A Texas energy company will keep supplying fuel to power plants after initially threatening to turn them off due a price dispute.
Energy Transfer LP had stated it would cut off fuel for five Vistra Corp. power plants, a move that would have left 400,000 homes and businesses without heat, according to The Texas Tribune.
Energy Alliance Policy Director Bill Peacock said that the dispute stems from the state government raising energy prices.
"Texans are going to be on the receiving end of negative consequences should Energy Transfer follow through on its threat, which is wrong," Peacock told the Lone Star Standard. "Why are Texans going to be on the receiving end of a corporate dispute? This may have been a corporate dispute, but it was created by [the] Texas government.”
According to The Texas Tribune, Energy Transfer believes Vistra owes it $21.6 million for natural gas provided during the 2021 February winter storm. Luminant, a Vistra subsidiary, told the Texas Railroad Commission that the “threat to terminate service in the middle of winter is illegal and grossly irresponsible and should be prohibited by this commission."
“During last year's winter storm, the Public Utility Commission of Texas arbitrarily raised the price of electricity to about 300 times its usual price," Peacock said. "It was during this time that the dispute arose between these companies. The threat by Energy Transfer to cut off natural gas supplies to the Texas grid was a bad move, but it never would have come to that if Texas regulators had not intervened in the market."
Last year’s winter storm generated $2.4 billion for Energy Transfer because of increased fees for natural gas.
The company has agreed to provide fuel supplies through the end of March, but it will charge spot market prices — up to six times the national average — according to The Texas Tribune.
