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Steffy: Worst of both worlds likely for Texas power consumers

Posted on July 28, 2012 at 12:44 am by Loren Steffy in ERCOT, Electricity, General

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Power Lines near Clear Lake. (Photo: BFS Man)

Texas purports to have a free market for electricity, but to solve the problems with electric deregulation, regulators are turning more and more to a controlled market.
While we’re unlikely to return to the days of monopoly utilities, regulators seem to be encouraging an oligopoly in which market power is concentrated among a few big companies.
Deregulation has been a flop for consumers, but this could actually make it worse. “Deregulation,” of course, was never an accurate term. It was a sales pitch, a way to convince the public of benefits that never materialized.
By the end of the summer, any lingering pretense of a free market is likely to have melted away.
As concerns about reliability mount, the Public Utility Commission is acting much as it would have in the old days of regulation — enacting policies to direct a specific market outcome.
If the PUC succeeds with its plan, improved reliability will come with higher prices and fewer choices for consumers — the exact opposite of the benefits promised when deregulation was introduced more than a decade ago.
“At every stage, they go further and further from competitive markets,” Robert McCullough, a Portland, Ore.-based energy analyst who follows deregulation issues, told me recently.
Last week, I wrote about “voluntary mitigation plans,” one of which has already been approved, under which the PUC will pre-emptively rule on potential market manipulation by big generating companies.
Those plans, combined with the PUC’s earlier vote to raise the price limits on the wholesale market by 50 percent, will give big generators greater potential to control the market.
Meanwhile, the higher prices that are supposed to encourage companies to build additional generation haven’t attracted any new capital.
In fact, NRG, the state’s biggest power producer, just agreed to spend $1.7 billion for Houston-based GenOn, another generating company. NRG President David Crane hailed it as “a new era of scale, scope, and market and fuel diversification in the competitive power industry,” but it’s unlikely to bring many of those benefits to Texas.
Crane, in a conference call with reporters, said the merger won’t result in new generation here.
“We stand ready at our sites to build more as soon as pricing tells us it’s time to build,” he said. “The pricing point hasn’t been there yet.”
Don’t expect it to get there anytime soon.
The PUC already has indicated it intends to double the cap on wholesale rates again next year. If you were NRG, would you be in a rush to build generation when you know you have the potential to sell power at double the current price limits next year?
As I’ve written before, the higher price caps mean more volatility in the wholesale market, which will make it more expensive for retailers — companies that sell you your electricity — to hedge against price swings.
Already, one retailer, Epcot Electric, has gone under since the higher caps took effect. (YEP Energy acquired its customers and assumed their contracts.) More may follow.
In a free market, of course, weak competitors get driven out, but in this case, the PUC is adding volatility to the market and causing a shakeout of smaller retail competitors.
Companies with deep pockets — primarily retailers backed by generators such as NRG and TXU — are better able to weather the volatile market.
We’ve seen this happen before. In early 2009, NRG bought retailer Reliant for a song after Reliant got upside down on its hedges. It was the classic offer that couldn’t be refused. NRG topped that deal by buying two other retailers: Green Mountain Energy and Energy Plus.
Even if the PUC succeeds in driving prices high enough to encourage more generation demand in a few years, the market by then will be more concentrated, less competitive and dominated by a few large players that share pricing power in both the wholesale and retail sides.
That may not be re-regulation, but it isn’t deregulation, either. It’s the worst of both.

ALL CREDITS BELONG TO PEOPLE BELOW.
Loren Steffy, loren.steffy@chron.com, is the Chronicle’s business columnist. His commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Follow him online at blog.chron.com/lorensteffy, www.facebook.com/LorenSteffypage and twitter.com/lsteffy

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Obama Handshake Snubbed by Russian Delegation

LINK

http://www.BestPricedElectricity.com

You didn't see this on our government controlled media.

 Interesting.....they  don't seem to like him......

WATCH CLOSELY.   IT IS QUICK BUT HE GETS THE MESSAGE.  TOO BAD THE NIGHTLY NEWS DID NOT COVER THIS. Watch this 10-second video, where a lineup of leading Russians refuse to shake Obama's hand. Did you see this on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or MSNBC?  I guess I must have missed it. This is "hard ball", Soviet Style.  After the third handshake refusal, it becomes obvious. The facial expression is priceless. I guess we're no longer in Chicago, Toto... Has anyone ever seen a Head of State snubbed like this? Speaks volumes!

