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Friday, February 4, 2011

Some companies made millions off the Texas blackouts


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wilder@texasobserver.org or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

By Forrest Wilder
Published: Thursday, February 03, 2011
Texas Observer

Read the complete story at this
link

While Texans suffered rolling blackouts Wednesday, some power generators were enjoying windfall profits. Starting around 5 a.m., prices in the wholesale market surged to the market cap, $3,000 per megawatt-hour, and stayed there, off and on, until around noon. Prices are typically below $100/megawatt-hour, acknowledged ERCOT CEO H.P. "Trip" Doggett today in a press conference.

There are still more questions than answers but this much is clear: At best, some power generators around the state raked in oodles of money thanks to the way ERCOT has structured the energy market. At worst, some may have manipulated the market to drive up prices.

In the end, the price surge yesterday could cost consumers tens of millions of dollars, said David Power, deputy director of Public Citizen-Texas. Although residential consumers are typically insulated from temporary wholesale price spikes, "Somebody ends up paying for it," said Power.

Forrest Wilder, a native of Wimberley, Texas, joined the Observer as a staff writer in April 2005. Forrest specializes in environmental reporting and runs the “Forrest for the Trees” blog. Forrest graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in December 2003 with a degree in Anthropology.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some companies?!? You call that news/reporting? Name names, or don't bother.

Anonymous said...

Who are these companies? Or, should you change your name to McCarthy?

Anonymous said...

What is this guy doing telling the truth about water ripoffs? Doesn't he know the right wingnuts can't handle the truth about their new religion of mindless free markets and private sector scamming.

Hell, only government and environmentalists screw people. We all know that. Like our socialist monopoly health care system run by the insurance company lobbyists. Oh, that's right. David Baker and CARD controls them.

Yes, God save the rich and the stupid middle class.

Anonymous said...

Water ripoffs, energy ripoffs, it's all same.

Victimized consumers; predatory corporations.

This is the abortion of free markets the Republican-Tea party will end up turning our country over to. And Americans are naive enough to vote for these people.

Big guns but small brains.