Reply #63: Yea. Houston is getting nailed.

[yowzayowzayowza]

Shock: Who benefits from electricity deregulation
http://www.khou.com/news/local/spotlight/stories/khou051212_cd_deregulation.39ade47.html
...
When asked what has happened to the price of electricity in Houston, "The price has gone up over 80 percent since January 2002," said Carol Biedrzycki of Texas Ratepayers' Organization.

What happened in 2002? Texas deregulated electricity, so that instead of just power company, Reliant, there are now over a dozen competing in Houston.

Biedrzycki is an advocate for consumers.

"We were promised that lower electric prices would result from deregulation but that has not happened," she said.

What has happened?

Houston now has some of the highest prices for electricity in the nation at about a $150 a month for 1000 kilowatt hours.

The national average is only about $90 a month

In San Antonio, they're only paying about $94 a month and about $90 in Austin.

How can they charge so much less than all those companies supposedly competing in Houston?

The city governments in Austin and San Antonio own their electric companies. There is no competition.

Yet, Austin Energy brags in its newsletter it hasn't raised rates in over a decade.

What's going on in Houston?

"Somebody's making a bunch of money," said Biedrzycki.

Who? Critics say deregulation is transferring billions from ratepayers to rich investors and big business.

As one example, they point to a recent deal that made headlines in New York.

It involved a group of very savvy investors, some from the east coast, who saw Houston as a potential electricity goldmine.

They bought a several power plants around Houston.

"The deal astounded some people in the Houston energy business. The investors were able to sell the power plants they bought just last year for about six times what they paid for them, at a profit of about $5 billion.

"That kind of profit would be unacceptable in a regulated market," Biedrzycki said.

... More with video. Really surprised to see this on TV!!!