ISN'T TEXTING WHILE DRIVING FUN

HTTP://www.BestPricedElectricity.com

The Year Was 1955

THE YEAR WAS 1955.........

  (DON'T MISS THE GUY IN THE BARBER CHAIR ! ) 

NOW FOR A GOOD LAUGH !!!!!!

REMEMBER 1955 ?

57 YEAR'S AGO WOW!

IF THEY RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO $1.00,

NOBODY WILL BE ABLE TO HIRE OUTSIDE HELP AT THE STORE.

WHEN I FIRST STARTED DRIVING, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT GAS WOULD SOMEDAY COST 25 CENTS A GALLON.

GUESS WE'D BE BETTER OFF LEAVING THE CAR IN THE GARAGE.

I'M AFRAID TO SEND MY KIDS TO THE MOVIES ANY MORE. EVER SINCE THEY LET CLARK GABLE GET BY WITH SAYING DAMN IN GONE WITH THE WIND, IT SEEMS EVERY NEW MOVIE HAS EITHER HELL OR DAMN IN IT.

I READ THE OTHER DAY WHERE SOME SCIENTIST THINKS IT'S POSSIBLE TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON BY THE END OF THE CENTURY.THEY EVEN HAVE SOME FELLOWS THEY CALL ASTRONAUTS PREPARING FOR IT DOWN IN TEXAS.

DID YOU SEE WHERE SOME BASE BALLPLAYER

JUST SIGNED A CONTRACT FOR $50,000 A YEAR JUST TO PLAY BALL? IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME IF SOMEDAY THEY'LL BE MAKING MORE THAN THE PRESIDENT.

I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY ALL OUR

KITCHEN APPLIANCES WOULD BE ELECTRIC. THEY'RE EVEN MAKING ELECTRIC

TYPEWRITERS NOW.

IT'S TOO BAD THINGS ARE SO TOUGH NOWADAYS. I SEE WHERE A FEW MARRIED WOMEN ARE HAVING TO WORK TO MAKE ENDS MEET.

IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE YOUNG COUPLES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO HIRE SOMEONE TO WATCH THEIR KIDS SO THEY CAN BOTH WORK.

I'M AFRAID THE VOLKSWAGEN CAR IS GOING TO

OPEN THE DOOR TO A WHOLE LOT OF FOREIGN BUSINESS.

THANK GOODNESS I WON'T LIVE TO SEE THE DAY WHEN THE

GOVERNMENT TAKES HALF OUR INCOME IN TAXES. I SOMETIMES WONDER

IF WE ARE ELECTING THE BEST PEOPLE TO GOVERNMENT.

THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT IS CONVENIENT FOR A QUICK MEAL,

BUT I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THEY WILL EVER CATCH ON.

THERE IS NO SENSE GOING ON SHORT TRIPS ANYMORE FOR A WEEKEND.

IT COSTS NEARLY $2.00 A NIGHT TO STAY IN A HOTEL.

NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO BE SICK ANYMORE.

AT $15.00 A DAY IN THE HOSPITAL, IT'S TOO RICH FOR MY BLOOD.

IF THEY THINK I'LL PAY 30 CENTS FOR A HAIRCUT, FORGET IT.

KNOW ANY FRIENDS WHO

WOULD GET A KICK OUT OF THESE?

PASS THIS ON!

BE SURE AND SEND IT TO YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS, TOO!

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LINK BELOW
Best Priced Electricity

Texas Faces Power Shortages Possibly 10 Years Out

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Texas Faces Power Shortages Possibly 10 Years Out

