TCAP Current Issue 54
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TCAP Current
Issue 54 | April 2019

Lawmakers have filed more than 6,000 bills since convening in Austin on Jan. 8 for the 86th Texas Legislature. By our calculation, more than 100 of these bills relate to gas or electricity.

We’ve kept our eye on several, especially those with implications for energy reliability, affordability and safety. Here are a few on our radar:

  • House Bill 1767 and Senate Bill 1513. These bills would direct the Texas Railroad Commission to presume the cost of employee compensation and benefits are reasonable and necessary for gas rate-setting purposes if those expenses are consistent with recent market compensation studies. Although this may sound reasonable on its face, our analysis shows this legislation, if adopted, could lead to higher-than-necessary gas utility rates. The Texas Railroad Commission also has limited the use of financial-based market compensation studies in the manner contemplated by these bills. HB 1767 has been adopted by the Texas House. SB 1513 awaits a hearing in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee.

  • Senate Bill 1941. This bill would allow a transmission and distribution utility to enter into an agreement with a generator to provide power from an energy storage facility. This legislation stems from a recommendation by the Texas Public Utility Commission that lately has contended with thorny requests from regulated transmission utilities seeking permission to operate utility-scale batteries. The Senate adopted SB 1941 on April 17.

  • House Bill 864 and House Bill 866. These two bills are among a dozen or so filed by Rep. Rafael Anchia in response to a 2018 gas explosion that killed a 12-year-old girl in Dallas. HB 864 relates to reporting requirements for pipeline incidents. HB 866 relates to the replacement of gas pipelines with plastic pipes. Both bills have received approval from the House Energy Resources Committee.

  • House Bill 1408. This legislation would bar the state from operating "a website that lists retail electric service plans or providers for the purpose of enabling or assisting a customer’s selection of a retail electric service plan." This describes a key function of PowerToChoose.org, the state-sponsored website for electricity shopping. HB 1408 has drawn fire from the consumer watchdog for The Dallas Morning News, who has noted that the bill would effectively kill the powertochoose website that over the years has benefitted consumers. This is our view also. HB 1408 awaits a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee.

Keep up to date on legislative issues we're tracking

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About TCAP

Want to find out more about the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power? Check out our website. You also can learn more about the state's deregulated electricity market by checking out the in-depth reports at TCAPTX.com.

Email TCAP policy analyst R.A. Dyer at rdyer@tcaptx.com for more details.

If you have any questions about this newsletter or have a news tip, feel free to contact TCAP policy analyst R.A. "Jake" Dyer. He can be reached by email at rdyer@tcaptx.com.


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