“We can look at how they evaluate customer needs for where the mobile generation needs to go, including looking at their emergency operation plan and how it deals with this,” PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson said.

PUC approves audit after accusations of overcharging and overspending

CenterPoint Energy announced late Friday it would proceed with its long-disputed rate review, ongoing since August. Alongside this announcement, the energy company presented a proposal to increase rates, aiming to recover costs from its response to severe weather in May.

CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells spoke with KPRC 2 in the first interview since Houston’s double whammy of natural disasters: a derecho in May and Hurricane Beryl in July. Click this story for the FULL transcripted interview.

Nearly three months after Hurricane Beryl left more than two million CenterPoint Energy customers in the dark, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) wants to hear directly from Houston residents.

The Texas Public Utility Commission has yet again delayed a decision on CenterPoint Energy’s rates that we all pay on our electric bills.

From electric rates to power outages, it seems like we have heard a lot lately about CenterPoint Energy. In this week’s “Ask Amy” segment, investigative reporter Amy Davis answers a question from viewer Don Conger: ”Why are we stuck with CenterPoint? Why don’t they have any competition? Can they be fired?”

A north Houston homeowner says he called CenterPoint Energy almost weekly -- trying to get them to remove limbs that fell on a power line in July when Hurricane Beryl hit the area.

A judge has denied CenterPoint Energy’s request to dismiss their rate review. The company must now return to the table with city leaders to negotiate new rates that we all pay on our electric bill. Investigative reporter Amy Davis explains why CenterPoint is accused of overcharging all of us for years.

CenterPoint Energy has asked a judge to dismiss its mandatory rate review that was already pending before Hurricane Beryl.

University of Houston VP Ramana Krishnamoorti and CEO Jason Wells indicate that the costs incurred will eventually be passed to customers, either through a future rate increase or a state bailout.

“CenterPoint intends to increase their rates to recoup the cost of recovering from Hurricane Beryl, passing the cost on to the customer,” Senator Carol Alvarado said in a social media post. “That dog won’t hunt.”

Centerpoint’s CEO Jason Wells’ testimony comes a week after he met with the Texas Public Utility Committee (PUC) where he apologized to Houstonians. Today, we can expect Wells to double-down on initial action plans to increase resiliency.

On Monday, lawmakers in Austin are planning to question leaders for CenterPoint Energy on the company’s performance in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas has launched an investigation into CenterPoint Energy's handling of Hurricane Beryl. Gov. Greg Abbott criticized the company's repeated failures, despite their claim of restoring power to 92% of affected customers. Houston residents continue to struggle with power outages, leading to heat-related illnesses and carbon monoxide poisoning. Mayor Whitmire has extended the disaster declaration, and a crucial meeting with CenterPoint is set for July 25.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas has launched an investigation into CenterPoint Energy's handling of Hurricane Beryl. Gov. Greg Abbott criticized the company's repeated failures, despite their claim of restoring power to 92% of affected customers. Houston residents continue to struggle with power outages, leading to heat-related illnesses and carbon monoxide poisoning. Mayor Whitmire has extended the disaster declaration, and a crucial meeting with CenterPoint is set for July 25.

As Houston enters its fifth day without power following Hurricane Beryl, CenterPoint Energy updates on restoration efforts. With over a million homes still in the dark, crews are working 16-hour shifts to rebuild damaged infrastructure. "We know we still have a lot of work to do," says CenterPoint’s Jason Ryan.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas mandates that individual electricity customers with certain health conditions be afforded certain rights regarding power service.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) are asking Texans to conserve electricity usage Monday morning.

CenterPoint Energy has filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Dec. 14 to increase customers energy bills by February 2024, according to its proposal.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced on Wednesday the adoption of a new area code for the greater Houston area.

Does Houston need a new area code? Apparently so, according to the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission of Texas are holding a press conference on Wednesday in Austin to update Texans on the status of the grid ahead of the upcoming summer.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, the Public Utility Commission of Texas delivered a measure of good news concerning the Texas Power Grid.

In a Monday committee hearing, lawmakers questioned whether a Public Utility Commission proposal to redesign Texas’ electricity market would lead to the building of more natural-gas-fired power plants. Regulators say it would.

Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Peter Lake and ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas held a press conference Tuesday to update Texans on grid reliability and readiness for winter 2022-2023.

The proposal is aimed at making sure power providers and electricity generators have enough power on hand in case of increased demand. But it’s not clear how it would hold up in unexpected weather, an expert said.

As state regulators and the companies that power the grid take steps to avoid another catastrophe like February’s winter storm, climate experts say this winter will likely be milder.

The state Public Utility Commission adopted a rule — which experts first recommended a decade ago following a winter storm — requiring power companies to use “best efforts” to ensure plants can operate in the winter.

Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to members of the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Tuesday directing them to take immediate action to improve electric reliability across the state.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that he has nominated Peter Lake to lead the Public Utility Commission of Texas after the entire board resigned following February’s winter storm.

Governor Greg Abbott Friday placed several resources on standby in preperation for severe storms expected across Texas this weekend.