via Texas Commercial Electricity by admin on 5/29/12

A new study suggests Texas may be having to deal with with power shortages for the next 10 years or so (source:  The Statesman) . These power shortages would happen during peak demand periods each year. So for instance, on a very hot summer or very cold winter you can expect that would be the time when everybody's power goes out.
This worse case scenario occurs because too many people are demanding electricity at the same time. Combine this increase in demand from an expanding population and economy in Texas with EPA actions preventing coal fired power plants from being built. It isn't that Texas wants to pollute the environment, kill the elderly and poison small children.
The fact of the matter is that new coal technology allows for clean burning cheap coal to meet demand for electricity and still let everyone have affordable electricity.
It will always sound great to protect the elderly and the children and like you I want to do this as well but when the elderly and children are used in propaganda by green activists to the eventual hardship of every Texas power consumer someone needs to say something.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has hired an outside consultant that will be delivering a report on June 1 on how Texas can encourage the construction of new power plants.
Right now wholesale electricity prices are too low to attract investors in new electricity generation plants and you have the EPA to contend with if you mention the word, coal.
Remember at one time TXU was planning to create at least 11 new state of the art coal fired power plants and now look at the situation?
For now Texas must work to get more commercial and industrial customers to agree to interrupt their electricity usage during peak demand times in exchange for payment.
A noteworthy aspect to getting businesses to automate electricity curtailment is that in the process they sometimes create complete backup generation systems that can produce onsite electricity through natural gas and remain completely off the grid long term.
Hopefully we will see more off the grid electricity systems that are built for these individual facilities alleviating Texas electricity demand troubles.
You can learn more about commercial distributed generation systems and implementation in Texas by watching the video below.

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Check my website to see if your paying to much for Electricity or Natural Gas. All you need is your last months bill and computer access. First thing after you go to the website is to key in your zip code to see if we service your area. If we do than you can see how we compare to your provider. I am an AMBIT MARKETING CONSULTANT. Ambit's goal is to be the best Service Provider in America. I know the Thompson family personally. Ambit Energy, their motto, “Never sacrifice integrity for growth.”

The EPA causing higher prices for Texas Electricity.

Another Free Market Failure Accusation About Texas Electricity Deregulation

by admin

Mike Norman with the Fort Worth Star Telegram hits on the topic of if Texas deregulation is really working. I assume he places blame on deregulation as the reason for the Texas power supply failure because the title of his article states, “The Texas free market for electricity just isn’t cutting it“. Maybe he is just meaning that as good as deregulation is it can’t stop the EPA and other non-governmental organizations from halting all oil based energy production thereby raising consumer costs. Deregulation being a failure is a popular argument because any time prices go up or supply capacity is reached we hear about it from the political side that benefits the most from this view.

Is deregulation to blame for every time something bad happens in the deregulated Texas electricity market? No you can’t always blame it on deregulation but it is a piece of the puzzle so yes it is to blame sometimes. The main problem with deregulation isn’t inefficiencies building electric grid infrastructure and power production as this gets approved by the state and then shutdown by the EPA and federal government, not deregulation. Texas has broken up the generation companies and such away to allow new investors to come in and build power facilities but not many have filled this hole left open for increased competition. I think new investors have not come in because you are talking about investing in and building highly federally regulated things like coal, natural gas, and nuclear power facilities.  What new investors want to do what TXU just got shutdown by the EPA for trying to do? I see problems with how some retail providers try and use tricks to market their electric rates but regarding power supply being built out the bottleneck seems to be in government regulation still being in the mix too much.

Even if the market was regulated again under one monopoly per electric utility area you would just as easily be able to blame brownouts and blackouts on the monopoly regulated electric utilities just like deregulation gets blamed for things now. I don’t think Mike is trying to place all the blame on deregulation but he is pointing out that you will see an electric bill increase regardless of the provider you choose because of some recent failures in the Texas deregulated market. You see you very likely will find more non-negotiable ERCOT related fees on your electric bill eventually because of lack of electric supply available to meet demand but who is really to blame for this?

Mike explains that a free market should work in theory because investors are encouraged to place their money where the highest return will be received and in so doing offer just enough electricity to cover the demand as well as spikes in demand. In a perfect system the investor is rewarded a maximum profit for producing just the right amount of power with very little waste left over.

The problem Mike sees with the current deregulated market in Texas is that power plants break down or have to be shutdown to fix or maintain it resulting in loss of supply. If Murphy’s Law is in effect and a power demand spike occurs around the same time as a maintenance shutdown all of a sudden there is not enough power to go around for everyone.

These imperfections are problems that political powers bring up in order to fault the great electricity deregulation experiment of 2002. Will this blame game reverse deregulation in Texas? I really doubt that deregulation can be reversed anytime soon. There is huge public support for energy choice in Texas. Many people can show you on their electric bills how they have saved money because of deregulation simply from using our Electricity Bid website.

Is Deregulation to Blame for Lack of Sufficient Power Supply in Texas?

The problem we are faced with in regards to electric power supply in Texas for 2012 is unreliable power supply due to not enough power plants in operation. Is deregulation responsible for this lack of power?

