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Texas Senate Passes Bill to Subsidize Fossil Fuel Plants

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Will Texas Subsidize Fossil Fuel Plants? The Texas Senate recently passed a bill to increase investment in dispatchable power plants. Find out how this plan to subsidize fossil fuel plants may increase your electric bills. The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 388 on March 19. The bill headed to the Texas House and was assigned to the State Affairs committee. This bill is part of a larger effort to support natural gas plants. It will subsidize fossil fuel energy by giving financial help to builders of new natural gas plants. If passed by the lower chamber, the bill will change how Texas power gets made and used. Furthermore, it creates a trading program for “dispatchable generation credits.” As a result, every electric company that generates power in Texas would have to either own natural gas capacity or buy credits from others. A New Push to Subsidize Fossil Fuel Energy Lawmakers say the bill should help make the grid more reliable. But this plan comes with big risks and m...
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Oncor Smart Thermostat Program Saving Energy

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Can a Smart Thermostat Help You Save? The Oncor Smart Thermostat Program gets you a smart thermostat at a discount. Set schedules for it on your devices and see how you can save energy and money! Keeping your home cool in summer and warm in winter can get expensive. Just ask any Texan, and you’ll verify this fact. The Oncor Smart Thermostat Program helps Texas homes cut those costs while saving energy. The program lets Dallas and other north Texas customers earn incentives for letting Oncor reduce their power use during peak demand times. How the Smart Thermostat Program Works Oncor customers can now sign up for the program through their retail electricity provider (REP). After signing up, the REP connects a qualifying smart thermostat to the program. During high-demand periods, the smart thermostat adjusts slightly to use less power. Therefore, customers stay comfortable while helping to prevent strain on the power grid. The sacrifice is small, and the savings can add up over ti...
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Texas Energy Ratemaking Bills Put On Hold

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What Could These Energy Ratemaking Bills Have Done? Two ratemaking bills passed the Texas House but did not clear the Senate before the session adjourned. Learn why these bills still matter to your electric rates. Texas lawmakers considered making big energy ratemaking bills this year. But in the end, the proposals failed. Two bills aimed at making it easier for Texas power utilities to raise rates moved through the House but stalled in a Senate committee. Even though the bills didn’t pass, the debate matters. It shows what could be coming, especially during another hotter Texas summer. And these sorts of ideas could impact electricity prices in the future. What HB 3157 and HB 2868 Would Have Done House Bill 3157 would have let electric utilities raise rates before a full regulatory review. Utilities could have charged more using interim rates . If the final approved rate ended up lower, the company would have refunded the difference with interest. House Bill 2868 would have all...
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