14. If Rick Perry were to run for governor again in 2014, would you vote for him, would you vote against him, or would you need to wait and see who is running against him?
VOTE FOR-25%
VOTE AGAINST-38%
WAIT-31%
DON’T KNOW-6%

16. 2014 Republican Primary for Lieutenant Governor
DAVID DEWHURST-19%
DAN PATRICK-10%
JERRY PATTERSON-6%
TODD STAPLES-5%
NO OPINION-61%

17. 2016 Republican Primary for President
TED CRUZ-25%
RAND PAUL-13%
MARCO RUBIO-11%
RICK PERRY-10%
CHRIS CHRISTIE-8%
PAUL RYAN-8%
BOBBY JINDAL-2%
RICK SANTORUM-2%
NO OPINION-21%

18. 2016 Democratic Primary for President
HILLARY CLINTON-66%
JOE BIDEN-11%
ANDREW CUOMO-1%
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND-1%
MARK WARNER-1%
NO OPINION-19%

19. 2014 Republican Primary for Governor
RICK PERRY-45%
GREG ABBOTT-19%
“SOMEONE ELSE” (Tom Pauken)-11%
NO OPINION-25%

Pundits will attempt to justify the results of this poll as somehow revolutionary, but there are very few points worth actually discussing. Nobody should be surprised at the prospect of Hillary Clinton winning a primary poll. Further, no one should be surprised that favorite son Ted Cruz wins the GOP primary poll.  Rick Perry flew pretty high on these polls for the 2012 election. It should not be a surprise that States like their own, mainly because of the familiarity.

Further, the poll for Lieutenant Governor is worthless. Even the incumbent has zero name recognition, so it does not give us a good insight into who will win that election. The Gubernatorial poll, however, does have some merit. Rick Perry holds a decisive lead over Greg Abbott and Tom Pauken. I think there has been a pretty strong sentiment in this State that Rick Perry might not run for re-election because of fear he would lose. I think it is abundantly clear now, however, that he has nothing to worry about in that regard.

New Candidates
The Texas Tribune also has a nice little article about Barry Smitherman, the Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. The Tribune highlights especially close on Smitherman’s possible aspirations to the Attorney General’s office, assuming Abbott runs for Governor. Also mentioned in the article are Senator Ken Paxton, former Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill and Representative Dan Branch, whose Twitter feed made the official announcement today.

2014 is really starting to heat up.

• Platts Global Energy Award Finalist—2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

• Stream Energy Ranked as 26th Largest Private Company in Dallas—2012

• Stream Energy Named a Winner of Two American Business Awards—2012

• Stream Energy Wins Communicator Award of Distinction – 2012

• Stream Energy Named a Top Philanthropic Donor—2012

• Stream Energy Achieved Top Workplace – National Standard Designation – 2011

• Texas PUC Chairman Barry Smitherman Keynotes Ignition —2010

• Stream Energy Executives Named Finalists for American Business Awards—2010

• Inc. 500: 198th Fastest Growing Private Company—2009

• Direct Selling Association Rising Star Award Finalist—2009

• SMU/Cox School of Business Dallas100: 2nd Fastest Growing Private Company

• Ernst & Young Regional Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner—2008

• Genesys Customer Innovations Award Winner—2008

• Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce Momentum Award Winner—2007

MEDIA COVERAGE EVENTS

• Stream Energy Sponsored Dallas’ Big D NYE Fireworks Spectacular– 2011, 2012

 • Stream Energy featured in the

Direct Selling News

magazine’s

“Industry with Heart” profile – August 2011

 • Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder featured in the

Dallas Business Journal – July 2011

 • Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder featured in

D CEO Magazine—Oct. 2010

• Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder featured in

Energy Today Magazine—June 2010

• Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder featured in

Dallas Morning News—March 2010

 • Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder featured in

Smart Business Magazine—Feb. 2010

• Dallas Business Journal Special Feature “Top Private Companies”—Sept. 2009

• WFAA ABC Channel 8 (Dallas) “Daybreak Morning Show”—March 2009

Dallas Business Journal

Special Feature “Dallas 100”—Dec. 2009

 Dallas Business Journal

Cover Story—Jan. 2008

D Magazine—March 2006

 • WFAA ABC Channel 8 (Dallas)—Feb. 2006

(credit: Friends of Barry Smitherman)

AUSTIN (AP) - Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman has defeated Gregory Parker for the Republican nomination to retain his seat on the board that has nothing to do with trains but regulates oil and gas exploration statewide.

Smitherman faces no Democratic opposition in the November general election for the Place 2 seat on the three-member commission.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Smitherman to the chairman position last year, replacing Michael Williams. Smitherman is running to complete Williams’ original term, which expires in 2014.