No! In fact TXU was approved for and planning to build 11 new coal fired power plants that utilized clean burning technology and significantly reduced pollution from these plants compared to the old mothballed coal plants from the past. The prior mayor of Houston and Democratic nominee for governor of Texas, Bill White complained in 2010 that these plants were unnecessary but now they seem all too necessary. ERCOT predicts very tight power supplies this summer and this has politicians frantic but I’m sitting here wondering why we didn’t just get started on those 11 coal plants in 2010?

I think what Pat said has a lot to do with our problems…..Pat Ennis with Priority Power Management said, “”I’m not the smartest guy around, but I’d be willing to bet that… we’re not going to have any coal plants built here in Texas for a long time — between the EPA and the environmentalists, coal is kind of a no-no.”

The state of Texas has been contending with attacks from the Environmental Defense Fun and the EPA in regards to an argument that is mainly about the states CO2 emission levels. Instead of focusing their argument primarily on pollution like mercury levels and other scientifically verifiable pollutants they were able to stop 11 new coal fired power plants from being built by TXU because of a global warming argument.

Many scientists and climate scientists non-affiliated or backed by the United Nations IPCC organization disagree that global warming has a negative environmental impact or that man has anything to do with it. Over the last decade their has been a decline in average global temperatures and so to even argue CO2 levels to prevent Texas from expanding their power capacity only serves to hurt these environmental activists causes.

What Can Texans Do to Increase Power Supply?

Does anyone remember back a few years ago when TXU proposed building multiple state of the art clean burning coal power plants? These power plants would have significantly updated the power infrastructure in Texas but the plan was shutdown because of environmental nut jobs. Even though the power plants would have been state of the art cheap coal power with significant reductions in pollution compared to current coal power plants in operation the plan did not go through. The state of Texas must fight the EPA and federal government politically where it hurts and take back our state and its ability to provide power to our citizens.

Even with an unsatisfactory amount of power generation plants built in Texas we have seen a steady increase in large commercial and industrial facilities building on-site power grid infrastructure that are little mini power generators for their companies. These miniature power generators also known as distributed generation systems account for a large portion of the overall electricity consumption in Texas. During peak demand periods in the day these generators can turn on resulting in no need for the state to start rolling blackouts in residential neighborhoods.

Popout

The Texas demand curtailment program has been a huge success. Companies are paid to enroll in a program that they do not even have to participate in when and if they are asked to turn off their power for maybe only 20 – 30 minutes in the span of 1 month. The program is enrolled to it’s limits each time Texas opens it back up. What does this mean? There are likely more than enough large commercial and industrial facilities that would jump at the chance to shutdown production for a short interval in exchange for being paid by the state of Texas to do so. Consider that many large companies like this shutdown once a month anyway to test their back up generators so why not get paid to do this?

Solar generation at this time is not a good option for solving the states problems but has limited uses.  As we have seen, large federally backed companies like Solyndra have not even been able to stay a float because of the expense it costs to produce cheap affordable power using solar. Hey I am a fan of solar but like most people I can’t afford to build a solar off the grid system on my home or business. If I can’t afford the system like most of us why would you think the federal government can? We are at record breaking tax deficits in the beginning stages of an economic collapse and those tax dollars are to be used for things that are considered affordable and have at least a 10 year return on investment. Wind power is a partial option but is only viable to use in combination with natural gas power generation as it can share in the control systems and connections to the grid.

The smart meters, and energy efficiency programs utilities across the state offer continue to assist in teaching home owners how to make their homes more efficient and lower their monthly energy bill. These programs should continue to be encouraged and promoted through local electric utilities that control the power infrastructure.

 I am an Energy Consultant for Ambit Energy. Take your last bill, go to my website www.BestPricedElectricity.com and see if you are paying to much.  Jesse Smith

Ambit Energy for Tomball,Tx

www.BestPricedElectricity.com

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In addition to switching to Ambit and planting trees, you can also conserve energy by checking the quality of your insulation and windows &#151 and making sure your air conditioning equipment is properly maintained

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Report: Exxon Paid NO Federal Income Tax in 2009

Report: Exxon Paid NO Federal Income Tax in 2009

via TreeHugger 

Photo via the Telegraph For Americans, the deadline to file taxes is fast approaching. It's not a happy time for anyone: the inconveniences of hassling through all those forms, the belt-tightening, even corporations are cutting back in order to--what's that? Oh, hm. It appears that ExxonMobil, the biggest American corporation there is, paid no federal income taxes in 2009. Yes, despite record profits of a whopping $45 billion, the oil giant paid zilch in federal income taxes, a new Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Ambit First TV Commercial

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A lightbulb moment is the point where a person decides to get better rates and service on his or her energy bills by switching to Ambit Energy. This commercial shows people sharing their lightbulb moments.

