AUSTIN- A coalition of environmental, religious, and
low-income advocates today called on Reliant Energy to drop its active
opposition to renewable energy. The groups pointed to comments filed with the
Public Utility Commission as evidence Reliant is actively working to stall
renewable energy development in Texas.
“With Houston’s air quality as bad as it
is, it is unconscionable that Reliant would work to cripple the growing
renewable energy market,” said Luke Metzger, Advocate with Environment
Texas.
Last year, Governor Perry signed SB 20 into law,
requiring electric utilities to purchase roughly 5% of their electricity from
clean, renewable sources by the year 2015. However, based on written comments
filed this year, Reliant wants the Legislature’s minimum goals to be treated as
maximum levels –thereby taking away the ability of anyone to buy green power and
voluntarily support extra efforts to use more renewable energy and gain
additional air quality improvements, as many military bases, churches and
businesses currently do. Reliant is also seeking to have the entire state
renewables program terminated by 2015.
Their singular position is in sharp contrast to that of
the people of Houston, who have expressed the strongest level
of support for renewable energy of all the customer deliberative polls ever
taken in Texas.
In a draft rule, Texas’ voluntary market for renewables would
effectively end, as voluntary actions such as the wind turbine purchase
announced recently by the City of Houston would simply allow companies
like Reliant to avoid their obligations. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has advised that if the new legislation is implemented as advocated by
Reliant, those seeking to help the environment “would need to buy green power
from another state.”
“Our voluntary renewables market in Texas is booming and it’s what made
renewables the success they are today in our state. It is atrocious that one
company will try to take that success away from Texas and our citizens,” said Beth
O’Brien, Clean Energy Organizer with Public Citizen. “It is simply unbelievable
that Reliant would suggest the Texas Legislature wants Texans to use renewable
energy from outside the state, rather than right here where it can clear our
air, provide jobs, and pay local taxes.”
“Congregations throughout Texas have been making voluntary
purchases of renewable energy because they want to protect children’s health and
care for God’s creation,” said Bee Moorhead of Texas Impact, a statewide
interfaith advocacy organization. “If the draft rule becomes adopted by the
3-member Commission as a final rule, the PUC will be telling Texas churches, ‘Send your good
intentions and your money to some other state, we don’t want them
here.’”
The groups decried the pattern of anti-competitive and
anti-consumer behavior by Reliant, including price gouging their customers. “Our
electricity prices are already outrageous because Reliant is overcharging its
customers and profiting from the hurricane. It’s disgraceful that now they are
pressuring our PUC for rules that give Reliant a short-term windfall from
others’ use of renewable energy,” said Jayne Junkin, Lead Organizer of ACORN’s
Affordable Electricity Campaign. “Reliant is up to no good, continuing to rip
off their customers, and the Public Utility Commission shouldn’t stand for
it.”
The groups urge the PUC to resist Reliant’s lobby
efforts and ensure that their new renewable energy rules stimulate the maximum
benefit to the people of Texas.
