Texas Senate passes bill to authorize reversal of $16 billion in charges during winter storm
by James Barragan, Dallas Morning News, 3/15/2021
The chamber pulled an unusual parliamentary procedure to file a bill during last week’s bill-filing deadline and then pushed the bill out within the span of less than three hours
This story was updated throughout at 7:49 p.m.
AUSTIN -- The Texas Senate is so committed to reversing $16 billion in wholesale electricity charges incurred in the state’s power market during last month’s winter storm that its members are willing to do almost anything to achieve that goal -- including time travel.
On Monday, the chamber turned back the legislative clock to pass a bill 27-3 authorizing the Public Utility Commission, the state’s top utility regulator, to order those charges reversed. The bill now moves to the House, where lawmakers plan a slow, methodical response to last month’s power failures.
“The Senate has acted,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chamber’s leader who has made reversing the charges a top priority this session. “We are asking the governor to join us and I think if he will say he’ll sign this bill, it may help us get this bill through the House.”
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott declared correcting billing errors during the state’s power failures an emergency item for the legislative session, which ends in May.
Senate Bill 2142 clarifies that the PUC has the authority to reverse the charges, which senators have called a “pricing error.” The bill orders the commission to mandate the reversal of the charges by this Saturday.
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