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Ambit has the best Competitive Rates

Jesse Smith of Tomball is your local Ambit Consultant. His Ambit site is www.bestpricedelectricity.com. His phone is 512-739-7676

Versus Incumbent Providers, Ambit Energy Is Still The Best Option.

Consultants in north Texas may have seen a recent article in the
Dallas Morning News about TXU cutting its rates in Texas. According to
the TXU spokesman, this is supposed to be good news. However, the
article also pointed out that TXU's new rates "still remain more
expensive than many comparable plans in Texas."

Like Ambit Energy rate plans, for instance! Despite their rate
reductions, our rates in the TXU footprint are still 13-23% lower vs
TXU's fixed rates.* And the news is good not just in Texas. In
Illinois, Ambit Energy is the only Alternative Gas Supplier (AGS) for
which 100% of its customers saved money over the incumbent Nicor. That
news is reported by the Citizens Utility Board no less – the
self-proclaimed consumer watchdog and opponent of Alternative Gas
Suppliers in Illinois. In New York, we have a price guarantee,
including 7% off the incumbent's supply charge for the first two
months, that we believe has made us one of the fastest-growing Energy
Service Companies (ESCOs), if not the fastest-growing, in the state.

Our goal is to provide our customers with competitive market specific
rates for their energy service. We have some brilliant people
strategically buying power to give you the rates you need to gather
customers effectively. Take advantage of it.

*Source: www.powertochoose.org as of February 2, 2009.

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www.bestpricedelectricity.com Why are you paying to much for your electricity? Ambit Energy has caused a major problem for the big energy providers like Reliant and TXU. Ambit isn't spending millions on advertising,they are all word to mouth. By doing this they can have lower rates. www.powertochoose.org is the state website where the providers have to post their current prices. Go there and compare, then go to my site and key in your zip code to see what Ambit charges in your area. I have been saving about 30% since switching from Reliant. No fee to switch and no fee to quit.

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Rise in price of electricity will likely zap consumers

Sent to you by Jesse C Smith Jr via Google Reader:

Rise in price of electricity will likely zap consumers

via chron.com Chronicle on 5/30/08

Summer has come early for Texans, but it's not because of the weather. The price of electricity already was rising toward records because of climbing natural gas prices. Now it's getting an extra boost from unexpected spikes in the wholesale markets where electricity is bought and sold in bulk.

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Solar Advocates Trying To Look On bright Side

This is a link to a post on this blog where you can enter all your information and find out the cost to go solar.

High costs, lack of support at various levels cloud its future

By PURVA PATEL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Ralph Parrott is optimistic about the future of the solar industry in Texas.
Since he started a business selling solar systems last year, he's fielded more than 500 sales inquiries.
But he concedes the number of actual sales are much lower.
"It's tough," he said. "Solar electric is still rather expensive. Unfortunately, the state of Texas doesn't have the same level of incentives that California and several other states do."

Solar advocates say high costs, a lack of incentives and resistant homeowners associations are clouding the nascent industry's future in the state.
At stake is an opportunity for the state, already a major player in the oil and gas industry, to have a prominent role in the growing $10.6 billion global solar energy market, a May report by the state comptroller's office says.

Advocates concede solar is not the end-all solution for the state's energy needs. High costs still keep the technology inaccessible to many consumers, though opinions differ on just how long that will last, given the rapidly rising cost of conventional energy sources.
But incentives and rebate programs to help consumers realize a faster payback on their investments would help, solar advocates say.
A typical solar electric system for a home can cost between $20,000 to $29,000.
Consumers can take a federal tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of a system, up to $2,000, but the tax break expires at year-end. Federal lawmakers have introduced a bill that would extend the break beyond 2008, but Congress hasn't agreed on how to pay for it.

Some states — but not Texas — offer rebates funded by a surcharge on electric bills and cover about half the cost of solar systems.
Last year, state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, introduced a bill that would create a similar program in Texas, but it never made it out of committee and faced opposition from the Association of Electric Companies of Texas.

Walt Baum, executive vice president of the association, said the group opposed the bill mainly because it would have put the money to fund the rebates in the same fund that helps low-income Texans pay their electric bills — a fund that previously has been diverted for other uses by the state.
"It had nothing to do with us not supporting the solar industry," Baum said. "We had committed to legislative leadership to getting the fund to where it was supposed to go."

