AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- As the impacts from brutal winter weather continue to paralyze Central Texas, the City of Austin and Travis County have enacted emergency orders aimed at encouraging businesses to reduce their energy usage and preventing price gouging by businesses.
The orders come as Austin Energy, and the statewide electrical grid operated by ERCOT, continues to struggle with a demand that far exceeds the available supply of electricity.
"We have put out an urgent plea to businesses to reduce their power consumption as well," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said at a Tuesday press conference. "Any measure that can be taken by homes with power or commercial businesses to reduce power usage is a step closer to returning power to homes in our community."
Under the order, manufacturing, industrial, and commercial businesses that use electricity are ordered to "minimize or shut down non-essential processes and operations to the greatest extent possible." The order does not apply to businesses providing essential services, or any manufacturing or industrial processes or operations that must remain engaged to prevent damage to facilities or equipment or to otherwise maintain the integrity of those processes or operations, but only to the extent such processes or operations cannot be minimized or wound-down as expeditiously as possible.
The order also calls on residents and businesses to set their thermostats to no more than 68 degrees.
In regards to price gouging, the order prohibits businesses from selling certain goods or services for more than the price they were sold for on Feb. 11, except when the price increase is due to increased supplier or other costs. The order applies to the following categories:
*Groceries, beverages, toilet articles, ice;
*Restaurant, cafeteria, and boarding-house meals;
*Medicine, pharmaceutical, and medical equipment and supplies;
*Hotel rooms, motel rooms, or any other temporary lodging available to the public; *Transportation provision;
*Matches, candles, lamp illumination and heat unit carbides, dry batteries, light bulbs, flashlights, and hand lanterns;
*Hand tools (manual and power), hardware and household supplies, and equipment rental;
*Plumbing and electrical tools and supplies