Only a handful of major Texas metros are forced to use city-owned electric providers. San Antonio, Austin and Brownsville are among them, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is now vying to take on these municipal \u201cmonopolies.\u201d But locals are split on the matter.<\/p>\n
Abbott vowed to make a legislative push next year to break up local markets and introduce private power producers to San Antonio. He expressed frustration that CPS Energy\u2019s<\/a> service area exceeds San Antonio\u2019s city limits, yet 14% of the agency\u2019s gross revenue funds nearly 30% of the city\u2019s general fund budget.<\/p>\n In a nutshell, he\u2019s arguing that counties \u2013 and even those in rural areas outside the county line \u2013 shouldn\u2019t fund city services. There are state laws that bar public utilities from making excessive profits. But the mechanism for challenging this is tedious and shrouded in legalese.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is taxation through electricity prices without representation, and it must come to an end,\u201d Abbott said from a deck in the backyard of a Northeast Side home in San Antonio.<\/p>\n But what would a diversified electric market mean for San Antonio residents? The data doesn\u2019t look great for prices, but there are certainly strong opinions on both sides.<\/p>\n Supporters of Abott\u2019s efforts say more options mean competitive pricing. Some who have moved to San Antonio from other parts of Texas \u2013 as most major cities in the Lone Star State have some form of diversified utility market \u2013 say competition led to incentive offers and potential deals.<\/p>\n \u201cI lived in other counties in Texas, and it was much better to have a choice. They had to compete for your business and offered a lot of incentives and discounts,\u201d Jason B. told MySA.<\/p>\n But without private power-generation infrastructure already in place in San Antonio, aside from relatively small renewable energy producers contracting with CPS Energy<\/a>, it\u2019s more likely that any private companies would simply buy the same electricity and raise prices for profit.<\/p>\n And Jasper Graham, who has been deeply invested in the energy market after experiencing both sides of the electric supply coin, says the deceptively low prices displayed by private companies aren\u2019t entirely truthful. Much like internet or telephone companies, hidden service fees or mysterious add-ons creep onto bills.<\/p>\n