Electricity fears grow in Texas

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Electricity fears grow in Texas

After California's problems, poll registers deregulation concerns

03/11/2001

By Terry Maxon / The Dallas Morning News

The power problems in California seem to be raising doubts in Texans' minds about bringing competition to the state's electricity markets, according to a poll to be released Sunday.

The Texas Poll, a random telephone survey of 1,000 people statewide, showed that 43 percent would put Texas electric deregulation on hold. Another 13 percent would halt deregulation all together.

Under a law passed by the Legislature in 1999, customers of most of the state's electric utilities will be allowed to pick a new provider next year.

A pilot program begins June 1 in which 5 percent of all utility customers can switch electric providers. Full competition in which everyone can participate goes into effect Jan. 1, 2002.

However, as Texas approaches electric competition, California has provided a vivid example about how such an effort can go bad. California several years ago began implementing its brand of electric deregulation.

The first major problems popped up this summer when San Diego electric customers saw their bills double or triple.

This winter, blackouts and tight supplies have plagued customers in much of California, and two major utilities have edged near bankruptcy because they have to pay more for electricity than they can charge retail customers.

Consumer uncertainty

The Texas Poll, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 21 by the Scripps Howard Data Center, reflected the uncertainty faced by Texas consumers.

The survey found that 66 percent believed that there should be more competition in the electric power industry in Texas. Fifty percent favored the state law that opens up Texas electricity markets compared with 33 percent who opposed that law.

However, 61 percent were concerned that Texas could face some of the same problems as California when competition begins in Texas markets, pollsters found. Thirty-six percent wanted deregulation to proceed, compared with the 56 percent who would delay or halt the effort.

When Texans were asked about their existing service, 77 percent said they were satisfied with their current utility, but only 42 percent said they expected to stay with their current company. Forty-six percent said they likely would change companies.

Will bills go down with deregulation? Maybe not, consumers said.

While 38 percent thought they would see a lower bill, 29 percent expected an increase and 24 percent expected no real change.

The Texas Poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning that the results could vary that much in either direction.

Learning from mistakes

The authors of the Texas legislation, the head of the state's Public Utility Commission, the head of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas and top executives for Texas public utilities have said that the state has learned from California's mistakes.

However, they say they will closely watch the results of this year's pilot program to see whether the Texas program needs to be changed or delayed.

TXU spokesman Chris Schein said the utility is encouraged that deregulation and competition have such support when it is such a new concept for electricity customers. The poll was taken before a $12 million public relation campaign kicks off to build support and provide information on the Texas electric choice program, he said.

"Of all the things that I found kind of surprising, it was how many people embraced competition. This is something new. This is something that nobody alive has experienced," Mr. Schein said.

"It's been 100 years since there's been electric competition in Texas, and two-thirds of Texans are saying that this is a good thing. They see that it's good for the state, that it's good for them as customers," he said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/308817_powerpoll_11te.html



-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 11, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