Smitherman was an attorney for the Public Utility Commission and later became its chairman. He helped create Texas’ robust wind power infrastructure.

All the candidates for the board campaigned against overregulation by the Environmental Protection Agency and said the Railroad Commission’s name should be changed to reflect its true duties.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Thousands Gather For Glenn Beck Event At Cowboys Stadium
• KRLD Restaurant Week
• SMU Athletes Accuse Prostitute Of Burglary
• Crowd Gathers After DPD Officer-Involved Shooting
• Dallas Police Locate Kidnapped Woman

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 14 – Felicia Harris vs Randy Weber
I met Felicia Harris. She has a background in the Oil & Gas Industry and has supporters in Petrochemicals , the Galveston Ports and NASA who believe she will help those industries. She is also very strongly conservative. Ted Poe and Pete Olsen who both have beaten Democrat Nick Lampson say Felicia Harris is the best candidate to do that in this race. Also, Randy’s ads against her are false and I hate that.

RAILROAD COMMISSIONER, UNEXPIRED TERM – Greg Parker vs Barry Smitherman
Greg parker is the conservative. I have met him. If you heard him speak it would remind you of Ted Cruz. He is awesome. He is also educated in the Energy and Oil & Gas Industry. And that’s what the job is about. Smitherman has used emminent domain against Texans, is pro smart meters, green agenda and higher property taxes. I hate that.

RAILROAD COMMISSIONER – Christi Craddick vs Warren Chisum
Christi Craddick is endorsed by conservatives and Tea Partiers and Greg Parker, who I really like. (See above). They both have endorsements by Ex and current Railroad commissioners. She is daughter of former speaker of the Texas House Tom Craddick. Chisum is an oil & gas man and a former Democrat representative who worked alongside the speaker. (A what?) Guess which one her dad endorses?

JUSTICE SUPREME COURT, PLACE 4 – David Medina vs John Devine
David Medina is another Conservative/Tea party favorite. http://www.texansformedina.org/index-3.html check out his endorsements. Rick Perry and Dan Patrick are right half the time, but Medina is also endorsed by John Culberson, Pete Olsen, Greg Abbot and Ken Paxton, who was the only brave sole to run against Joe Straus for the speaker job last session.

TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 23 – Bill Wallace vs Wayne Faircloth
This one is as bad as the Democrat incumbent Craig Eiland. Eiland makes millions suing TWIA which he oversees and should be reforming. Faircloth has received 60k+ from State Farm PAC who doesn’t want TWIA reform and from Perry Homes owner and his wife at (I think 10k each). (Perry Homes was involved in stopping the sanctuary cities bill). I block-walked for weeks for Rachel Delgado against Faircloth and am supporting Bill Wallace. He has experience as a Chambers County commissioner and has spent time in Austin fighting for farmers water rights. He is no stranger to working on behalf of his constituents. This is my district and I am adamantly against Faircloth. The fact that some establishment republicans endorse him doesn’t impress me. By the way, I am in the Galveston County Tea Party and no one I know endorses Faircloth.

COUNTY SHERIFF – John Kinard vs Henry Trochesett
This is tough. I know Henry is a lifelong sheriff’s deputy and local. He also has that Democrat turned Republican stigma but in the end I like Kinard. He has a tremendous amount of experience running drug, terrorism and gang task forces. Galveston County is vulnerable to all three. He has managed thousands of people and millions in budgets, with law and accounting degrees to boot. He has connections through his FBI activities in Galveston County and knows the local issues well.

DISTRICT JUDGE, 10TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT – Kerry Neves vs George Young
Kerry Neves has worked not only in the legal system in Galveston County but also in the Republican party, including successfully representing the Republican Party of Texas in District Court in 2002 in Galveston County on issues dealing with ballot integrity and the Early Voting Ballot Committees, in a lawsuit filed by the Galveston County Democrat Party. He is endorsed by several Police Officer Associations, several constables, 3 former candidates for Sheriff and a number of current and former police officers around the County. He is well liked and seems honest and selfless.
I don’t get George Young. He has some issues in his past that I don’t think he has sufficiently explained, he has a view on illegal immigration that confuses me and the accusations and it seems, lies about his opponents are unsettling. I liked him when I met him, but research him before you consider voting for him. That’s all I can say.

DISTRICT JUDGE, 405TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT – Michelle Slaughter vs Wayne Mallia
Michelle Slaughter has criminal experience from a judicial perspective having handled criminal and civil cases as an intern for two federal court judges and a first court of appeals justice. She has litigated hundreds of cases to judges and juries in county court, state district court, and federal district courts across the State of Texas and in other states, including cases in Galveston County. So I would guess the experience hurdle is met. Mallia says his STEP program works, some people, including other Judges don’t. I wonder why if he is so successful, does he feel it necessary to change parties. That feels deceptive to me. Sherry Mallia (Wayne’s wife) posted on the Facebook page “Re-Elect Judge Wayne Mallia” for everyone to boycott John Ford Jewelers on 61st Street in Galveston. I hate that.

