Shocking!

What to Know: Georgetown residents will see a hike in the electric bills because of a bad deal made by city leaders for renewable energy.

“City Manager David Morgan said the power cost adjustment increase is because they leaned on forecasts back in 2012 and 2013 that predicted a shortage of power and a significant rise in energy prices,” KVUE reports. “’Ultimately, we selected wind and solar because we could lock in at competitive prices long-term,’ Morgan said… With those long terms, Morgan said they had to plan for population growth, so they bought more energy than they need right now. When the forecasts were wrong and Central Texas saw cooler than normal temperatures, the prices fell.”

The TPPF Take: The city’s gamble on renewable power was a losing bet.

“Mayor Ross said this was a win-win situation, good for the planet and good for ratepayers,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “But of course it turns out that the real losers are the citizens of Georgetown, who have to pay more for their power now, power that isn’t even truly 100 percent renewable.”

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