Minnesotans furious that they have to pay for Texas' deep-freeze problems

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/04/houston-based-utility-wants-minnesotans-to-pay-for-texas-deep-freeze-problems/

Texas’ deep freeze didn’t just disrupt natural gas supplies throughout Lone Star country—its effects rippled across the country, extending as far north as Minnesota. There, gas utilities had to pay $800 million more than they anticipated during the event, and Minnesota regulators are furious.

“The ineptness and disregard for common-sense utility regulation in Texas makes my blood boil and keeps me up at night,” Katie Sieben, chairwoman of the Minnesota Public Utility Commission, told The Washington Post. “It is maddening and outrageous and completely inexcusable that Texas’s lack of sound utility regulation is having this impact on the rest of the country.”

The gas and electric markets in Texas are lightly regulated and highly competitive, which has pushed companies to deliver energy at the lowest possible cost. But it also means that many companies were ill-prepared when the mercury dropped. To save money, they had skimped on winterizing their equipment. As a result, gas lines across the state—which has about 23 percent of the country’s reserves—quite literally froze. The spot price of natural gas soared to 70-times what it would normally be in Minnesota, and gas utilities paid a hefty premium when they used the daily market to match demand.

In a twist, the biggest gas utility in Minnesota is CenterPoint Energy, a Houston-based company that also supplies a large swath of Southeastern Texas. The company said it spent an additional $500 million on gas that week in February, and it has asked Minnesota’s utility commission for permission to add a surcharge to customers’ bills. The surcharge not only seeks to recoup the additional money CenterPoint spent on natural gas, it also includes 8.75 percent interest. The company expects that each customer would shoulder a burden of $300 to $400.

*snip*

[leftyladyfrommo]

1. The righters around here are blaming gas increases

on Biden.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. First Texas Freezes...

...and refineries shut down.
Then an idiot ship pilot shuts down the Suez Canal, so a lot of Europe's crude supply couldn't get there. (Many countries tapped their strategic reserve and are now buying at high cost to refill. Keeps demand & prices high.)
These 2 events happened before Biden was in office 90 days, and morons blame him.
I'm not shocked. Just disgusted.

[leftyladyfrommo]

8. Actually they blame everything on Biden.

Child kidnapping and blood sacrifice and cannibalism.

You know there is just so much of that sort of thing going on in Missouri. It's rampant I tell you. Rampant.

[OnDoutside]

2. Take them to court.

[Thomas Hurt]

3. but, but, but...freedumb

[struggle4progress]

5. The invisible hand of the free market picks your pocket

And by "free" we mean "we don't pay for our mistakes: you do"!

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. " it spent an additional $500 million on gas that week in February"

So who the fuck actually made this $500M?

They need to forced to disgorge these funds (if this whole exchange ever even happened), or drop their claims that other companies owe them all this money (if it hasn't yet).

This reeks of a typical Texas energy provider scam, and it needs to be investigated by the FBI if you ask me.

[rickyhall]

7. Blue States pay for Texas not having an income tax, too.