Millions of people were still without drinking water Sunday in Texas, where elected officials rose up against the astronomical rise in the cost of electricity linked to the lethal cold snap that hit the country.
If 30,000 homes were still without electricity on Sunday, the rescue teams have not yet been able to repair all the power lines blown down by the bad weather, according to the poweroutage site, many Texans are now facing another problem: bills exorbitant energy, up to $ 16,000.
Texas is in fact the only state whose energy distribution network operates in a vacuum, and its electricity market is completely deregulated.
Many homes have contracts whose monthly price varies according to demand, and the latter exploded with the cold snap.
"Everything that happened this week was predictable and preventable"
"These bills, these prohibitive costs should be paid by the State of Texas, and not by the individual consumers who are not responsible for this catastrophe", launched Sunday on NBC Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, fourth American city.
“Everything that happened this week was predictable and preventable,” he added, adding that it has long been clear that Texas' independent power grid is vulnerable to extreme weather conditions.
"We have a responsibility to protect Texans from increases in their energy bills which are the result of very harsh winter weather and power cuts," Texas Governor Greg Abbott also assured Saturday.
An investigation demanded by the authorities
President Joe Biden has signed a new declaration of emergency for Texas, releasing funds that could help pay residents' electricity bills, according to Republican elected official Michael McCaul.
“It's the current plan, with federal assistance, to be able to help homeowners,” he told CNN.
VIDEO.
Cold wave
: in Texas, endless queues for water supplies
On the ground, the elected Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had already raised more than $ 4 million on Saturday to help the Texans.
“When disaster strikes, it's not just a problem for Texans;
it's a problem for our whole country, ”the Bronx representative told reporters.
“And our whole country must come together behind the needs of Texans across this state.
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In the meantime, federal and local authorities in Texas have called for an investigation into this energy crisis.
70 people died
Democratic Senator Tina Smith, for her part, called for the opening of a federal investigation into the exponential jump in natural gas prices during the polar cold wave across the United States, in Texas but also in the Midwest.
Beyond the electricity problem, the inhabitants of several cities of the "Lone Star State" remained Sunday without drinking water.
In Houston, the instruction to drink only boiled water could in particular be in effect until Monday.
This extreme weather episode, which has wreaked havoc across the southern and central United States this week, has claimed the lives of at least 70 people, according to US media.