I have done a lot of research, met and spoken to most of these candidates or someone who represented them, gone to numerous forums, debates and meet-and-greets. This is my personal opinion. I hope it helps.
D.B. < Pct#224Chair

Fort Worth Club, 12th Floor

RSVP for lunch to Joy Phelps-Nix, j.phelps@att.net, 817-423-4283 by noon on Monday, June 25. Lunch is $23 with a reservation ($25 without reservation). If you’re not  having lunch, no RVSP is necessary. (Those who RSVP but do not attend will be billed for their reservation cost.)

Smitherman was appointed to the commission by Texas Gov. Rick Perry last July, replacing Michael Williams. Smitherman is running to complete Williams’ original term, which expires in 2014. He faced three challengers in the Republican primary Tuesday.

No candidate won 50 percent of the vote Tuesday. It was not yet clear who Smitherman will face in the runoff.

The Railroad Commission oversees the oil and gas industry in Texas. Despite its name, the three-member commission has no power over railroads.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Dallas Pizza Chain Giving Free Pizza For Ordering In Spanish
• Animal Shelter May Have To Perform Mass Euthanization
• Cows Killed & Injured, I-35 Closed After Cattle Truck Crash
• Mom Says Reunion With Missing Children Not Joyous
• Satanic Markings Left On Car During Oil Change

Buddy Garcia (credit: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)

AUSTIN (AP) - Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Buddy Garcia to the Texas Railroad Commission until the general election in November.

Garcia currently is a member of the Texas Coastal Land Advisory Board and has previously held a gubernatorial appointment as a commissioner on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Garcia will fill a vacancy created when Elizabeth Ames Jones stepped down earlier this year to run for Texas Senate. The Austin resident will only serve until the election on Nov. 6, when voters will elect two commissioners. There are six Republicans and one Democrat running for the open seat.

Incumbent Commissioner Barry Smitherman is also running to retain his seat.

Despite its name, the three-member commission has no power over railroads and oversees the oil and gas industry in Texas.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Storm Cleanup: The Latest
• Guide: Ways To Help Or Get Help After Tornadoes
• SPCA: Begin Searching Now For Any Missing Pets
• Photos: Storm Damage
• H-E-B Donates $50,000 For Tornado Victims

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/pSe0h2

The Present

A prevailing issue in the move from regulatory compact to competition is overcoming the paranoia of losing reliability without all of the regulation-required redundancy that is built into our electricity grid operations. As long as electricity consumers see our product as being in the same class as air and water, they will be willing to pay for 99.9999% reliability. But with near real-time energy markets, the need for ancillary service capacity markets will dwindle, and I predict that other than the ever-present need for the “regulation” capacity market, and the ability to buy energy-only products in near real-time, the responsive and non-spinning reserve markets will be done away with.

Second point, ERCOT showed in the extreme freeze of 2011, that the current system works like clockwork. ERCOT should be lauded for its success in maintaining grid reliability by using rolling black outs. The cost of being any more reliable, not just in ERCOT but in any region, would quickly reach the point of diminishing returns and cost consumers billions more than the current system.

Now, there is a marked difference in how Stream Energy currently does business in Texas and in the Northeast. In Texas, Stream Energy does the billing in a manner called Supplier Consolidated Billing, where Stream has possession of the customer relationship via the bill and a large portion of the customer contacts. 

ERCOT

–      65% Smart Meters, 100% by 2013

–      ERCOT settles Imbalance Market with Suppliers based on Load Profiles, settlement process disconnect from smart meter data

–      Supplier Consolidated Billing Model

In the Northeast we are privileged to be a virtual subcontractor to the incumbent utilities, while they maintain the billing and usually the first contact with the customer on most issues that require the customer to ask a question. Some retail electricity providers are very satisfied with this process because it simplifies their life and places issues like credit management and bad debt as minor or non-existent issues.

I do not see the long-term benefits of a utility consolidated billing model outweighing the risks. It is imperative to maintain the customer relationship through the billing and customer service channels in order to become the “lifestyle products” vendor in the future.

PPL

–      95% Smart Meters

–      Smart Meter Actual Use Data used for determining supplier’s exposure to the PJM Imbalance Market

–      Utility Consolidated Billing Model, Supplier loss of contact hinders customer relationship

Currently, there are operational disconnects in both Texas and the Northeast that must be overcome to allow AMI/AMR to become a driving force in the creation of an efficient smart grid.

