Texas Set to Ban Griddy-Like Electricity Plans After Blackouts

Texas moved to ban retail electricity providers from offering the kinds of plans that led to astronomical power bills for customers during February’s energy crisis.

Legislation passed by the state Senate Thursday and sent to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott for signature prohibits companies from tying electricity rates to the state’s volatile wholesale power market. Prices in that market soared to $9,000 a megawatt-hour for several days in February, when a deep freeze triggered widespread blackouts.

The measure is part of a package of legislation aimed to rein in, albeit modestly, Texas’s laissez-faire approach to electricity markets, which some ...