PUC Suggests Eliminating Cap on Electricity Prices

One member of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, concerned that electricity generators need more incentives to build additional power plants, suggested eliminating the cap on prices charged during peak times.

Texas PUC

PUC commissioner Kenneth Anderson

“I’m not prejudging it. I’ve got no particular problem raising the system wide offer cap, or eliminating the cap or adjusting the cap on peak or net margin,” said PUC commissioner Kenneth Anderson at the commission’s meeting Thursday in Austin.

The PUC has been concerned over recent forecasts that the power grid would be struggling to keep up with demand if this coming summer is as hot as 2011. The current price cap is $3000 per megawatt hour for the wholesale electricity market. The PUC has discussed raising the cap, but eliminating it?

“That’s a pretty big opening,” said PUC spokesperson Terry Hadley. He told StateImpact Texas that determining how much the cap will be raised, if at all, will be decided with ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) which is the marketplace for distributing electricity in the state.