In Texas, our imbalance market is settled using by ERCOT-generated customer profiles and not the reality of our customer’s real-time energy usage. 99.999% of the time, in a steady-state environment, the error generated using this method is acceptable; but a few of our smaller retail electric providers had issue with this process in the massive freeze ERCOT experienced in 2011. 

One retailer in South Texas saw a huge number of power outages for its customers – they were not consuming power at all; some even had empirical data from smart meters that verified their non use. But ERCOT’s profile-driven process stated that there was consumption in every 15-minute settlement period of all the settlement periods where the empirical data showed no usage.

On top of that issue, 1) the ERCOT weather-adjusted profiles showed excess usage over and above the supply hedges the retailer had in place, and 2) the imbalance market clearing price was pegged at the maximum of $3000 per MWh. So, that retailer paid a premium for energy that was not actually consumed, instead of being compensated for the difference between the supplier’s actual load, which was lower, than its scheduled load.

Lower Prices and Innovative Products

As for deregulation and lower prices, with the assistance of a former PUCT manager turned consultant, I was able to piece together this slide. The question for Stream’s Chairman Rob Snyder from the Dallas Morning News on a panel of experts which included PUCT Chairman Barry Smitherman was, “Has the ERCOT region of Texas seen a drop in residential electricity prices since state-mandated deregulation occurred in 2001?”

As you can see, we needed to take into account two things in our conversion: 1) the cost of Natural Gas, which is the fuel source for electricity at the margin 100% of the time in Texas; and 2) the Consumers Price Index stating actual inflation over those 8 years. The answer is a resounding “YES.” 

And if you look at 2011 data, you can see gas prices have gone down, inflation has gone up and we have seen another 10% decline in the electricity rate TXU Energy currently offers. 

May 2011 TXU Published Rate

• 10.2 Cents per kWh
• January 2010 to March 2011 Average Inflation Rate = 1.83%
• Natural Gas Price $4.30

I use TXU Energy data because they still serve three million residential meters. If a consumer is willing to do some research, they can find more and differing products at lower costs from reputable suppliers.

The original question was, “Has deregulation lived up to its promise of lower prices and innovative products?” I believe that the inefficiencies that the regulatory compact has perpetuated have been squeezed out of the deregulated markets (with market power issues being the remaining issue) and that the “still regulated” markets are taking notice and doing their best to eliminate the inefficiencies in order to stave off being deregulated. 

Has deregulation offered innovative products? I think yes, mostly in the renewable offerings and payment options. Now, look at telecom! 20 years ago (1991) I was paying about $25 a month for all of my telecom services and long-distance calls were an additional incremental charge. Today, my monthly telecom costs exceed $175 a month, but the innovations that I have the choice of using are astronomical and almost unbelievable to a 1991 mind. As for the future of electricity, to quote Frank Sinatra, “The best is yet to come … we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.”

Lastly, the fate of the DR Companies

The DR companies that have sprung up all over North America are taking advantage of the ability to aggregate customers into blocks of negawatts (thank you, Jim Rogers, for such a descriptive term) that are bid into the capacity and imbalance energy markets of the ISOs.  I personally believe that these companies are “stop-gap” entities that are taking advantage of the limitations of the DR marketplace where, even with smart meters, customers cannot directly participate in the selling of their negawatts. 

With the advent of a fluid and unconstrained DR market where every entity is a participant, as described in Dr. Cazalet’s white paper, the need for aggregators of negawatts will disappear, energy suppliers or “lifestyle products” suppliers will develop their own methods of assisting/aggregating their customers in taking advantage of DR markets.  The best move I have seen in the DR Company environment is when Constellation purchased CPower in anticipation of the future needs of even their smallest customers, of which they just collected 650,000 more with the announcement of the purchase of MX Energy and StarTex Energy.

As kind of an afterthought, because I read something interesting in Restructuring Today recently …

Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, again introduced a new term into the industry’s vocabulary - DISINTERMEDIATION. It’s a term that has been used in financial circles for a while, and when I broke the word down, I discovered it means “no bilateral problem solving.” 

Jim pointed out that if DR market participation and conservation by the consumer is done without the suppliers cooperation or coordination, there may be issues as to long-term planning and real-time load following, as well.

At first blush, I think Jim has something here; but, my second thought is that conservation and DR market activity would follow the same patterns, based on economics, whether the supplier manages the customer or a 3^rd party manages the customer. I think those patterns could easily be deciphered and planned for.

My colleagues at Stream Energy asked me two great questions, based on the fact that the Smart Grid will allow all participants to transact, and that the credit issues will be extremely manageable, if not virtually eliminated.

