From the Houston Chronicle:
A majority of Texans would be willing to pay $4 more on their monthly electric bills to create a network of power lines from wind farms, according to a recent poll.
The survey, commissioned by a group of wind generation companies, is being released in advance of state utility regulators’ debate over how much new transmission to require for wind-generated electricity. The Public Utility Commission is considering several plans, at costs ranging from about $3 billion to $6 billion.
The commission staff estimates the plans could cost average household electric consumers $2.50 to $5 extra a month.
… When asked about a new charge of $4 each month for power line construction to carry electricity from wind farms, 55 percent said they would favor paying the new fee and 42 percent said they would be opposed, with 4 percent unsure.
… The PUC is expected to decide the level of transmission by mid-August.
It isn’t clear from the article whether the $2.50 to $5 extra a month is simply the estimate of the added transmission costs, or whether it is an estimate of the net effect considering any lower power costs that would offset a higher transmission payment.
Maybe one of our intrepid readers can point us to the PUCT study answering this question.