Texas

Recently, the Houston Chronicle featured an op-ed by COMPETE Co-Chair Federico Peña. In his column, Peña highlights the benefits that Texas’ competitive electricity market has delivered to the state, including innovative products and services such as demand response, smart meters, intelligent grids, and transparency in price and usage.

Since the state’s electricity market was open to competition in the late 1990s, Texas’ energy marketplace has matured into one of the most successful in the nation.

The full column can be found at: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7524989.html

Today, COMPETE National Co-Chair Federico Peña, former Secretary of both the U.S Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Transportation, addressed more than 400 energy executives, regulators, energy buyers, and investors from across the country at the 22nd Annual KEMA Executive Forum in San Antonio, TX. Secretary Peña highlighted how competition in electricity markets is fostering innovation, including demand response services, smart meters, intelligent grids and renewable energy growth. He also discussed the findings of a KEMA white paper commissioned by COMPETE – released in Feb. 2011 – that highlights the correlation between competition and innovation.

COMPETE National Co-Chair Federico Peña, who served as U.S. Secretary of Energy and U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Clinton, will address attendees at the 22nd Annual KEMA Executive Forum at 12:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday, April 7 in San Antonio, TX. Secretary Peña will highlight how competition in electricity markets is fostering innovation, including demand response services, smart meters, intelligent grids and renewable energy growth. He will also discuss the findings of a KEMA white paper commissioned by COMPETE – released in Feb. 2011 – that highlights the correlation between competition and innovation.
 

New power generation, innovation, greater use of renewable energy, and competitive pricing are the hallmarks of competitive electricity markets in Texas, Mitchell Schnurman, a business columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, highlighted in a recent column.

The age of the smart grid is dawning, with millions of smart meters already installed across the country. But some utilities have encountered opposition to smart-meter pilot programs, and the question of how to communicate benefits to consumers complicates the picture.
 

A recent report forecasts rapid growth in jobs among the solar industry, and predicts competitive market states will lead the way in growing green jobs through clean energy innovation. The National Solar Jobs Census 2010 forecasts 24,000 net new jobs will be created over the next twelve months, a 26 percent increase over the 93,000 currently employed.
 

Competitive electricity markets are driving innovation, stimulating new investment, and delivering customer choice across North America, concludes the 2010 Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS).
 

Texas’ competitive electricity market, hailed by some as the most mature market in the nation, is on the verge of instituting a new system to improve electric grid performance and increase transmission efficiency to provide the lowest possible costs for consumers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) transition from a “zonal” market to a “nodal” market will take place on December 1st.
 

A new study sponsored by COMPETE reveals the volume of electricity sales by competitive non-utility suppliers has doubled since 2003 in the continental United States, and competitive suppliers are increasingly offering innovative products and services allowing competition based on more than just price.
 
The report compiles national statistics and in-depth analysis of several states (New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington D.C.) that have opened their retail electricity markets to competition.
 

Dozens of alternative energy suppliers have been attracted to Texas’ competitive electricity market, and the competition between suppliers is creating significant economic benefits for consumers. As market participants compete against each other to provide the best possible service at the lowest cost in order to attract and retain customers, market forces are driving consumer costs down while increasing choice and service offerings, and stimulating innovative technologies.