Question #1: Is it feasible that the DR companies could actually evolve into a supply-side entity the size of an NRG or Calpine?

Answer: Again, in reference to what the Constellation/Excelon move of incorporating a DR company into their operation, I personally believe that my sector, the retail electricity providers, will incorporate DR services into our offerings and use our relationship with our customers to eliminate the need for the customer to use a separate entity for DR. I also believe that when the ability exists that a homeowner can place a bid into a market bid stack on his own, a certain percentage of consumers will bypass all service companies and do it for themselves, bypassing even their trusted electricity supplier. However, I perceive that the total customers that play the DR markets, in the future, will never exceed 10% of the market.

Question #2: Could the demand-side entities, like homeowner associations, municipal aggregators or even consumer protection groups, become the agent buyers of a huge magnitude?

Answer: NO! The credit issues that will be mitigated in the future are the supplier’s exposure to bad debt. A supplier still has the same credit issues on the wholesale side of the house at to hedging supply for customers on long-term contracts. Besides, as municipal aggregators have experienced, there is no loyalty to their “cause” and every state that has adopted municipal aggregation has legislated that the customer can opt-out at any time with no penalty. Municipal aggregators may still be around, but I believe that the homeowner’s association would be less knowledgeable and successful in operating this kind of aggregation and the consumer protection entity would not see this as a core competency.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/jkUNL0.

Barry Smitherman, Chairman of the Public Utility Commission,

This weekend, I started writing a post discussing the lack of an economically viable large-scale energy storage technology that we can use in the absence of natural formations such as mountains (for pumped hydro storage) or large caverns (for compressed air energy storage). Often called the holy grail of the energy world, energy storage could enable large jumps in the sophistication of our electric grid and power generation infrastructure. In my research, I came across an article by former NY Times clean energy reporter and current writer for The Texas Tribune, Kate Galbraith, where she discusses large-scale energy storage  in her piece titled Texas Tackles Electricity Storage. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and wanted to share it here.

So, without further ado…

Texas Tackles Electricity Storage

by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune
November 7, 2010

Dozens of gray compartments, lined neatly in rows, inhabit a box-like concrete building on the edge of the impoverished border town of Presidio. The only sound, aside from occasional clanking, is the whirring of air-conditioners to keep the compartments cool.

This $25 million contraption is the largest battery system in the United States — locals have dubbed it “BOB,” for Big Ole Battery. It began operating earlier this year, and it is the latest mark of the state’s interest in a nascent but rapidly evolving industry: the storage of electricity.

Storage is often referred to as the holy grail of energy technology, because it can modernize the grid by more efficiently matching people’s demand for power with the generation of electricity. A variety of early-stage technologies, from the Presidio battery (which can power the town for up to eight hours in the event of an outage) to super-conducting magnets to caverns that would store and release air compressed by electricity, are being studied around the state.

Texas is especially keen on storage because of the proliferation of wind turbines in West Texas. The machines generate the most power at night, when people are sleeping — so if their power could be stored for use during the day, it would significantly increase the usefulness of wind power, which currently accounts for about 6 percent of the state’s electricity generation.

“Storage has been an elusive goal of our industry for a long time,” says Barry Smitherman, the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, which regulates the operations of the state’s electric grid. “I think there’s a lot of great R&D being done in this area.”

The Presidio project does not back up the wind power, although future versions of the battery system could be used for such purposes. Instead, the 4-megawatt sodium-sulfur battery is supposed to help provide a steadier electricity supply for the town, which sits on the end of a 60-mile transmission line built in 1948. The line — still with many of the original wooden poles — often gets struck by lightening, causing frequent outages. A transmission line company, Electric Transmission Texas, plans to replace the line by 2012, but it installed the battery to keep the lights on in the meantime, as well as after the new line gets built.

The concept of electricity storage has been around for a long time. Decades ago, rural, off-grid ranchers could buy batteries to back up their small wind turbines (some old glass ones are on display at the American Wind Power Center in Lubbock). But they stored only enough electricity to power (partly) a single home — far less than the Presidio battery.

Additional battery projects, and potential projects, are sprinkled around Texas. AES Energy, a power company, began operating a 1-megawatt battery, a quarter of the capacity of Presidio’s, near its petroleum coke-fired power plant in the Houston area earlier this year. The company’s goal is to test how the technology will work with the grid system.

Duke Energy, a North Carolina-based electric company, expects final word around year’s end on whether it will receive the bulk of a $22 million federal grant to build batteries near a wind farm in Ector and Winkler counties. Yet another project, a multiyear study of a zinc-flow battery concept by the San Antonio utility CPS Energy, got canceled last year after the manufacturer of the not-yet-commercial technology “had some challenges,” says Lisa Lewis, a CPS Energy spokeswoman.

Other types of energy-storage experiments are also underway around the state. In August, a consortium including the University of Houston was awarded a $4.2 million grant from the Department of Energy to develop an energy storage system from superconducting magnets.

The wind-power arm of Shell and the power-generation company Luminant have been looking into the concept of “compressed air storage” to back up power from a wind farm in the Panhandle. Excess power — such as wind power generated at night — would compress air and pump it into a salt cavern or other suitable underground formation; the air could later be burned with natural gas and expand, generating electricity. So far, this technology has mainly been put to work in Alabama and Germany, but Allan Koenig, a Luminant spokesman, says the project “is moving,” although it is still in the development stage.

The main trouble with storage is that it’s expensive. The Presidio battery and accompanying substation cost $25 million to build, which amounts to about $6,000 for every resident of Presidio. Put another way, that is about $1 for every Texan.

Steven Stengel, a spokesman for NextEra Energy Resources, a major renewable energy developer, says that, generally speaking, the economics of battery storage — without significant grants or state or federal aid — are very difficult to make work for his company. NextEra is not currently planning investments in any storage projects, he says.

The plunge in natural gas prices over the past few years has also harmed storage economics.

Calvin Crowder, the president of Electric Transmission Texas, likens the enormous Presidio battery, which occupies an area the size of a big house, to the first digital computer built in Iowa in the 1930s. Subsequent computer technologies, he says, became “cheaper and more compact” — and the same should happen with batteries. The Presidio battery, which was made in Japan, required two dozen semi trucks to transport it from the port of Long Beach to Texas.

Who should pay for storage projects, and the associated matter of how they should be classified within the electric grid system, are important and complex policy questions that must soon be grappled with by the state. In July, the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, convened the first meeting of a power storage working group; it will hold its fourth meeting on Nov. 8.

In the case of the Presidio battery, the Public Utility Commission in effect classified the battery as a form of transmission rather than power generation, meaning the cost will be shouldered by all rate-payers on the Texas grid.

Right now, Smitherman says, the commission is looking at each project on a case-by-case basis. He cautions against reading too much into the Presidio decision. But storage, he says, is “probably a longer-term policy issue that we need to tee up for discussion and resolution.”

Robert J. King, the president of Good Company Associates, an Austin-based energy-efficiency and renewables consulting firm, which has convened the Texas Energy Storage Alliance, says that uncertainty over how storage will be classified — and related questions about whether the range of benefits it provides could be captured — is making companies less likely to invest.

Another technology that holds some hope for storage is electric cars. Texas will see the arrival of hundreds or thousands of the vehicles in the next few months. The cars are expected to charge primarily at night, taking advantage of the night-time windiness. In theory, the electricity they have taken in could be sent back out to the grid in times of high need — especially late summer afternoons.

“An electric vehicle,” Smitherman says, “is basically a battery with wheels.”

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/cgVOl3.

Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman recently sat down with Texas Tribune reporter Kate Galbraith to talk about energy efficiency, CREZ, smart-meters, non-wind renewables, the switch-hold rule, the Lege, and Federal climate legislation (or lack thereof?). It’s a good read/listen if you have some time. Some interesting highlights:

On the efficiency agency idea (we’ve had something to say about it here, here and here in conjunction with the rather lame energy efficiency rule adopted on July 30):

Galbraith: What do think of the environmentalists’ proposal to house all aspects of energy efficiency under one roof?

Smitherman: I talked to Smitty about it on Thursday, when I came back because I was out of the office last week, and I came in and I was catching up on the clips, and I called him up and I said, well that was quite a letter you sent to Speaker Straus, and we kind of laughed about it a little bit. You know, I think there’s some merit to it. Because whether it’s SECO or here or over at the housing agency, there’s at least three if not more places. Plus you’ve got the local community efforts where energy efficiency dollars are being expended, and there’s really no mechanism in place to coordinate that. And so if you want to take it and put it in SECO or put it over here, I don’t care. I think creating an entirely separate new agency is going to be tough next session because it’s going to be a busy session with redistricting and the budget and a number of other issues — Sunset — but it might make sense to take energy efficiency and house it in one place.

It is encouraging to hear the chairman agree that the nifty idea of combining efficiency programs under one roof makes sense.  PS- The “Smitty” he mentions is Public Citizen’s own Texas State Director Tom “Smitty” Smith, our boss.

On direction from the 82nd Lege:

Galbraith: Do you expect more direction next session?

