Electricity rates in Texas have a complex mix of factors effecting them. Unlike many other western states, Texas does not have a lot of hydro-electric power so it has to plan to find electricity from another source. With a high population and high average temperatures all summer long, Texas has a unique energy problem that many states simply do not have to face.
With more petroleum reserves than any other state, except Alaska, Texas utilizes coal and natural gas sources for energy as much as is affordable. When the use of air conditioners adds a higher than normal demand to the grid, the back up generators used to make up the difference are powered by natural gas. This added demand on the grid does overflow to effect electricity prices in Texas, and frequently in a negative way. With the majority of the price fluctuations passed on to the end user, the effect on energy costs may end up hurting the consumer financially.
With a high population, high summer temperature and a huge amount of geography to cover the Texas power grid can be under extreme duress at certain points of the year. With a power pole every so many yards, electrical cable and wire in between and clients that may be hundreds of miles apart, Texas presents some very unique and difficult hurdles to overcome.
With rare difficulties to deal with, you can understand that Texas has many unique challenges faces utility providers that are actually trying to keep costs down for consumers. The ultimate solution for the nation, but especially the southwest U.S. is going to be a solar based power generation system, but until that gets here Texans are forced to deal with the challenges as they come.
Never before has the consumer had the tools at hand that we do now, so make sure to use this information to your advantage. - 30558
With more petroleum reserves than any other state, except Alaska, Texas utilizes coal and natural gas sources for energy as much as is affordable. When the use of air conditioners adds a higher than normal demand to the grid, the back up generators used to make up the difference are powered by natural gas. This added demand on the grid does overflow to effect electricity prices in Texas, and frequently in a negative way. With the majority of the price fluctuations passed on to the end user, the effect on energy costs may end up hurting the consumer financially.
With a high population, high summer temperature and a huge amount of geography to cover the Texas power grid can be under extreme duress at certain points of the year. With a power pole every so many yards, electrical cable and wire in between and clients that may be hundreds of miles apart, Texas presents some very unique and difficult hurdles to overcome.
With rare difficulties to deal with, you can understand that Texas has many unique challenges faces utility providers that are actually trying to keep costs down for consumers. The ultimate solution for the nation, but especially the southwest U.S. is going to be a solar based power generation system, but until that gets here Texans are forced to deal with the challenges as they come.
Never before has the consumer had the tools at hand that we do now, so make sure to use this information to your advantage. - 30558
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