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STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
By Gary Borders
As the dog days of August approach and electric bills soar, the Public Utility Commission is reminding consumers of rules in place to protect them from having their power disconnected due to financial difficulties, especially during extreme heat.
“Ensuring the power stays on for all Texans, regardless of their financial situation, is a top priority for all of us at the PUCT,” Executive Director Connie Corona said.
Several utilities have suspended disconnections to allow customers to recover from Hurricane Beryl, which caused widespread outages, particularly in the Houston area.
Consumer protection rules require electric providers to offer bill payment assistance programs, though electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities in Texas are not subject to this rule; however, most offer some form of bill assistance. Options include a payment arrangement or a deferred payment plan.
Customers seeking assistance should start by contacting their electric provider. They can also learn what assistance programs are available in their area by dialing 211.
Migrant apprehensions drop to 2021 levels
The number of migrants apprehended by federal officers in June was at its lowest level in more than three years, according to figures released by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and reported by The Texas Tribune.Border Patrol agents apprehended 83,356 migrants in June across the southern border, down from 117,901 in May and the lowest since January 2021, the month President Joe Biden took office.
“Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy A. Miller said in a statement. “We are continuing to work with international partners to go after transnational criminal organizations that traffic in chaos and prioritize profit over human lives.”
Biden issued an executive order, effective June 5, that essentially ended granting asylum to migrants.
Gov. Greg Abbott in previous statements has credited the state’s multibillion-dollar mission, Operation Lone Star, for the decline in migrant apprehensions, The Tribune reported.
Texas second-worst state for women’s health outcomes
A new report from a national women’s health nonprofit concludes Texas is among the lowest performing states for women’s health outcomes, Texas Public Radio reported.
Only Mississippi ranked worse in the study by the Commonwealth Fund, which analyzed data on maternal mortality, insurance access and other factors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
One major issue is the lack of maternity care centers or obstetricians in many rural Texas counties, with 46% defined as “maternity care deserts.” The state also ranked last in the country for health care access and affordability.
“It means that women enter their pregnancy having had less access to health care, particularly if they’re poor or low income, and in a poorer health situation than they would have been in had they had health insurance coverage,” said Sara Collins of the Commonwealth Fund.
Feds OK SNAP hot-food purchases in Beryl-affected counties
Federal food assistance recipients in 36 counties affected by Hurricane Beryl can use their benefits to buy hot foods and ready-to-eat meals, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced last week.
The approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture applies to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lavaca, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties.
“The ability to purchase hot food is a necessity for SNAP recipients who are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Beryl,” said HHSC Deputy Executive Commissioner of Access and Eligibility Services Molly Regan. “Many families still cannot prepare meals due to power outages.
No action is required of SNAP recipients to receive this additional benefit. To find local resources, such as food and shelter, dial 211 and select Option 1.
Experts: Power outages likely to continue
Experts say widespread outages such as that caused in July by Hurricane Beryl, and in recent years by other weatherrelated events, are likely to continue in the future because the state’s massive power grid is unprepared for severe weather events, The Tribune reported.
The state had 210 weatherrelated power outages from 2000 to 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy — more than any other state. In July, Beryl knocked out power to 2.6 million customers in Southeast Texas. That came on the heels of a mid-May windstorm, known as a derecho, that hit the Houston area with 100-mile-per-hour winds and knocked out power to 1 million customers.
“It’s like the big, bad wolf: huff and puff and blow the house down,” said Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “And I don’t think any utility or city designs for weather like that, at least not weather that frequent.”
The state’s stand-alone power grid will need decades of public investment in order to make it more resilient against storms, which down poles and power lines across Texas.
“The current distribution infrastructure isn’t adequate apparently for the job at hand,” Michael Skelly, CEO of Grid United, said. “What level of reliability do we want to try to get to and what are we prepared to invest?” Both CenterPoint and Oncor have proposed investing billions to strengthen poles and wires, and install underground wires, but that will likely come at a cost to consumers.
“Ultimately, the bill is going to get loaded onto the backs of the customers, whether or not they were pleased with how [the power outage] was handled,” Sandra Haverlah, president of the Texas Consumer Association, said.