Smitherman: I do. I think there are a number of members that believe very strongly in energy efficiency. And we saw that this last session with a couple of bills, and so I would expect there to be a robust debate at the end of the session. I don’t know where it will come out at the end of the day, but I think that the debate will be there. And what I hope continues to happen is that we use a broad portfolio of tools to address our energy security and independence and price stability, and energy efficiency is one of those tools. I wouldn’t suggest that we do only energy efficiency and not build the CREZ, for example; or not try to promote a new nuclear plant. But there are some people who really believe that energy efficiency is the way to go.

I don’t know who is advocating for only energy efficiency to accomplish clean air, lower bills and energy security, but it certainly should be a top priority, no?

Check out the entire transcript here to get the rest of the good stuff.

###

By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

There is a disturbing trend emerging in Texas. A once successful consumer-oriented program is floundering because of a deficit of perspective behind the dais at the PUC.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas proposed adopting an update to the state’s energy efficiency program that would cap the amount of money utilities could spend on programs that reduce the energy bills for homes and businesses.

Under the rule, utility expenditures on energy efficiency would be limited to one tenth of one cent per kilowatt-hour. That’s $0.001, which would amount to around a dollar a month for the average home. It’s worth pointing out that there are no cost caps for other energy resources, just the cheapest one.

This bears repeating: the PUC does not want utilities to spend more money to fund programs that make Texas homes more energy efficient and reduce their utility bills.

During today’s hearing, it was abundantly clear that Governor Perry’s appointees to the commission have folded to industry pressure and adopted the bizarre world view that energy efficiency costs consumers too much money. As evidence, in addition to only considering utility industry estimates on the cost of future efficiency resources, they frequently alluded to a report released this week by the conservative and industry-friendly Texas Public Policy Foundation which made unsubstantiated claims that the consumer benefits of energy efficiency programs could not only be less than currently estimated, but actually negative (page 3). (A more detailed critique of their report is coming).

At a workshop earlier this month, the commissioners only allowed industry representatives to present information. No consumer advocates, environmental groups, no academics were allowed to present and even the comments by ACEEE seem to have been ignored.

It’s now time for the Legislature to be the grownups in the room when they convene in January. The commissioners mentioned several times the need for direction from the Lege. Maybe that’s because legislators are in a better position to put energy efficiency costs and benefits into context-recognizing that the vast majority of energy costs and risks to consumers and businesses come from over-dependence on coal, natural gas, and nukes. After all, the slice of the utility bill pie that energy efficiency takes up is minuscule compared to the other components that make up a customer’s energy bill. If the Commissioners were truly concerned about consumer cost burden, shouldn’t they pay attention to the other 99% of the utility bill?

Commissioner Nelson’s comments were particularly disturbing. She said the proposed maximum cost caps were too high ($1.30/month). At one point she questioned the need for energy efficiency mandates at all. There was also an awkward exchange between commissioners where she implied that climate change does not exist (along the “we had a mild summer, therefore.” line of thinking).

A few more brief comments on the rationales used today:

Nelson sited low natural gas prices and the subsequent dip in utility bills as a reason why Texas could do without an energy efficiency goal, despite the fact that energy efficiency is still cheaper than gas AND the fact that efficiency inherently puts downward pressure on bills regardless of other energy prices.

The best time to increase energy efficiency goals is when energy prices are low as a way to ensure they stay low-not to wait until they skyrocket again.

Nelson also again framed the efforts of the 81^st Legislature curiously. Despite the fact that both houses passed Senator Troy Fraser’s SB 546 which would have increased the state efficiency goal, she said the Lege “declined” the opportunity to pass updating the efficiency goal. Anyone who was following this bill last session should take issue with that. The Senate passed SB 546 30-0. The House passed it 97-45. Her choice of words implies that the Lege intentionally did not want to pass an increase in the energy efficiency goal. Evidence exists to the contrary. Perhaps she needs to have a discussion with the Senator on the meaning of legislative intent.

What the PUC will adopt is not what the Lege intended.

Even Arizona just passed a efficiency bill that makes this effort look unispiring to say the least. “The Arizona Energy Efficiency Standard established in the Rule will achieve 22 percent energy savings in 2020 as a percent of retail sales from energy efficiency, with a credit of up to 2 percent for demand response.  This will put in place one of the strongest energy efficiency standards in the country.”

Contact your Senator and Representative and ask them to pass a strong energy efficiency bill!

Wonky background:

When adopted (around December of this year), Texas will have the following efficiency goals:

2010: 20% of the growth in demand (no change from 2009, states are now setting up programs to reducing the total amount of energy used rather than new growth)

2011: 20%

2012: 25%

2013: 30%

Cost caps would be based on consumer rates:

• Residential: $0.001/kWh, or $1.30 per month for years 2011-12; 2013 and beyond it would be increased to $0.0012/kwh or $1.60.
• Commercial: $0.0005/kwh for 2011-12; 2013 and thereafter: $0.00075/kwh

If you want to completely wonk out on a Friday afternoon, you can find the proposal here.

