Texan Lt. Governor Dan Patrick blames constituents for giant electric bills: "Read the fine print"

Orwellian statement!

That's like a wife-beater saying he "incentivized her to obey"!

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True. However, there was a point in time where consumers were stuck with bad cars due to unscrupulous sales staff selling junk. Lemon laws were created to protect the consumer from this kind of bad deal. Those people signed contracts, too, but it was determined that they needed some kind of protection.

The point being that this is a good as time as any to investigate the problem in Texas and find a solution that works for both the consumer and the utility company(ies). Nobody comes out ahead if they ignore this issue until the next big storm hits or all these people's lives are ruined because of an outrageous utility bill. Who do you think ultimately pays for that worst case scenario?

 

No. It's just an inference based on the assumption no one really needs power for $9K.

 

Costs of worst case scenarios are almost always socialized one way or another. That doesn't bother me. The consequences and decisions about changes are for Texans to deal with.

 

I absolutely agree that the rest of the country should not be paying for the ignorance of the Texas consumers nor should we be paying for arrogance of the Texas leadership.

The fault lies with the Texas consumer, state of Yexas leadership , and that cabal called ERCOT.

 

There would not be any "incentivization" unless the consumers were educated enough to expect such a situation.

 

The incentive I see is for poor people to opt for the cheaper variable rates. $50 a month savings is enticing to a young struggling family. Paradoxically, these are the least able to pay a several thousand dollar power bill when disaster hits.

 

Yes. By signing, they assumed responsibility for sufficient knowledge to understand the terms.

 

This man and his family traveled to Texas to help out. This is the kind of thing that gives me hope that we can help our neighbors in times of need.

New Jersey plumber drives 25 hours straight — family in tow — to help Texans after winter storm
https://www.theblaze.com/news/nj-pl...mily-in-tow-to-help-texans-after-winter-storm

 

Utilities mean life and death and are/should be state regulated. You don’t gamble with life and death decisions neither do you drive people into bankruptcy, It’s not a government’s job, to make or allow profits on the back of a bankruptcy. If they are, they are fking up.

 

WHY ? Did the Texas utility have a clause in there that said if we cannot produce enough electricity to cover everyone of our customers, we can charge whatever the hell we feel like charging???

 

Yes — variable rates.
They likely did not have a maximum

We saw something similar in the housing crash

It is amazing to see so many conservatives suddenly see what is wrong with the “free market”. Almost like they will kill your whole family to make a few bucks (because they will)

 

Apparently, they can raise them.

 

And you have proof these were?

 

Didn't Obama say that electricity costs would necessarily skyrocket and he meant that as a good thing?

 

The prices were not raised arbitrarily. The contracts spelled out that the cost of electricity was based on the price of the fuel. Both sides knew this. Some gambled to achieve a low price, and managed to win for awhile, but then the fuel prices went up.

 

That's to be decided.
I would not think "read the fine print" to be an exemplary campaign slogan unless the entirety of the Texas Electorate is confined to power company owners

 

I doubt that this was hidden in the "fine print." Concerning variable rate contracts, the fact that the rate will vary based on fuel costs is the very basis of the contract.

 

Of course. That’s not the point. Electricity is life or death. These people will go through bankruptcy. When that happens, they won’t be able to pay local taxes. Meanwhile, as usual, the fed will have to come in and bail them out. Our state doesn’t pull this sht with customers. The state regulatory commission in Texas treated utilities like a crooked slot machine . Why ? They were told that the Arctic Vortex would encroach into southern states. They did nothing to regulate winterizing while allowing a scam deregulation to paralyze it ‘s citizens.

they DIDN’t require winterization..... They might as well had their citizens play Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. It was bound to happen. Obviously the gop controlled regulators don’t give a sht. They’re too stupid to understand science.

 

The proof is in one simple fact. They didn’t winterize the system and were told by the Fed about the increased probability of this occurring. Of course, we’re now discussing finance with a bunch of science deniers. They’ll be some suits of the state, maybe even wrongful death suits, for their incompetence.

 

But by how much is it reasonable to expect rates to vary? I doubt highly that most people expected it to vary by several orders of magnitude, which seems to have been the case here.

Also, I don't think people entering a voting booth fresh from the settlement on their family home which they had to sell to pay their electric bill are in too much of a mood to debate the finer points of contract law.

 

Especially when the market is rigged against the consumer.

 

Find the quote and reference it. Other wise, it’s just made up crappola.

 

For sure..
And, Especially when the state beats its citizens to death that global warming is a hoax and it has no effect on their lives (utilities.)

 

And why should they? the power cos made out like the literal bandits most people now see them to be. Their customers literally freeze to death while they reap record profits. If Texas keeps this up the illegal immigration problem will reverse, people will be fleeing to Mexico so the Cartels will protect them from their own Republican regulators