A new report out from Texas Public Policy Foundation shows that 14 years into the restructuring of the Texas electricity, consumers have come out smelling like roses.
- Average competitive prices (11.1 cents per kWh) today are 9.46% below average 2001 regulated prices; the lowest average price (8.52) is 30.51% lower.
- Most New Yorkers (19.17), Californians (14.08), and Floridians (12.31) pay higher prices than Texans; Texas prices are competitive with surrounding states.
- Texans can choose from 138 residential plans offered by 29 providers.
It still amazes me how absurd the media, blind the public, and cowardly the politicians were around the US in the wake of California and Texas deregulating electricity. Texas was a major success, California a colossal failure. But try to find that perspective in the discussion. No, the failure in CA was given 1000 times the weight of the success in TX.
Obviously success and failure had to do with design, not whether or not deregulation could work. It worked so well in Texas, it is clearly possible. (See our analysis of what went wrong in CA here, and what went right in Texas and other places here)