Buffett’s Texas Power Fix Looks Like His Goldman Bailout
It’s another potentially lucrative solution to an emergency, but this recipient may be less grateful.
Just a helpful guy.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North AmericaWarren Buffett has a knack for showing up and offering a helping hand just when things seem bleakest. Now it’s Texas’ turn.
Bloomberg News reports Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has proposed a fix for the state’s power grid, reeling from February’s blackouts. Under the plan, Buffett’s firm would build 10 gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants, plus associated gas storage, for $8.3 billion under the aegis of a new thing called the Texas Reliability Corp. Not only is the name something out of utility-marketing 101, it would actually be a utility, with Berkshire reimbursed via a new, ongoing charge added to customers’ bills. This would include a regulated return put at 9.3%. The plants would be controlled by the grid operator, rather than Berkshire itself, ready to be used in an emergency (rather than day-to-day). Berkshire says it could have this up and running in time for the winter of 2023/24 and would guarantee performance.