Elderly vet gets $16,752 power bill after Texas storm - another win for deregulation!

A whole lot of words, free market, some more words, privatization - even more words.

 

Ain't no black person paying that bill.

 

I will preface this by saying that electrical/natural gas pricing "plans" can ABSOLUTELY make sense and save you TONS of money...IF you're talking about large scale industrial/commercial users. Back in my consulting days we had a client who was paying appx $18K a month for electricity. One of the first things i did was to shop around for suppliers and we were able to get a long term fixed rate contract (initially 3 yrs with option for add'l 3 yr renewal) for electricity at 5 cents. The savings on the electricity was close to 30% compared to the spot price (the higher your usage and the longer the contract term, the greater the potential discount). I'm absolutely certain the company renewed the electricity contract - which means they ended up saving $300K+ and possibly higher assuming their own usage increased).

But for residential plans, bc usage is so low, any "discount" you may get on the price will almost certainly be offset by a monthly service fee. And because most ppl, once they sign up for something almost inevitably forget about it, after the contract term has ended (and you threw away the letter explaining as such) they are either bumped into some new pricing plan or the original plan is renewed (depending on which is more profitable to the supplier).

 

i mean they obviously should get some relief, but im also fine with them eating some of it

most people choose not to gamble on this, and they did the fukk is there to say?

 

The Fact He Actually Depleted His Savings To Pay It Are You Crazy Son!? lol The Gov Will Figure It Out fukk You

What’s He Gonna Do When Next Months Bill Is 10k? Pay That Too?

 

Lol cold blooded.

The supplier is going to have to take some losses on this though.

Most ppl in this country can barely afford a $1,000 bill...no way they're paying $10K+

Ppl whose bills are on autopay better be paying attention!

 

i guess im confused by dude actually paying it. he seems to be accepting that he fukked up in the article

 

Disasters, pandemics, and other acts of god necessitate/require gov intervention, to reduce the associated human cost.

I see nothing wrong with gov intervention in these instances.

 

You are posing a lot of what if under an already unprecedented occurrence.

Prior to this unprecedented assault from Mother Nature I believe the people of Texas were happy with their system(I could be wrong) and democratically voted in favor of it.

...either way, people need to go to jail. Ercot leadership and public officials.

 

well,

everything is bigger in texas

 

From what I understood in the article, the bill was on autopay to deduct from his credit card, then he had to deplete his savings to keep the interest on his credit card balance from going through the roof.

Gnauz hit it right on the money - it appears that generally, deregulation has been great for large corporate users who have the time and knowledge to chop around for the best plan for their large-use bills. While the typical resident doesn't have that same time or knowledge and ends up paying more.

It also appears that deregulation leads to a great deal more fluctuation than there would be otherwise, which is not ideal for the average consumer trying to budget.

Alternating Current

 

Charge it to the game.

 

Family sues Texas power companies for $100m over death of boy, 11

 

Ted Cruz called for state energy regulation despite lauding Texas' lack of regulation 2 years ago

 

Why are you assuming he's an idiot and can't read? A 63 year old isn't even that old. If he was in his late 70s, 80s, ok. But at 63, nah man. You have to deal with the consequences of what you sign.

If he can enjoy the benefits of the variable rate deal, he should have to accept when it doesn't work in their favor.

If you don't understand how it works, then go sign up for the fixed rate utility company