Though Carbon Capture and Storage —“Clean Coal”— is technically feasible, it might be economically smarter to leave the once Black Diamond in the ground. For years, the coal industry has championed “clean coal” as an innovation that could reinvigorate the US coal industry and make it competitive as a low-carbon emitting fuel for the future. Read More
Occasionally, folks ask some good questions when they’re shopping for electricity. Our Texas Electricity Consumer Questions Series tries to clear up the confusion and answers those questions so you can be a better informed consumer. From J. in Sharyland— “Are there any REPs that don’t have high TDU charges?” We understand your frustration, J., but Read More
On hot Texas afternoons about 2pm, you’ve probably noticed the loud buzzing throb as hundreds (if not thousands) of air conditioners kick into overdrive. Most of the summer, ERCOT has enough capacity to serve all that demand without breaking a sweat. But every once in a while when it’s really stinking hot, all that big Read More
In what I consider to be an outstanding move today, the Public Utilities Commision of Texas (PUC) has removed the 1 cent plans from the front page of the Power To Choose (PTC) website. The website, a state sponsored entity, serves as an open marketplace for electricity providers to show their plans to customers. The Read More
This coming January 1 will mark the 10 year anniversary of the end of the reign of the old incumbent Texas utilities and the opening of competition among new retail electricity providers. That means for ten years, consumers in the Lone Star State have been free to choose what kind of Texas electricity plan works Read More
If you’ve been thinking about shopping for a new Texas electricity provider but have been holding off because natural gas prices rise during the summer and so do electricity rates, listen up. Now is still a good time to shop for lower electricity rates. Yes, natural gas prices are expected to rise this summer — Read More
Shopping for a retail electricity provider during the summer in Texas can be frustrating and confusing. And if you don’t have a basic understanding of what drives prices in the ERCOT region, you could wind up paying more for electricity. While learning that sounds complicated, you really only need to know three things when you’re shopping Read More
El Niños bring cool, wet weather in Texas by blowing persistent and extended Pacific jet stream across the state. While this helps kill off hurricanes, it amplifies storm tracks across the southwest and Texas bringing more rain into the Lone Star State — up to a foot or more on average. And this El Niño Read More
The Texas electricity grid is often looked at as the paradigm for wind energy for an electricity grid. And in many ways, that’s absolutely true. Texas achieved another milestone on Thursday night,
I saw this nice little article in the Texas Monthly today as a primer of things customers should know about deregulated electricity in Texas. It’s a great premise, and the three things they listed are certainly things Texas customers need to understand, but I’d definitely expound on a few things that Texas electricity customers should be Read More