By: Ryan Maye Handy |
The city of Lubbock has asked to join Texas’ deregulated electricity market, hoping to take advantage of lower electricity prices, according to a document filed with the Public Utility Commission on Tuesday.
If approved by the PUC, Lubbock will become the first city to opt into deregulation after the market was created 15 years ago. The move would also require Lubbock to join the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees 90 percent of the state’s grid, most of it serving customers with deregulated electricity.
Texas deregulated most of its electricity market in 2002 in a push to create a competitive market for power generators and give customers lower electricity prices. But the benefits of deregulation are debated, and one study released last year by the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, a non-profit advocacy group, found that average electricity prices in regulated areas were lower.
Lubbock’s population of 250,000 gets electricity from Lubbock Power and Light. In testimony filed with the PUC, Lubbock’s Mayor Daniel Pope said residents had frequently asked to help the citizen make a bid for deregulated electricity.