The archived video of today’s meeting can be found here. Fast forward about 3 hours and 15 minutes to get to the energy efficiency discussion. (They took it up about 12:46pm).

While some provisions will benefit low-income families and individuals with disabilities, two provisions will clearly make it more difficult for these customers to pay their electric bills and keep the lights on:

• A REP would be able to legally disconnect a critical care customer who needs electricity to maintain life if a battery back-up is commercially available.  The rule would apply whether or not the consumer actually had a battery back-up.  Battery back-ups are often very expensive, reliable for only a very limited time, and intended for emergency losses of power. PUC Project Number 37622 – RULEMAKING PROCEEDING TO AMEND CUSTOMER PROTECTION RULES RELATING TO DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL CARE CUSTOMERS
• If a consumer falls behind on their bills and enters into a deferred or average payment plan, a customer could be put in a “switch-hold,” preventing them from changing REPs until their bill is paid.  This denies the customer the right to shop around for lower cost provider. PUC Project Number 36131 – RULEMAKING RELATING TO DISCONNECTION OF ELECTRIC SERVICE AND DEFERRED PAYMENT PLANS

On the first proposed rule change (Project Number 37622), faced with a meeting room crowded with worried electric customers, at yesterday’s hearing,  Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman today told the group, “Maybe the words might not have been as artful as they could have been. There’s no intent to change the way we deal with critical care customers.”

Clearly, the commission could use some input from citizens on how to artfully word the rule so that the lives of critical care customers are not put in jeopardy.

The commission is also taking comments on another proposed rule change (Project Number 36131) – in person and in writing – in an effort to bring some uniformity to the extreme-weather disconnection policies in the competitive retail electric market.

One of the most often touted provisions of Texas deregulated utility law is that consumers in a free market have the right to choose their electric providers.  At the hearing, several speakers objected to a proposal that would prohibit customers on deferred payment plans from seeking better deals in the competitive market until they had squared any outstanding balance due with the provider who allowed them to make partial payments during times when bills run unusually high.  While Smitherman said he was open to hearing more comments on the matter, he stated that it was important not to stick electric providers with unreasonable bad debt.  Opponents, on the other hand, felt the implementation of “switch-blocking” or “switch-holding” rules put company profits ahead of consumers’ ability to shopping around for the lowest available rates.

According to State Representative Sylvester Turner, “The Legislature has not authorized the PUC to institute switch blocking.  It’s counter to deregulation.  More Texans will be forced to go without electricity for longer periods of time.  The reality is that in this deregulated market the most vulnerable consumers are being saddled with unfair constraints and regulations.”

Randy Chapman, a lawyer who represents consumer interests, said the commission is treading on unstable legal ground.

The PUC is trying to balance the needs of the poor within a deregulated industry.  When our utilities were regulated, providing for those who were seriously ill or facing financial hardships was factored in as part of the cost of doing business.  In a deregulated environment, we have to come up with new solutions to this problem.  Citizens should submit their ideas on how to solve these issues to the Commission.

The two rule changes can be found under Project Numbers 36131 and 37622 with the PUCT.

Texas is the nation’s reddest state on the political map. But it produces more green energy than any blue state. The state’s top political leaders are fiercely fighting federal cap-and-trade legislation, but the state is No. 2 behind only New York when it comes to reducing the production of carbon dioxide emissions. (From the Texas Energy Report)

This is true, IF you completely ignore the plethora of new coal plants being proposed and built in Texas. Texas already has 17 coal plants (more than any other state), and there are 12 or 13 more being proposed or built (also more than any other state – by far). Current reductions in greenhouse gases include improved building codes, energy efficiency programs, replacement of pilot lights, air conditioning retrofitting, and wind farms. The reduction of greenhouse gases from all these amounts to about 16 million tons a year. If you add in the wind farms that still need transmission lines built to access their power you get around 43 million tons a year. This sounds great until you realize that the recent coal plant proposals would add 77 million tons of CO2 to our atmosphere every year – far more than offsetting these reductions.

While reductions in greenhouse gasses should, of course, be applauded, it is misleading for Chairman Smitherman to take credit for Texas reducing greenhouse gas emissions when he knows there are so many coal plants looming on the horizon that will completely overwhelm these significant reductions. If Texas were really serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions we would not allow anymore unnecessary coal plants to be built, and start replacing the old ones we have with renewable forms of power generation. This would do far more than anything to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and the public health and environmental health benefits from getting off a fossil-fuel based electric system would far outweigh the cost.

###

By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.