Texas and Yet Another Failure of Privatization

Beto O'Rourke: Why Texas Oil & Gas Can't Keep Texans Warm

Greg Abbott Lies About Green Energy To Deflect On Freeze Fail - UPDATE: AOC Responds

The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn’t see the need to prepare for cold weather

Why Does Texas Have Its Own Power Grid?

The failure of privatization in the energy sector and why today’s consumers are reclaiming power

A Cost Comparison ofPublic and Private Water Utility Operation

Privatization of Water and Wastewater Services

Has privatization failed Texas utility customers?

Natural gas, not wind turbines, main driver of Texas power shortage

Texas Mayor Tells Residents To Fend For Themselves

Feds Warned Texas To Weatherize Power Grid The Last Time This Happened

Fox News aired bizarre and wildly misleading claims about Texas' blackouts that pin blame on renewables and climate policies

Why on earth would right-wing people with connections to the fossil fuel industry lie about ‘frozen wind turbines’ in Texas?

Wisconsin's Electricity Rates Are Highest In Midwest

[source]

Walker's Revenue Plan - Sell Off The State

Walker Seeks Sale Of Power Plants

Gov. Scott Walker is seeking to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in power plants or other state assets to help pay some of the borrowing he is proposing as part of his two-year $6.4 billion transportation plan unveiled Friday.

I'm sure this will work out as well as Walker's other privatization plans.

Monopoly Utilities

Bruce Murphy, in Monopoly Greed, uncovers:

• A new study by the state Public Service Commission (PSC) shows electric rates are now 21 percent higher than other Midwestern states and 10 percent higher than the national average. 
• Wisconsin utilities have been allowed to jack up electric rates by 55 percent from 2002-2010, during a period when inflation rose by just 20 percent. 
• A study by the UW-Milwaukee Employment & Training Institute found that the average cost of heat and electricity for city of Milwaukee renters, all customers of We Energies, nearly doubled in just six years, rising from $1,318 in 2000 to $2,227 in 2006.
• These ever-higher rates have helped drive profits for We Energies: year after year the company has reaped profits of 10 to 12 percent.
• Wisconsin utilities had the second-highest profit margin among 26 states studied.
• Those generous profits, in turn, help pay for huge bonuses for We Energies executives, which amounted to $77 million over the last three years, according to annual reports it files with the PSC.
• Those profits have also been good for the company’s stock price, which has risen by 17 percent year-to-date (33% over the past calendar year). 
• We Energies would like to see more increases in the years to come. Company officials are requesting an annual increase of 3.6 percent for both 2013 and 2014, though the estimated rate of inflation for those years is 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent respectively.

Weekend Reading

City Hall: Where The Jobs Aren't
Five Myths About The Middle Class
Government Cutbacks Separate This Expansion From Others
Half Of Americans Die With Virtually No Assets
How Uncle Sam Helped Mitt Romney Build His Fortune
Monopoly Greed
No One Pays The Estate Tax
3 Reasons Why Hosting The Olympic Is A Loser's Game
Wages Aren't Stagnating, They're Plummeting
Water Is The New Gold, A Big Commodity Bet