this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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Almost three years since the deadly Texas blackout of 2021, a panel of judges from the First Court of Appeals in Houston has ruled that big power companies cannot be held liable for failure to provide electricity during the crisis. The reason is Texas’ deregulated energy market.

The decision seems likely to protect the companies from lawsuits filed against them after the blackout. It leaves the families of those who died unsure where next to seek justice.

...

This week, Chief Justice Terry Adams issued the unanimous opinion of that panel that “Texas does not currently recognize a legal duty owed by wholesale power generators to retail customers to provide continuous electricity to the electric grid, and ultimately to the retail customers.”

The opinion states that big power generators “are now statutorily precluded by the legislature from having any direct relationship with retail customers of electricity.”

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[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 110 points 10 months ago (4 children)

State motto should be “Welcome to Hell.”

[–] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 44 points 10 months ago (2 children)
[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I wish this state would split into multiple smaller states. Not all of us who live here are conservative nut jobs. Let us have our autonomy from the red counties.

[–] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They know they need the entirety of the size of the state to overcome any of the larger metro areas. Break that up and they’ll lose the power & prestige it brings in the Electoral College. They’ll never give that up, hence the massive voter suppression.

[–] cerement 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

fun little thought experiment: Texas secedes from the US but then the metro centers secede from Texas and rejoin the US (Dallas taking banking with them, Austin taking the capital, San Antonio taking the Alamo, …) – we can let them keep scenic Midland and Odessa, but Big Bend National Park and Johnson Space Center as well as all the military bases are federal property …

[–] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Oh yah I’m all in, but then to drive to any other area I’d have to cross into the badlands. Can we take the interstates too with the big cities?

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That guy with all the exes who live in Texas better be worried because Hell is freezing over.

[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No worries, that’s why he hangs his hat in Tennessee, which probably comes with its own issues.

[–] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Is Tennessee one of those states? Can never understand how the “save the children” crowd and the “marry ‘em too young to know better” crowd intersect.

[–] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I did a little digging before writing that. Didn't find all I was looking for, but I did see that only some states explicitly made laws against child marriage, and just in the recent past! Kinda weird. Tennessee wasn't one of them.

[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 2 points 10 months ago

Ah, the Grand Ole Gray Area

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Because they don't want to "save the children" for the sake of the children but for the sake of their fragile egos that can't handle the idea that their wife might have had other experiences to compare with.

[–] LeadSoldier@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

I had to live in HEll Paso because I was stationed there in the army. Iraq was better. The good news is I was able to leave.

[–] CH3DD4R_G0BL1N@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

“Don’t mess with Texas! (We do it enough ourselves)”

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

"Don't mess with Texas! (We reserve the right to mess with you)"

[–] DevCat@lemmy.world 67 points 10 months ago (5 children)

When you create an account with a utility, aren't you creating a contract with them? What happened to contractual duty?

[–] cerement 70 points 10 months ago (2 children)

“We are altering the terms. Pray we do not alter them any further.”

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

"Well, in the land of the fee, your level of freedom is directly proportional to your wealth, and the corporations have... an ungodly amount of wealth... but you... you're a peasant... you understand?"

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[–] ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I don’t think it works that way in Texas. There’s a layer of energy resellers who customers create an account with. Those resellers buy energy from the main utility companies and offer different plans. So, there’s no contract between consumer and generator.

[–] AlwaysNowNeverNotMe@kbin.social 42 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Ah yes more middlemen with do nothing jobs ment to reduce corporate liability. The American dream.

[–] baldingpudenda@lemmy.world 22 points 10 months ago

Dont disparage what they do. They also add to the price so they can profit. Clearly, added value.

[–] cerement 1 points 10 months ago

that and how many of their customers can afford (or have the spare time) for a contract lawyer?

[–] BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

It's a separation between power generation and power delivery. We have the same thing in New York. Someone has to own the actual delivery infrastructure, which in NYC is generally this company called ConEdison. They'll also provide the generate power for you, but you have the right to switch to other providers. For instance, I could switch to a provider that generated all power from renewable sources, though it is naturally more expensive.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe it works that way in NYC, but here in Indiana, I get one option for a power company. Power, gas, water, sewer, trash collection, all single option. And no, that single option is not a government one because I live outside city limits. Until they laid fiber in this neighborhood last year, I only had one option for internet too.

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[–] Zorque@kbin.social 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Someone has to own the actual delivery infrastructure,

Do they, though? I hear there's this neat thing called "public ownership" that works wonders for basic necessities like utilities. And that way you don't have someone scheming to profit off the things you need to stay alive.

[–] Uranium3006@kbin.social 5 points 10 months ago

During the Great privatization scam we are promised that the free market would somehow be magically more efficient but it turns out it was a just so they could show profit Hearing in the middle of stuff that had previously been free of it. Worst service and higher prices were universally the result because those profits have to come from somewhere and that'somewhere is you

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 2 points 10 months ago

There are lots of examples of private companies working well as regulated monopolies. The key word is "regulated", though.

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[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Ok, then sue the middlemen for failing to withhold their side of the contract.

They can deal with recouping the costs from their shitty suppliers.

They'll either pressure the suppliers into change, or go out of business handing the liability back to the suppliers.

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[–] Uranium3006@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

In my experience contracts are one-sided. The big corpo end of the contract basically has no real power over them but they sure can use their contract to fuck you little guy over. All the contract does is allow a corporation to use state power against you really. No contracts that's not between equals never truly be fair unless we were to have a public defender system for civil court

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[–] Quaternions@lemmy.world 44 points 10 months ago

Yet another reason why I'll never live in Texas.

[–] RampageDon@lemmy.world 39 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Remember when Texas was threatening to secede and then everyone realized the state just falls apart when they have any kind of weather besides 90 and sunny.

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[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Texans sure must love being abused by their GOP rulers.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago

Stockholm Syndrome

[–] Pratai@lemmy.ca 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

And Texans should have no legal responsibility to pay taxes.

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 months ago

Or the bill tbh...

[–] rivermonster@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Texas is a 4th world shithole.

[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

As a Texan, you're insulting 4th world shitholes

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 7 points 10 months ago

All this really means is that the life insurance companies won't be able to transfer their financial liability to the power companies.

[–] Vaginal_blood_fart@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Shit states gonna shit state..what a joke of a dump.

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