Texas Voters, Feeling the Pinch of High Home Energy Prices, Support Investments to Improve the Grid
By Danielle Deiseroth
In a September 2022 survey, Data for Progress and the Texas Consumer Association assessed Texas voters’ opinions about home energy prices, climate change, and the reliability of the state’s grid.
We find that Texas voters think Governor Greg Abbott and state leaders failed to protect consumers during Winter Storm Uri and are not doing enough to prepare Texas for the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, after months of grid failures and skyrocketing home energy prices, Texas voters widely support investments to improve grid reliability.
As the gubernatorial candidates prepare to face off in their only debate, we find that power and electricity grid issues are among the most important issues that Texas voters think state lawmakers should address, along with immigration, gun violence, the economy, crime and public safety, and women’s reproductive rights.
While higher home energy prices are impacting a majority of Texas voters today, they also haven’t forgotten about the pain of Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. A majority of Texas voters (62 percent), including nearly all Democrats (83 percent), a majority of Independents (63 percent), and a plurality of Republicans (44 percent), all agree that Abbott and Texas state leaders failed to protect consumers from high prices during the storm.
Next, we asked Texas voters if their home energy bills are higher, lower, or about the same as they were a year ago. We find that nearly 7 in 10 Texas voters (69 percent) say their home energy bills are higher now than they were a year ago.
Nearly all of those who report having higher home energy bills (89 percent) say their lives have at least been impacted “some” by these higher prices, with over half (52 percent) saying these higher bills are making “a great deal” of impact on their lives.
These higher home energy bills are detracting from Texas voters’ quality of life. Of those who report having higher home energy bills, 58 percent say they’ve cut back spending on recreational activities, while 51 percent say that it’s now harder to pay other bills. Their behaviors at home have changed, too, with 47 percent reporting they are using less air conditioning and keeping fewer lights on than they typically would.
We also asked those with higher home energy prices whom they blame, and we sought to understand how information about the independence of the Texas grid could impact their responses. In a split-sample test, we asked one group of respondents:
”To what extent do you blame each of the following for your higher home energy prices?”
Meanwhile, the other half of the sample was asked the same question, but with the additional caveat that:
“Since the Texas electricity grid is independent, it is not subject to regulation by the federal government.”
There are stark differences in whom voters blame for their high home energy prices when they are reminded about the independence of the Texas grid. Without additional information, only a third of Texas voters paying higher home energy bills place “a great deal of blame” on Abbott, while 54 percent blame President Biden “a great deal” and 56 blame ERCOT “a great deal.” However, when given information about the grid’s independence, the percentage of those who place “a great deal” of blame on Abbott jumps to 44 percent and on ERCOT to 65 percent. Meanwhile, the share of voters who blame Biden “a great deal” drops to 39 percent.
In addition to thinking state leaders failed to protect consumers from high prices during Winter Storm Uri, a majority of Texas voters (51 percent) also say that Abbott and Texas state leaders are failing to adequately prepare the state for the impacts of climate change such as extreme weather events. Nearly all Democrats (89 percent) and 51 percent of Independents say state leaders are not doing enough, though a majority of Republicans (61 percent) think Abbott and state leaders are already doing enough. That said, 20 percent of Republicans still think Abbott and state leaders could do more to address climate change.
To protect consumers from high energy prices, Texas voters support both stronger regulations on energy companies and an array of investments to improve the grid.
A majority of Texas voters (63 percent), including 77 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Independents, and even 51 percent of Republicans, agree that Texas should enact stronger regulations on energy companies to keep the lights on and protect consumers from high prices. Only 23 percent think that regulations are an overreach of the government that do not deliver benefits that outweigh their costs.
When considering solutions to tackle Texas’ grid issues and move into a new clean energy future, it is important to note that Texas voters view renewable energy very favorably. Majorities of Texas voters have a favorable view of clean energy (76 percent), solar energy (73 percent), renewable energy (71 percent), and wind energy (67 percent). That said, Texas voters view “natural gas” significantly more favorably than oil, coal, and “methane gas.”
Additionally, Texas voters widely support investments to upgrade electricity transmission lines and equipment (88 percent), increase energy efficiency (82 percent), and expand the usage of new energy technologies (73 percent) to improve grid reliability. Payments to consumers during periods of high demand also enjoy support from 64 percent of Texas voters. Meanwhile, a plurality (49 percent) of voters oppose paying extra on their home energy bills to keep decades-old coal and gas plants available even when not generating power.
Finally, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has made Abbott’s response to power grid issues a key component of his campaign. In the governor’s race, we find that O’Rourke trails Abbott by 5 points, while 2 percent say they’re voting for another candidate and 3 percent are undecided.
Winter Storm Uri left an indelible mark on Texans’ minds, as they now navigate their lives without confidence that the grid will provide reliable service. With grid reliability issues and high energy prices significantly impacting their lives, Texas voters want their leaders to prioritize addressing the power grid. Looking ahead to the midterm elections and beyond, Texas lawmakers should act to ensure that every Texan, no matter where they live, has access to reliable and affordable electricity.
Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is the Lead Climate Strategist at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From September 2 to 9, 2022, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 712 likely voters in Texas using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.