Texas has more wind power installations than any other states in the U.S., they actually account for close to ten percent of the state’s total electricity generation, and this has enabled utilities to offer something truly amazing to their customers: free electricity. Some power companies in Texas are passing on the advantage to customers by providing them with free electricity at night owing to the fact that wind farms are just generation so much energy.
TXU Energy is one of the companies that’s offering its customers free energy. From 9 pm to 6 am its customers can use as much as they like without any charge while they pay slightly higher rates during the daytime. The promise of free electricity at night means that customers can keep usage at a minimum during the day and then use power hungry appliances like washing machines and dishwashers at night when it doesn’t cost them anything.
Night is when wind blows most strongly and wind farms take full advantage, producing electricity that’s really inexpensive as it’s abundant and gets federal tax breaks. With customers adjusting lifestyles to move consumption from peak daytime hours this allows for lower wholesale prices as well as eliminating the need to build more of the costly power plants.
Wind power generated in the state has to be consumed within the state as its electricity grid barely connects to the national grid. Texas is home to the largest deregulated electricity market in the United States with dozens of retail power companies offering similar incentives to customers, the idea being to keep usage low during peak hours and increasing consumption at night when the electricity is virtually free.
Filed in . Read more about Wind Power. Source: nytimes