The problem, according to Abbott: He noted that over 5M Texans (mostly in Austin and San Antonio) can only access a single municipal power provider “and cannot shop around for cheaper electricity rates.” But by enabling retail electric competition, he claims ratepayer bills could drop 10% in Austin and 13% in San Antonio, on average. The plan: The governor is proposing legislation to open city monopolies and allow residents to choose their provider. (Abbott has previously tried to pass similar legislation.) He also wants to ban city utilities from collecting charges "unrelated to electricity delivery" and “prohibit using utility profits as a city slush fund."