By not engaging in interstate transactions, these utilities were not engaged in interstate commerce, the justification for FERC's jurisdiction. Texas is the only state in the lower 48 with this policy and it has resulted in huge amounts of excess capacity and some of the highest electricity bills in the nation due to a lack of emphasis on conservation and ongoing incentives to boost consumption. Texas reportedly has more renewable energy resources than any other states, save California. And wheeling power to central Texas is limited by the state's power surpluses. Wood, nevertheless, vows to support reforms that could ultimately help the wind and cogeneration industry.
Wood endorses green pricing as a tool to integrate renewable resources into the Texas energy mix.
He also seems genuinely interested in AWEA's proposed renewables portfolio standard as a means of integrating renewables into a market currently dominated by nuclear, coal and natural gas capacity. According to Wood, Texas is looking to learn from California's mistakes as it moves forward on the IRP and restructuring front. Like the Pacific Northwest, the state's restructuring process is one initially focused on gathering public input and developing principles before an actual proposal is laid on the table. He prefers the methodology proposed by the Conservation Law Foundation and New England Electric Service for stranded cost recovery. Despite the interest among wind and solar manufacturers and developers, the biggest push for deregulation in Texas is coming from cogenerators.