don't ever remember cheap electricity in Texas n/t

[Not Sure]

128. Why all the Texas bashing in this thread?

You think I enjoy getting fucked by the electric companies so bad that I can't afford to move to another state, let alone just keep up with my other bills? Any merit raises I've gotten at work have not only been offset by higher gas and electricity prices, it's like getting a demotion.

You think I voted for the pricks in the White House? I was one of the loudest critics in 2000 because I'd seen what he'd done in his time here (which we all knew was just a bullshit figurehead turn at the governorship to weasel his way into the White House). I don't claim any kind of clairvoyance, but it was crystal clear to me that if Bush/Cheney got elected, we'd see war in Iraq and higher fuel prices (one hand washes the other, you know).

Maybe it has something to do with growing up in Texas, because I'm not that cynical and I'm not that smart. But everything these bastards do in the name of the "free market" (wake up, idiots! there's no such thing!) is just another inventive scheme to fuck consumers out of their money. Examples? Okay:

Want new roads? Well, we can't pay for them so you'll need to buy a tolltag and pay to drive the roads you've already paid for your whole working and driving life.

Want a lottery? We promise: it won't have anything to do with education because we'd hate to undermine our stellar Texas schools. Whoops! we're out of money, so we're going to use the lottery money. After all, lotteries are the only way you can ensure poor people pay taxes.

It's proven time and again and deregulation was no surprise to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention here.

As I write, I realize I am taking this personally and I'm not your target. I miss Texas, man, I really do. Because this ain't it. Hell, the Texas bashing is justified.

I'll admit it: you guys are right about there being a bunch of dipshits in Texas. These people are lied to every day by all the "news" talk shows and "preachers" on tv and the radio. They are told that anyone who tells them something other than what el Rushbo and Pat Robertson gives them permission to believe is a communist atheist who deserves to burn in hell. And they believe it. There's no shortage of people in my neighborhood trying to "save" me. So yes, Texas is populated with dipshits, but they are a product of a shitty environment. I hold them accountable, but no more than I hold accountable those who keep the schools, tv and radio stupid.

These bad times have a silver lining, though. I'm finding out that there are actually a good number of good people here in Texas, even after you start talking politics with some of them. I've actually seen a couple DU stickers on cars and the Texas forum is proof there are some really bright people a stone's throw from my house.

But they're outnumbered by all the brainwashed dittoheads, born again oppressive religious zealots, and self-styled libertarians who think that the only person in the world worth paying attention to is looking back at them in the mirror. And given these shitty times, some of them are starting to come around. But fuck them. They did this.

Since I can't afford to leave Texas -- and I shit you not I'm at that point most days -- I'll take comfort in seeing those assholes suffer. They get to hold their noses and vote McCain or stay at home and complain. I'll just set the thermostat at a miserable level and go wait my turn to vote Obama. It might change the country, but changing Texas is too much to hope for, which is really disappointing. We still have to suffer with Goodhair and Abbott's anything-goes policies for big business. I'm about ready to give up.

[underpants]

143. Eh just taking shots at the Lone Star state

Texas, never been there but they tell me it is nice, makes a big deal of itself so that brings contempt and ,given the chance, reason to take a shot at their knees.

[Ganja Ninja]

141. That's a tough break for Texans that voted Democrat ...

but it's just deserts for the ditto heads that have been so loyal to the GOP. Maybe now they'll reconsider their assessment of "conservative values".