Texas Senate scrambles to advance bill that would force ERCOT to reprice energy charges from winter

[TexasTowelie]

Texas Senate scrambles to advance bill that would force ERCOT to reprice energy charges from winter storm

by Shawn Mulcahy, Texas Tribune


Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hastily convened a session of the Texas Senate on Monday as members suspended their own rules and took highly unusual steps to push through a bill that would force the state’s utility regulator to reverse billions of dollars in charges for wholesale electricity during last month's winter storm.

Senate Bill 2142, sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, had not even been filed when the day started Monday — and the full Senate hadn’t been scheduled to convene. But the bill was quickly read on the Senate floor and referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee for a hearing on Monday morning. With no questions from members and no public comment, the committee passed the bill in a matter of minutes by a vote of 3-1. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, was the lone no vote in the committee meeting.

The full Senate reconvened midday Monday and passed the measure by a vote of 27-3, with one member absent.

"These charges, if they're allowed to stand because of this mistake, will be excessive," Hughes said on the Senate floor. "But it's important: they're not just excessive, they're wrong, they're inaccurate, that's not the accurate price."

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/15/ERCOT-winter-storm-pricing/