Branch Launches 6 New States
Tesla Attempts to Help as Texas’ Power Grid in Trouble Yet Again
Branch, a full-stack insurance company that pioneered instantly-bundled home and auto insurance, announced April 1 its expansion to six new states including Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia. These new additions bring Branch’s total state roster to 25 and means 49% of Americans can access Branch’s instant-pricing capability. Through Branch’s rapid growth, the company maintains a stellar customer service experience with an impressive 4.8 Trustpilot rating. Having launched in six new states since the beginning of 2022, Branch continues to attract new members with its instant-pricing capability and average annual bundled savings of $535. With the goal of national coverage halfway completed, Branch continues to pave the way for convenient and affordable insurance with the aim of being available in all 50 states before the end of 2022. Source: Branch
Texas has been having intermittent issues with its dated power grid for years, though these past few winters have brought the issue into the eyes of the media. Now, as hotter temperatures are upon us, the state’s grid is struggling once again. The increased demand for electricity in the Lone Star State has caused officials to alert customers of potential issues, requesting they work to conserve energy. ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, recently announced six power plants had tripped due to the excessive power use associated with rising temperatures. The council issued the following statement via Electrek, asking customers to limit the amount of power they use between peak times, 3 to 8 p.m.: “This afternoon, six power generation facilities tripped offline resulting in the loss of approximately 2,900 MW of electricity ...
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Higher Pay The group gathered outside the State House to demand action on a pair of proposals before the lawmakers that would raise the lowestin-the-nation labor rate for auto body repairs. The bills, H.1111 and S.709, both called “An Act to establish minimum reimbursement rate to insurance claimants,” are currently being ironed out between the legislative chambers through a joint committee. Both would set the rate for repair at upwards of $78 per hour of labor, according to advocates. The current rate is just $40 per hour, which, according to the group, is the lowest in the nation and just $10 more than it was in 1988. AASP-MA Executive Director Evangelo “Lucky” Papageorg said the industry is filled with technicians that started because they thought it was a cool job, one that they learned to love. That passion, he said, does not feed their families though.
by Steven Loveday, InsideEVs
“The problem is that loving and cool don’t pay the bills. We need to be able to pay the bills,” he said. The bills have until June 30 to clear the committee, after which the legislature would have just a month before the end of the session to approve and send them to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk. Standing in the way, according to former state Sen. Guy Glodis, are insurance companies that want to keep reimbursements low. Glodis said auto body workers first approached him in 2003, saying their wages were so low they couldn’t compete to keep workers from leaving the state. He said the problem was recognized by legislative leadership, who said they would do something about it. “Folks, that was over 20 years ago—nothing has been done,” he said. “We’re here to educate the legislature about the greed and the injustice and the dishonesty of what’s going on with the insurance industry where they are purposely stagnating and suppressing wages. “It hurts business and it hurts families,” he said.
14 JUNE 2022 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
We’re asking Texans to conserve power when they can by setting their thermostats to 78 degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances (such as dishwashers, washers and dryers) during peak hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. through the weekend.” Meanwhile, Tesla became aware of ERCOT’s request, and it sent out an alert to all of its vehicle owners in the state. The simple alert popped up on peoples’ Tesla touch screens making them aware of the grid concerns and advising them to avoid charging during peak times. Electrek received information about the Tesla touch screen notification via Reddit, which was shared by Tesla owner Karlan Mitchell. The notification reads: “A heatwave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days. The grid operator recommends to avoid charging during peak hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., if possible, to help statewide efforts to manage demand.”
As you are likely aware, Tesla just recently opened a brandnew factory in Austin, TX, CEO Elon Musk has relocated to the area, and the company’s headquarters has officially moved from California to Texas. Texas is also home to SpaceX’s Starbase launch site. Musk has been encouraging people to move to the Austin area and apply to work at Tesla. He’s also suggested builders ramp up efforts to make more housing available. However, most importantly, Tesla has already been working on plans to help Texas with its failing power grid. Thus far, Tesla has started supplying energy storage for Texas to the tune of 81 Megapack commercial batteries. Electrek said Tesla plans to continue in its efforts to help, and it will roll out residential storage and solar systems as well. In fact, the company is already installing solar roofs and Powerall batteries in new home construction projects in Austin.
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