Texas lawmakers are poised to pass several measures designed to help pay for the billions of dollars of energy costs stemming from catastrophic blackouts during the severe winter storm that hit the state this year. The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill on Tuesday that would allow electric co-operatives including bankrupt Brazos Electric Power Cooperative to cover unpaid power expenses from the disaster by selling debt that can be paid back over 30 years through charges on customer bills, a process known as securitization.
The moves come as Texas lawmakers race during the last week of their session to address the financial fallout of an Arctic freeze that crippled the state for nearly a week and left more than 100 dead. More than 4 million customers lost power for days after nearly half of the state’s power generation capacity failed during the storm.