Texas regulators approve higher gas bills to pay out companies' winter storm-related profits
Oil and gas regulators at the Railroad Commission of Texas cleared the way on Wednesday for $3.4 billion to be paid to natural gas companies by raising bills for ratepayers.
The $3.4 billion is part of the debt that gas utilities unexpectedly owed suppliers after gas prices skyrocketed during February's winter storm and blackout. The cost may be included on Texans’ gas bills for up to the next 30 years.
The move, approved unanimously by the three Railroad Commission members, was the most recent step in a process state legislatures approved last spring known as “securitization.” It essentially turned blackout-related debt owed to natural gas companies and others into low-interest bonds guaranteed by the state.
Those bonds are then paid back over decades by charging higher bills to consumers. The Railroad Commission vote today approved the issuance of those bonds by another state group, the Texas Public Finance Authority.
Read more: https://www.tpr.org/environment/2021-11-11/texas-regulators-approve-higher-gas-bills-to-pay-out-companies-winter-storm-related-profits
= new reply since forum marked as read
