Re: Aug. 6 article, “Abbott takes aim at Austin Energy”

When Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Troy Fraser pushed in 2002 for electricity deregulation, the push back from publicly-owned utilities was strong and effective.

Investor-owned electric utilities hated public power since at least the 1930s, when then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt went on a mission to bring electricity to rural areas unserved by investor-owned companies.

In part, the result was the passage of the Rural Electrification Act, pushed in Congress by then-Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson. After passage of REA, Texas was one of the first states to take advantage of its loan provisions with electric distribution co-ops being started in many places.

As part of the tradeoff for getting deregulation through municipal entities, co-op electric companies were exempted from being thrown into the deregulated marketplace. The much touted promises of lower rates never came about. Co-op members and those who live in cities that own their own electric utility have fared better on cost of electricity.

Gov. Greg Abbott seems hellbent on punishing Austin, but if he succeeds on this, we can be sure he will come after the co-ops next. It’s an all around bad idea and should be rejected.

Re: Aug. 9 Editorial, “Governor proposes a costly path to energy ‘affordability’ ”

Austin Energy’s efficiency measures and incentives have kept my electric bills lower.

If Texans’ welfare is important to our governor, he should look for other actions to reduce energy costs instead of dismantling public utilities.

Public utilities like Austin Energy not only lower bills but support programs to improve affordability and safety.

In a warming world, Austin Energy’s discounts to 80,000 customers can help save lives and improve health. Solar power and battery storage promoted by Austin Energy and ERCOT are the cheapest form of energy on the market.

For affordability and health of Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott should instead let us get benefits from Texas public utilities, especially for lower-income households.

Re: Aug. 11 article, “Austin Energy bets big on batteries”

Austin Energy’s Vice President of Customer Energy Solutions Richard Génecé confirmed the utility “will always leave customers’ batteries at least 20% charged.”

It sounds like reasonable grid management, but do the math on what it means for a homeowner in a real outage: A typical 25 kWh home battery, drawn down to that 20% floor, leaves just 5 kWh. That’s a few hours of essential power, not the backup households are led to expect.

Two questions Austin Energy should answer plainly: Does this same 20% reserve apply to batteries owned by third parties like Base Power under the utility’s separate contracts, or only to customer-owned batteries in the Power Partner program? And will the utility state, in real terms, how many hours of backup that 5 kWh actually buys — before more residents sign up expecting more than they’ll get?

What a champion of the people Gov. Greg Abbott is, or has become, or is trying to make us think he is.

Just a few short months before the election, he had an epiphany and comes out strong against data centers and their negative impacts.

This week he announced a plan to help uninsured people get healthcare coverage.

These have been big problems in Texas for a long time, problems he has simply ignored if not made worse.

Even now, all this big talk is not law or even proposed legislation. It’s simply a collection of whistle-stop campaign promises that are just as empty as the bank accounts of millions of our fellow Texans.

Re: Aug. 11 editorial, “Texas leaders talk tough. Why won’t they fight for Big Bend?”

It makes me sad and angry to read about Big Bend National Park being torn up to build border security infrastructure.

We have a national treasure in Big Bend.

My family has visited and hiked that park many times. It is a joy to visit the park and see nature in its pristine surroundings — mostly untouched by humans.

I don’t understand how our governor and U.S. senators are allowing this to take place.

I guess much like shutting down the federal government twice recently, they just don’t want to do their jobs.

As someone who has spent time in Big Bend National Park, who has hiked its hills and floated the Rio Grande, I am dismayed and shocked the people of Texas are allowing the federal government to defile such a rare and beautiful place.

I thought y’all would draw a line at the ruination of your public lands, that those who you voted into office would balk at such an overt act of assault on your land.

I urge you to think about all those folks down in Terlingua. It’s tough enough for them to make a living down there.

If you build a wall, illuminate it with floodlights, you might as well evict those good people from their way of life.

Put your spurs down, Texas. Don’t let this happen.

Re: Aug. 7 commentary, “No, Mr. Musk, less aid, more deaths doesn’t equal zero”

Kudos to columnist Cary Clack for his powerful blast at Elon Musk’s lie alleging “zero died because of” his failed Department of Government Efficiency program and the callous dismantling of USAID.

The shocking truth is that the number of deaths already exceeds 600,000, mostly children, according to researchers. The chaotic shutdown betrayed American values and undid decades of life-saving priorities approved by both the public and Congress.

At less than 1% of the U.S. budget, foreign assistance is not a waste, but a bargain, building goodwill and stability in developing nations where China and Russia seek to undermine our influence.

Members of Congress, step up to restore our government’s balance of power, reclaim from our rogue president the congressional prerogatives of oversight and the power of the purse. Return robust foreign assistance as a priority in the federal budget, so that the U.S can regain our reputation as the leader of global humanitarian outreach.

Columnist Cary Clack is right to challenge Elon Musk’s claim that the deaths resulting from the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to USAID are “zero.”

There is something even more troubling than Musk’s refusal to acknowledge the evidence, the idea that we need to attach a specific number to every death before we recognize a moral responsibility.

If American-funded programs had previously prevented deaths, and those programs are abruptly dismantled, we should expect consequences.

Government decisions are not abstract spreadsheet exercises. Behind every budget line are human beings — often children — whose lives depend on whether medicine, food and basic health services remain available.

We should demand accountability not only for dollars spent, but for lives affected when those dollars disappear.