Texas mayor tells residents to fend for themselves during power outage:Only the strong will survive

In most cases I'm for less oversight. One bad company that runs a power grid doesn't change that.

Power is back in some capacity for most Texans now as it's grid is being restored. Now the state moves to energy price sticker shock as residents deal with ~20x energy prices and utility bills in the thousands of dollars. This is largely due to the variable fee structure in place. This has the potential to hit a some people hard as they also deal with the storm damage to their property.

With the extreme weather, energy usage has soared, pushing up wholesale power prices to more than $9,000 per megawatt hour — compared to the seasonal average of $50 per megawatt hour.

[Looks at history of energy companies in the US]

How many does it take?

Those are all idiots that went with variable rate fees on their power which is just idiotic as hell. They see that .034 cent power and jump on it. It is the same shit people got into when they did variable loans on houses. Can't blame the power or utility companies for something people agreed with and didn't read the contract. So tired of people not taking personal responsibility for their own actions and always finger pointing to someone else when it was their mistake.

I always go flat rate and the last contract I signed was .09 cents for 5 years. I also went with a flat fee on my house. No way in hell I would trust a variable rate on anything.

I will say variable rate fees should be illegal due to the fact people don't actually read the contracts they sign. So to help these people who can't take the time they need to just stop it. Seriously people are amazing what the hell they will sign without even reading it first.

@Xabiss: Yes, that's what I said in my post.

You've been attacking me constantly ITT at a personal level for no reason at all for things I didn't even say, and the second I push back a little bit with a one liner you call me hateful. You're so fake lol.

Texas households face massive electricity bills, some as high as $17K, after winter storm

Texas households face massive electricity bills, some as high as $17K, after winter storm | TheHill

What the hell?

This is fine.

@zaryia:

From the linked article.

"The families who saw their bills spike were reportedly on variable-rate plans"

"That demand increased the price of power, but only those on variable rates directly saw their bills impacted."

No sympathy for those that jumped on the variable rate plans when rates were low, then whine when their rates VARY and go up. Just like the morons that bought homes on variable rate mortgages in the early 2000s, then couldn't pay their mortgage when rates went up.

But, no doubt we will bail out these greedy losers, just like we bailed out all the idiots in the housing crisis.

Privatize gain, socialize loss. That's what we do in the USA these days.

Maybe it's time to set limits and caps on thing like this then. As you stated, 'buyer beware' mentality goes out the door in extreme circumstances like this. Sometimes letting too many people fail due to mistakes causes misery all around, and it tends to bleed into others that didn't make that same mistake.

@HoolaHoopMan: We do! We have power regulations to prevent this situation at the federal level. Texas maintains it's own grid to avoid triggering the commerce clause of the Constitution and thus those regulations.

This is a Texas problem because Texas insists that it is. Texas can join grids in which case it will fall under already existing regulations, or it can maintain a separate grid and implement it's own regulations. Either way, nothing can be done by anyone other than Texas.

Ted Cruz agrees:

@HoolaHoopMan:

I suppose you're right. It would seem the Nanny State is where we are inevitably headed. I'm sure the politicians will bail them all out.

I was implying that if we cap variable rate policies there wouldn't be a need for a bailout. Preventive measures meant to ensure the floor doesn't fall out.

Um, is "variable rate" a common thing in other regions for utility companies? My utility company also uses different rates entirely based on the season and timing (weekend versus weekday, peak versus off peak times), but it's not something a "choice" comes into play. You either pay for power, pay for gas or you don't and you don't get either. There isn't a fixed rate through the year.

Tired of everyday working people asking for handouts when in dire need.

Corporation falls apart. We'll certainly give you a handout, my good sir.

I think I understood what you were implying. The government shouldn't allow citizens to make certain choices because they're not smart enough to make the right choice. And when they make the wrong choice, well, that's when mommy...eh, I mean the government has to clean up the mess.

@Stevo_the_gamer:

I'm not an expert on TX utility rates and arrangements. The article stated only those on variable rate plans are getting the outrageously high bills.

