Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Bell Turns Up Heat On Perry
Today brings news from Democrat Chris Bell's Texas Gubernatorial Campaign.
"Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell today formally joined a bi-partisan group of consumer advocates in asking the Public Utility Commission to impose an emergency moratorium on utility disconnections for the summer. He also accused Rick Perry and the legislative leadership of blatant cruelty and dishonesty for raiding $427 million from the System Benefit Fund, which was created to subsidize the utility bills for senior citizens and poor Texans...especially galling since the taxpayers subsidize 100% of the electric bill at the Governor's Mansion that was $5,522.86 in May 2006."
Bell "also called on Rick Perry to either cease collecting the System Benefit Fund fee from ratepayers or to start using it for its intended purpose, which is subsidizing the utility bills for low-income or senior Texans. In 2005, Rick Perry and the Legislature raided $427 million from the System Benefit Fund and transferred it into General Revenue to spend on whatever it wanted. This can only be described as fraud and eliminates the very tool designed to prevent the need for the moratorium we are calling for today."
For those not paying attention, let me condense this.
All of this follows a recent examination of electric deregulation here in Texas. Several years into the deregulation, and as the Texas Observer reports, rates continue to skyrocket.
"Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell today formally joined a bi-partisan group of consumer advocates in asking the Public Utility Commission to impose an emergency moratorium on utility disconnections for the summer. He also accused Rick Perry and the legislative leadership of blatant cruelty and dishonesty for raiding $427 million from the System Benefit Fund, which was created to subsidize the utility bills for senior citizens and poor Texans...especially galling since the taxpayers subsidize 100% of the electric bill at the Governor's Mansion that was $5,522.86 in May 2006."
Bell "also called on Rick Perry to either cease collecting the System Benefit Fund fee from ratepayers or to start using it for its intended purpose, which is subsidizing the utility bills for low-income or senior Texans. In 2005, Rick Perry and the Legislature raided $427 million from the System Benefit Fund and transferred it into General Revenue to spend on whatever it wanted. This can only be described as fraud and eliminates the very tool designed to prevent the need for the moratorium we are calling for today."
For those not paying attention, let me condense this.
- Rick Perry and the Republican legislature scrapped the state program that helps poor folks and old folks pay their electric bills.
- All electric consumers in Texas still pay a monthly surcharge for the program, even though it's been scrapped.
- Texas summers are hot (it's 100 degrees outside my window), long, and often require electricity for survival. Old people that can't pay their bills could die.
- Rick Perry, a very wealthy man, has his electric bill paid by the state.
- The Governor's Mansion, which gets it's power from the City of Austin (and in Texas, municipal utilities are always cheaper), spent over $5,000 on utilities in May. I can only imagine what June and July will cost.
- Chris Bell says Texas electric consumers should get what they pay for, or stop paying for it.
All of this follows a recent examination of electric deregulation here in Texas. Several years into the deregulation, and as the Texas Observer reports, rates continue to skyrocket.
