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New Texas Power Rules Raised Costs by $12 Billion, Watchdog Says - Bloomberg

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New Texas Power Reserves Raised Grid Costs by $12 Billion, Monitor Says - Bloomberg

New Texas Power Rules Raised Cost $12 Billion, Watchdog Says
Power lines in Austin, Texas. Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg

A watchdog for the Texas electric grid said new rules this year have led to more than $12 billion in additional costs, up from a previous estimate of $8 billion over the summer, the latest development in a contentious debate over power reserves in the Lone Star State.

In early June, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, started setting aside a new pool of reserves that can respond quickly to cover shortfalls, as when solar supply drops at sunset. But that change also kept cheap power generation sitting idle during hot summer days. The result: artificial scarcity, which sent real-time power prices soaring, according to Potomac Economics, which serves as Ercot’s independent market monitor.

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New Texas Power Rules Raised Cost $12 Billion, Watchdog Says

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