Several bills responding to Texas’ February power outages — including one mandating that power plants prepare facilities for extreme weather and another reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board — were advanced by the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. The bill to mandate weatherization of power plants, House Bill 11, would give authority to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which regulates the electric industry, to develop and enforce standards to prepare power plants for extreme weather. AdThe power outages last month began largely due to power plants tripping offline in extreme cold temperatures — most plants in Texas are not built to withstand such conditions. House Bill 12 would direct a study and implementation of a statewide emergency alert system for power outages. The body would maintain records of facilities critical to maintaining fuel service to power plants during emergencies.

HOUSTON – Shelly Botkin joins a long list of commissioners who have resigned from their roles with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, after the deadly winter storm in February. Botkin turned in her resignation Monday, which was effective immediately. READ: Public Utility Commission chair resigns after Texas officials criticize management of power outagesShe was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 11, 2018, to serve as a commissioner on the PUC, for a term set to expire on Sept. 1, 2025, according to the Public Utility Commission. Prior to being appointed, Botkins worked for ERCOT as director of corporate communications and government relations.

The meeting started by detouring a bit and, instead of taking public comments, the PUC answered some questions from callers which included billing questions. Second, PUC representatives said they will likely not re-price the energy market like some senators and independent market monitors had suggested. ERCOT’s vice president Kenan Ogelman explained to state senators those storm-related prices are why it is owed more than $2 billion from energy companies that cannot pay their bill. He said the storm was causing fluctuating prices, which can inadvertently put a power producer in reserve status. ERCOT’s Technical Advisory Committee has scheduled a special meeting at 1 p.m. to review the cold weather event.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)AUSTIN, Texas – Bill Magness, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO who was terminated by his board Wednesday, said he will not seek or accept severance pay, according to a spokesperson. According to the terms of his employment contract, his severance pay would have been equivalent to one year of his current base salary, which is more than $800,000. She had come under sharp criticism from lawmakers after largely blaming Texas’ power outages on ERCOT. Magness, who endured more than five hours of questioning by state senators on Thursday, was criticized for the organization’s winter storm preparations. Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel.

That decision to keep prices high, the market monitor described, resulted in $16 billion in additional costs to Texas power companies. AdIn Texas, wholesale power prices are determined by supply and demand — when demand is high, ERCOT allows prices to go up. Companies then buy power from the wholesale market to deliver to consumers, which they are contractually obligated to do. Because ERCOT failed to bring prices back down on time, that meanings companies had to buy power in the market at inflated prices. “We recognize that revising the prices retroactively is not ideal.”A spokesperson for ERCOT was not immediately available to comment.

Governor Greg Abbott has named Arthur D’Andrea chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Credit: Texas Public Utility CommissionGov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday promoted Arthur D’Andrea to chair the state’s utility regulator, replacing the Public Utility Commission leader who resigned earlier this week following widespread power outages in February. The governor appoints commissioners to lead the PUC, which oversees the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Abbott can now choose who he’d like to join D’Andrea and Commissioner Shelly Botkin, who Abbott appointed to the PUC in 2018.

Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the new chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas after the former chairman resigned following the deadly winter storm in February. READ: Public Utility Commission chair resigns after Texas officials criticize management of power outagesAdD’Andrea has served as a commissioner for PUC since November 2017. He was an assistant general counsel for Abbott’s office and served as an assistant solicitor general for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. He is also a member of the State Bar of Texas. D’Andrea received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law, according to a release.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas, or P.U.C., held a meeting Wednesday with a number of items on their agenda pertaining to the failure of the Texas Power Grid. However, before the meeting kicked off, P.U.C. Commissioner Arthur C. D’Andrea stated the agency’s commitment to serving Texas. Agenda Item 16 stated they would discuss the investigation into the winter storm fiasco. However, no details of any investigation were revealed, although, officials did discuss the plausibility of an audit of energy used and prices paid by consumers.

The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday, according to a resignation letter provided to the Texas Tribune. Governor Greg Abbott-appointed commissioners came under public criticism in the aftermath of Texas’ power crisis that left millions of people in the dark for days and claimed the lives of dozens. Dan Patrick called for PUC chairwoman DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness to resign. The PUC is charged with overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, a nonprofit entity that manages and operates the electricity grid that covers much of the state. Lawmakers probed how much information she had on whether the state’s power system could withstand winter storms, and questioned why she didn’t raise concerns about the possibility of outages sooner.

Craig Ivey, who had applied to fill a vacancy on the board, has withdrawn his application, according to the filing. In a letter signed by Talberg, Cramton, Bulger and Hepper, the group said they are resigning after recent concerns about out-of-state ERCOT board members. “We have noted recent concerns about out-of-state board leadership at ERCOT. Ad“Before we step aside, we are beginning the process of reviewing this extreme cold weather event and resulting power crisis. ERCOT leadership made assurances that Texas’ power infrastructure was prepared for the winter storm, but those assurances proved to be devastatingly false.

More than a million Texas households are in rural areas where network phone service is more expensive to provide, with fewer customers and longer distances between them. Some rural Texans are facing the threat of losing phone and internet service after the state recently slashed subsidies that help providers offer service in sparsely populated areas. More than a million Texas households are in rural areas where network phone service is more expensive to provide, with fewer customers and longer distances between them. Normally, the state reimburses telecommunication companies for providing service in these areas through the Texas Universal Service Fund. “Oil and gas, agriculture, timber — all of that begins in a location in rural Texas.