I assumed it was a consumer choice, much like the choice between fixed and variable APR on your mortgage. Yes, you can save some money with a variable rate, when rates are low, but it comes with risk.

Besides, who the **** buys their electricity from a company named Griddy ?!?

Can someone help me understand the whole scene which is going on here?

Probably a lack of regulation. Even being a variable rate it is not expected that at the worst case scenario your energy bill can ruin you, specially when many times this kind of tariffs attracts people with lower incomes. That's loan shark territory honestly.

Talking about lack of regulation there should be made an effort to make contracts more accessible too. Not gigantic documents where corporations try to be as shady as possible.

@girlusocrazy: Well mate I'm not a bot and I was just asking the scene. Can you tell me why Gamespot will consider me as a spammer?
I don't know why it would happen.
Can you guide me on what shall I do to avoid this thing that is gonna happen?

After all you are an old member you must have the good idea about that.

@girlusocrazy: When Texas was in chaos. How did the money and supplies help it out?
I mean to say how did it recover, what was the process?

while i do feel for these people, there's a little bit of "leopard ate my face" here in that the customers CHOSE to go with a company offering variable pricing in the hopes of saving money.

"i bought an energy plan with potentially high risks if energy demand far outstrips capacity, yet i'm shocked my bill is so high when energy demand far outstripped capacity!"

@comp_atkins: Oh, no doubt.

@comp_atkins:

I don't think you have to worry about any of these people getting stuck with the bill. When you have even Ted Cruz calling this an "injustice" there should be little doubt that the bailout is on the way.

After all, we just can't expect people to suffer the consequences of their choices, now can we.

Well, except of course, the people that made the prudent choice to NOT have a variable rate plan. You know, the ones that have been paying a higher rate all along to insure themselves against a rate spike such as this. They will get nothing.

That's a ridiculous position to take. Utilities are heavily regulated and in this case the regulation that allows this type of excessive cost transference to the consumer is fundamentally flawed. It isn't like the underlying cost structure associated the input (fuel) changed over time. That's what the difference between fixed and variable plans are supposed to be about for utilities....not raping their customers in emergencies.

If you want to play that game, then every customer who did not receive electricity should be able to request compensation at that highest marginal rate for the time they were without service from their provider. Let the owners of the assets who failed to deliver the service because they didn't winterize their assets go bankrupt. That would at least level the playing field...but is also absurd.

What is broken here is regulation. Give your head a shake, ffs.

If the utilities are charging beyond what they are contractually and/or legally allowed, then yes, the government should enforce the contract/law.

So my position, that people should understand what they are signing up for, and be prepared to meet those agreements/obligations, is ridiculous?

If you say so, chief. I'm confident your viewpoint will prevail and these people will be relieved of their obligation.

Just seems bizarre to me, but that's Texas for you.

i think that's the point. utilities in texas are NOT heavily regulated, which is why these types of arrangements are even allowed in the first place.

It was 100% consumer choice if you go on a variable rate. This is the same crap when people went on variable rates on home loans and then got screwed. These people didn't read the contracts they signed that said the rate is set on demand. They just saw the 3.4 cent kilowatt hour and thought oh look cheap energy what could go wrong. Those contracts always come with RISKS!

Again people are going to be bailed out because they can't read the contracts they signed.

@Xabiss: even if they signed for a variable rate plan, normally you could move out of the house and into a family members place, a friends or even a shelter. It just take a little bit of foresight and planning. You cant really do that nowadays with covid.

So is Texas doing OK now?

Haven't really heard much from the news after we got our 5 minutes of "Haha dumb ted cruz" off.

Mostly, I believe. Some water restrictions still in place, but things are mostly back to normal.

The insurers are sure to be in for some big Ls.

Really? And what industry or means of production has the government taken control over to save the day? I find it funny those who talk up socialism know **** all about what it actually is. They think it's safety nets or tax breaks. LMFAO.