TEXAS, USA — How much should Texans pay to keep the power grid in top working order?
While appearing on Inside Texas Politics, state Senator Nathan Johnson put a possible price on it.
“We’ve been paying too little for electricity for too long. And people don’t like to hear this, but the fact is we have valued cheap electricity over reliable electricity,” the Dallas Democrat said. “And if I ask you to pay $3 a month to know that you’re not going to hit a blackout, you’d probably pay it.”
It’s been nearly two years since the power grid in Texas failed in spectacular fashion during winter storm Uri.
And lawmakers are still working on a permanent fix.
Senator Johnson says it isn’t a partisan issue and Democrats and Republicans are working together in Austin to try and solve it. But he also adds that there’s not necessarily internal consensus within either party either.
“I think everybody expected that we would be further along at this point than we are. But it turns out that it’s complicated delivering power to 30 million people. And it requires a great deal of work. And it’s going to be a while before we have a consensus on the solution,” said the Democrat.
Watch the full episode of this week's Inside Texas Politics: