> If a fixed rate contract counts as market pricing, then market pricing doesn't solve the problem.
It will when people realize it means they won't suffer blackouts.
Currently, Texas doesn't have a fully market based system. For example, a market based system wouldn't shut power off to neighborhoods, it would be granular to the customer. But it takes time to evolve from the old system of government fixed prices.
I would also expect a market system to offer fixed price users an option when there's a supply crisis - go to a variable plan or get shut off.
You can have a system that reduces power use with blackouts, or one that reduces it by price.
Or you can have a government run system at a fixed price that is far higher, because you'll be paying for an inefficient government operation with all kinds of extra capacity and have peaker plants available at a moment's notice. Besides, that's also the least environmentally sound system.
If you can manage to have per-customer cutoffs, yes that would solve the problem.
I was talking in the context of what could help with the current grid design.
And heck if you can get even a fraction of that improvement in controlled cutoffs, then you can avoid this kind of blackout even without anything else. Because it would actually be possible to roll the blackout and only have people lose power for a few hours at a time.
It will when people realize it means they won't suffer blackouts.
Currently, Texas doesn't have a fully market based system. For example, a market based system wouldn't shut power off to neighborhoods, it would be granular to the customer. But it takes time to evolve from the old system of government fixed prices.
I would also expect a market system to offer fixed price users an option when there's a supply crisis - go to a variable plan or get shut off.
You can have a system that reduces power use with blackouts, or one that reduces it by price.
Or you can have a government run system at a fixed price that is far higher, because you'll be paying for an inefficient government operation with all kinds of extra capacity and have peaker plants available at a moment's notice. Besides, that's also the least environmentally sound system.