| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote Yes; Amend | Positive | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Positive |
SB 1945, if passed, would modify the Utilities Code (Section
33.122) by allowing certain customers of municipally owned utilities to
petition the Public Utility Commission to review current electrical rates. This
section would only apply to those utilities with at least 400,000 customers and
is governed by a municipality with a population of less than 1,300,000 and is
located within an ERCOT power region. The customers may file a petition if they
use 25,000,000 kwh of electricity or more per year.
The bill would also state that the municipality must file a
rate application with the Commission within 90 days of the petition being
filed. This 90 day period could be extended if good cause is found. At this
point the Commission would conduct a full rate review in accordance with
Chapter 36 to determine whether the rates are reasonable. The Commission
reserves the right not to set new rates.
SB 1945 is a beneficial bill in that it allows citizens to petition the government; in this case a municipal utility provider that does not operate in a competitive market based. The bill is quite narrow, being designed with Austin Energy in
mind. As such the rationale behind the bill, which is a laudable one, could
easily be expanded to allow more customers to petition for rate changes in other noncompetitive energy markets within Texas. This
could be done by loosening the requirements listed in the first part of the
bill. Even though improvements could be made, SB 1945 is certainly a step in
the right direction and as such we support the bill on the basis of its support of limited government, individual liberty, and free markets.