The reason is American capitalism, where the state covers the bill and private individuals keep the profits.

… power outages actually cost energy corporations very little money — maybe a few days’ revenue. Hardening energy infrastructure, on the other hand, is very expensive and entirely paid for by the energy corporations. This cuts into their profits and stock price.

The grid is weak and unready for the future. The cost to fix it is high and makes no money. But if it breaks during a disaster, federal relief money comes in and covers the cost. What the fed doesn’t cover is passed on to the customers as a price hike.

The article is about changing laws to make companies harden their infra instead of stock buybacks or other budget fuckery.

It sounds like a good idea but doesn’t stop the companies from forcing customers to pay for that too instead. What should happen is a portion of profits need to be diverted into a maintenance fund that is independently audited for infrastructure upgrading and hardening.

But it’s Texas. Laws are for The People, not for people, and corporations are people in R land.