PowerFacts

New Poll Shows Texans Support Competition

A new poll of Texas electricity consumers revealed that among those polled, an overwhelming majority of voters favor the current competitive structure of the Texas electricity market. The survey, which questioned 801 registered Texas voters between September 9th and October 7th, was conducted by the Texas-based public opinion firm of Baselice & Associates and commissioned by the Texas Competitive Power Advocates (TCPA). This poll matches similar results across the country and is further evidence that consumers value competitive markets and appreciate the ability to choose providers and get the best possible deal for electricity.

• By a very wide 78% to 14% margin, Texans favor the current competitive structure of the Texas electricity market.


• Support for the competitive power market increases even more when Texans learn that the competitive market encourages investment in power plants using diverse fuel sources, including natural gas, coal, and wind and other renewables, so that Texas is not over-reliant on one fuel source to generate needed electricity.


• Customers who choose their electricity provider favor the current competitive market at the highest rate (84%) compared with electric co-op customers (78%) and city owned utility customers (73%) who are just slightly less likely to favor the competitive electricity market.


• Despite Hurricane Ike and resulting power outages in Southeast Texas interrupting the poll, a majority (52%) of Texas voters believe that "more government regulation of electric companies" would make no difference in hurricane response. Twenty-one percent thought more government regulation would make hurricane response better, and 20% thought more government regulation would make it worse.


• While Republicans (84%) are the most supportive of the current competitive market, significant majorities of Democrats (74%) and Independents (73%) are also in favor of the current competitive structure of the Texas electricity market.


• Texans rank jobs and the economy as the most important state issue, followed by healthcare, education, energy prices and border security. Thinking about family bills, Texans believe that gasoline costs are rising fastest (46%), followed by groceries (22%), electric service (16%), and property taxes (6%).


• "Texans overwhelmingly support competition and consumer choice in electric service, even in the wake of hurricane-related power outages in Southeast Texas. Texans realize that competition means more consumer choice, the ability to lock in electric prices, and cleaner, more efficient power plants to meet growing demand for electricity." - Ray Sullivan, TCPA spokesman, "Texans Overwhelmingly Support Competition" press release, Oct. 29, 2008
  
  
  

CONTACT: JOHN SHELK
(202) 349-0154or 703-472-8660

EPSA is the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers, including generators and marketers. These suppliers, who account for nearly 40 percent of the installed generating capacity in the United States, provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities serving global power markets. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.