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Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday held a meeting with other state leaders to discuss the spikes some Texans are seeing in their energy bills following a massive winter storm that prompted dayslong power outages across the state.
The meeting came after numerous reports of Texans receiving exorbitant electric bills despite not having power during the storm . One Texan, according to The New York Times, received a $16,752 electric bill.
In a statement, Abbott called the meeting, "productive" and said leaders "are moving quickly to alleviate this problem and will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions." The meeting took place via phone conference call.
Along with Abbott, the heads of the Senate and House — Republicans Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, respectively — were also on the call.
Members of the two chambers also participated in the meeting, including chairs of the budget-writing Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees, as well as chairs of the Senate Business and Commerce and House Energy Resources committees.
The discussion with lawmakers, according to the governor’s office, centered on calculating the cost of those skyrocketing energy bills and “how the state can help reduce this burden.”
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