Texas Gov. Abbott and most of the state senate raised political pressure Tuesday evening in a push to reverse $16 billion in power overcharges from last month’s blackouts.Mr. Abbott directed state lawmakers to consider as an emergency item whether to correct all overcharges identified by an independent market monitor. The Texas Senate meanwhile sent a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, urging it to correct the error.The moves heighten the pressure on the utility commission, which stated last week that it wasn’t inclined to reverse the potential overcharges and reprice electricity sold at sky-high prices during a severe winter storm that swept the state. Amid the freeze, the three-member commission, appointed by Mr. Abbott, ordered the state’s grid operator to increase the wholesale power prices to the peak price of $9,000 per megawatt hour. The independent market monitor, who reports to the utility commission, said in a report last week that Texas kept wholesale prices artificially high for over 30 hours longer than necessary, creating at least $16 billion in overcharges.
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