Public Facts Not Ads by on Scribd
Currently (pun intended) the El Paso Electric Company, which has the highest rates of any city in Texas, has filed a rate case for a rate hike. EPEC also intends to continue its efforts to undermine the solar rooftop industry in El Paso. The slide show above was created by Blanca Gadney-Moss, a professional counselor in El Paso, and a strong advocate for solar power. She is a member of Eco-El Paso and the Regional Renewable Energy Advisory Committee.
Rates are high because consumption is so low compared to cities to the east where every house is cooled by refrigerated air. Here, most people use evaporative coolers that are far cheaper to run. And while our rates are high, our residential bills are much lower because the average consumption here is about 600 kwh a month. It's way higher in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and way way higher in Houston. It's a different story if you're running AC at home in EP, though or if your business has AC and compressors to cool products like beer. Also worth keeping in mind is the fact that El Paso is one of the few communities left in Texas where the electric utility is REGULATED by the PUC because it has a monopoly. That may sound bad, but the state sets pretty low rate of return and if the company goes over it, ratepayers get refunds. In other areas, there's competition for electric service. It's like phone service. You can get pretty cheap rates but it gets tricky, just like your phone bills. And there's no PUC to whack electric retailers raking in a 25% return.
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