All eyes on the power grid lately as winter quickly approaches.
Oil and gas producers across the Texas said they have taken steps to protect their equipment in case of severe weather. Operators are required to share their emergency plans with the Texas Railroad Commission by Friday.
It's one of the new measures taken since the winter storm of 2021 that plunged the state into darkness and without heat for days.
Another effort is a renewed emphasis on enough infrastructure to serve the growing state. That part may cost you more on your next bill, in part, thanks to a little known law.
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Oncor – which owns power lines across North Texas – is asking for more than $53 million from the electricity providers that use the power lines it owns. It would be the second rate hike in just a matter of months.
Oncor is able to do this because of a new law, SB 1015, passed earlier this year by the state legislature. It allows distribution companies like Oncor the ability to file two smaller distribution cost recovery factor (DCRF) adjustments each year, instead of a singular bigger one only once a year.
The law update was meant to hasten the process in rate increase request cases to save power distribution companies money, which would presumably translate into lower rates paid by customers. Requests now have just 60 days to evaluate rate increase requests.
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The latest news from around North Texas.
On Thursday, the Public Utility Commission of Texas was expected to approve Oncor's latest request during a meeting in Austin – the group already approved the first one, a request submitted in May, in early November.
A spokesperson for Oncor clarified that the discussion at the PUC meeting on Thursday was not a review of their specific rate change but a process-related discussion about how the PUC should implement the new requirement to review these filings since SB 1015 was implemented.
Oncor said they have reached a unanimous settlement with several parties -- including the PUCT staff, cities, groups, their industrial customers, and the retail electric providers that serve customers in their service area -- with an agreement that the new rate will go into effect on an interim basis beginning December 28, subject to final approval by the PUCT.
Typically, the electric companies pass rate hikes down to customers. If that happens, the average monthly electric bill would increase by nearly $3 with these two Oncor requests combined, according to filings by the state and federal government.
An Oncor spokesperson told the Dallas Morning News that cities served by Oncor and the electric companies agreed on the rate and said that even with the slight increase, Oncor's rates are still among the lowest along all transmission and distribution utilities in Texas.
The company has also stressed this year that these rate hikes are tied to upgrades and investments meant to make North Texas electricity more reliable as the population here continues to grow. Oncor has said it plans to spend over $19 billion over the next 4 years.