Another try in Austin
Coleman said he plans to reintroduce the bill next year.
"To me it's a no-brainer," he said. "I think it's doable. Almost every company that's a fossil fuel energy producer is investing in the manufacture and sale of solar panels. Shell is, BP is, and so are a lot of others. They understand that they have to diversify their business offerings for a day when fossil fuels are not going to be the biggest part of their business."

Providing incentives at the local level in Texas gets complicated, although some governments do. Austin, through its city-owned Austin Energy company, and San Antonio, through its CPS Energy, are two examples.
What makes the offer of local incentives difficult is the state's deregulated system.
Retail power providers in deregulated markets, such as Houston, don't have a strong incentive to provide rebates to solar power users, said Russel Smith, executive director of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association.

"In a competitive market, you're trying to sell electricity in a competitive mode," he said. "So unless there's something that evens the field and gives you, as a utility, a break of some sort, you're not likely to jump on that bandwagon."
Immediate payback
More than rebates, a system that credits homeowners for electricity they produce in excess of what they use would help expand the solar market, some solar advocates say. That's because consumers would see an immediate payback on their investment.

Legislation passed by state lawmakers last year allows consumers with solar systems to connect to the state's power grid and measure production, but it doesn't explicitly require deregulated electric companies to compensate consumers for the surplus electricity they produce, nor does it say how.
Such a program could foster competition, because consumers would shop around for a retail electric provider willing to offer the best rate, according to David Smithson, a policy analyst with the Public Utility Commission.

But some solar advocates say a surplus compensation program left to the market would do little to kindle the industry's growth.
"It provides no guarantee of a return to the investor that we're asking to make an investment in the market for solar," said Tom Fitzpatrick, a consultant for Public Citizen. "So we're trying to stimulate a market to work by having taken care of everybody's interests except the investor's? That doesn't seem like the quickest way to get action."

At the very least, he said, consumers should pay a lower rate if they use any solar electricity. That's because consumers generating their own energy during the hottest hours of the day — when high demand for energy pushes up the price retail electric providers pay for the electricity they sell — indirectly save providers money.
By cutting demand, solar power users also reduce the need to build expensive power plants.

"Even if you don't sell to the grid, because you are not taking as much during the afternoon period, you are a more attractive and profitable customer," he said. "The PUC is basically saying the market needs to come forward and provide solutions for this, but we're not guaranteeing it."
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, introduced the legislation and said he plans to look at stronger wording during the next legislative session.

Incentives will mean nothing if homeowners aren't allowed to install the systems in the first place, said Smith, of the renewable energy trade group.

Statewide, homeowners have tussled with restrictive homewners associations that say the panels are unsightly, hurt property values or violate deed restrictions.
Thwarting restrictions
Last year, the solar industry backed Senate Bill 358 by Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, and House Bill 1651 by Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio. Both bills would have thwarted a property owners association's ability to restrict the installation of solar energy devices.
Though both bills failed to make it to a vote, both lawmakers plan to reintroduce them, staffers for both have said.

Despite all the hurdles, Parrott remains optimistic.
"We are working or waiting on the right message and environment to make the right customers come to us," he said. "Wilbur and Orville Wright failed hundreds of times, and now we all ride airplanes."

What does deregulation means to Houstonians' electricity bills

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Deregulation

For as long as most of us can remember, public utilities have been operated as regulated monopolies. In the last few years, state by state, those utilities have been, or are being, deregulated. What does that mean? Before deregulation, one company provided all aspects of your electric service–generation, sales, delivery, billing, and support. After deregulation, some or all of these components were separated. The rules differ from state to state, but generally speaking, the power plants, salesmen, retail suppliers, billing companies, and delivery companies (the ones who own the poles and wires) are no longer a single company. In some states, like Texas, those are all separate companies now.

Ambit Energy has stepped up to the plate, and now competes as a retail energy company. Furthermore, Ambit Energy has created a dynamic marketing plan that allows its Independent Consultants to gather customers by simply educating their family, friends, and acquaintances about the benefits of rate competition in home energy!

Rather than spending millions of dollars on TV, radio or print advertising, we decided we would rather pay our customers to tell their friends and family about us. It is called one-to-one or network marketing and we believe it is the most powerful business model ever conceived. And anyone can do it.