Two Texas lawmakers are pushing proposals they said will make electricity more affordable.
Rep. Jim Keffer, an Eastland Republican, and Sen. Wendy Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, said Monday their legislation would affect the wholesale and retail markets.
One proposal would prevent a company from owning more than 20 percent of electric generation in a smaller market. Currently, that limit applies to the whole state market overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT.
The lawmakers also want to let local governments enter into low-rate electricity deals on behalf of their citizens who have not already entered into retail contracts.
Keffer and Davis say changes are needed to make deregulation work well and allow for competition and affordability.
But the Texas Competitive Power Advocates, a trade association representing power generators, wholesale power marketers and retail electric providers, said competitive electric laws have allowed for investment in diverse energy sources such as wind energy. The organization and others representing the industry said Texas electric rates are down to below or near the levels of 2001. Deregulation took effect in early 2002.
Cities Aggregation Power Project, a nonprofit that pools cities' electric power needs and makes bulk purchases, however, cited statistics from the Texas Public Utility Commission showing rates have risen since deregulation.
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Another proposal by the two lawmakers would halt the over-budget market overhaul at ERCOT known as the "nodal" project, which was originally slated for completion in 2006 at a cost of less than $100 million.
