Electricity Texas Now

Despite the lowest electric rates in Texas in more than five years, many Texans are still overpaying for electricity because they haven’t checked their energy rate, and compared it with competing energy suppliers.

If you haven’t checked your energy rate since 2008, when electric rates reached historic highs, you’re probably paying too much for electricity.  In the summer of 2008, spiking natural gas prices and record usage pushed Texas electric rates above 20¢ per kilowatt-hour.  To avoid further price spikes, may customers locked-in rates of 17¢, 18¢, or even higher, to give themselves some price security until the markets calmed down, and prices started dropping.

But many Texans haven’t compared their energy rate as prices have fallen over the past two years.  As a result, even though most Texans can find a low, fixed rate in the 9¢ per kilowatt-hour range, millions of Texans are paying inflated rates of 15¢ per kilowatt-hour, if not more.

Another reason many Texans are overpaying for electricity is that they’ve never checked their energy rate since competition started in 2002.  They’ve always stayed with the successor to their old monopoly utility: the so-called “incumbent” provider like TXU in the Dallas area, or Reliant Energy in the Houston area.  For these customers who have never shopped, the incumbent providers typically charge higher rates with more built-in profit — typically at least 5¢ per kilowatt-hour above the lowest rate they offer to new customers — because they don’t expect these non-shoppers to compare their rates against competitors.  These higher incumbent prices can raise bills by over $50 per month, or $600 per year.

That’s why you need to check your energy rate and shop for a lower rate using SaveOnEnergy.com, which provides Texans with the simplest way to compare the lowest energy rates in the market.  If you’re paying more than 12¢ per kilowatt-hour, you are simply paying too much money for electricity for no reason.  Even premium products like renewable energy or plans that guarantee price security for an extended 24 months are below 12¢ for most parts of Texas.  You can still enjoy the same reliable service from a vetted and screened energy provider when choosing a lower energy rate using SaveOnEnergy.com, all while saving hundreds of dollars per year.

From SaveOnEnergy.com

Texas electricity rates have significantly decreased over the last year or so, but not every consumer has taken advantage of this change. Since the Texas energy industry was deregulated, costs have become much more competitive and have therefore dropped significantly. These days, you can choose your own power provider, and more than that, you can lock in pricing for at least a year, for most companies. By locking in your rates now, you’ll save significant costs; costs are projected to rise as warm weather arrives and power usage surges.

Why it’s important to take advantage of “lock-in” rates

By locking in your rates before the warm weather arrives, you can be sure that you’ll keep the same low price you pay now — and that’s true even though costs are going to rise. So even though Texas power companies will be looking at reduced profit margins for customers like you, you’ll be basking in the knowledge that you are cool, collected — and saving money, too.

Make your decision based upon what’s in your best interests

Because competition is so fierce among power companies in Texas these days, the ball is literally in your court. Not only can you lock in a competitive rate by changing power companies as necessary (if your current provider has a higher rate than someone else in your area), but you can keep that competitively low rate, the lowest you can find, for at least a year. This will give you the ability to enjoy savings for at least the next 12 months, perhaps longer.

In addition, many companies will honor policies whereby if you sign up for a new carrier and those rates are higher than your current agreement, as long as you are within 60 days of your contract’s expiration date, you can finish carrying out the old agreement before the new one takes effect. And again, if you shop around for rates, you should be able to find some very competitive ones so that greatly increased costs are not an issue.

Additionally, if you are signing up for a new contract with another company and the rate is better than your current one, your new company should begin to honor your new price by the next full billing cycle. It’s also true that if you sign up with a fixed rate plan instead of a variable rate plan that is at least one year in length, you’ll keep these savings for the duration.

In Texas, you really can’t lose when it comes to having a Texas power company that’s as inexpensive as possible. Find the lowest rate in your area by taking advantage of Texas’ new laws in regard to deregulation and competition, and then lock in those rates so that the savings keep on coming. This is a great time of year to do it, because if you wait until warm weather months, you are necessarily going to pay higher rates simply because energy costs will be higher then.

from ChooseEnergy.com

Spring officially starts in a few days, and it means it’s time for Texas electric customers to shop for a low electric rate before prices start rising with the summer heat.  SaveOnEnergy.com offers customers a quick and easy way to find and compare the lowest electric rates in Texas, so customers can take advantage of the low energy prices that come with spring.

Spring has always been one of the best times to shop for a low electric rate in Texas, for several reasons.  First, the spring months of March and April are known as “shoulder” months in the electric industry, during which time customers use less power.  Moderate spring weather means customers are not heating their homes for as many hours as they were doing in the winter, and thus are not using as much electricity, or burning as much natural gas (which drives energy prices).  But temperatures are also cool enough so that customers aren’t running air conditioners all day long, which spike electric usage during the summer months.

Since customers use less power during the spring, demand for electricity is lower during the spring, and prices fall with lower demand.

Read the entire article at SaveOnEnergy.com.

Unless you are an energy professional you probably don’t spend a great deal of time paying attention to what electricity rates are doing in your town. Some summers you may have been able to sign up at a very cheap electricity price and then the next summer prices are high again. The same type of price fluctuations happen in the winter as well. Some people spur on the misconception that electricity rates are always higher during the summer. This is not always the case it is just that there is usually more price volatility in the summer time. This price volatility can cause electricity rates to go down dramatically just as much as go up.

Winter months can be just as volatile to electricity prices. Fortunately this winter electricity prices have remained low. Even today as energy prices are up you can still lock in at a very good electricity rate. For the last several weeks prices have been coming down and looking better and better. Electricity can only come down so much and at this time we are experiencing some very good energy price levels. If you are wanting to wait until electricity rates come down even further I do not recommend this strategy. We have a good position right now to lock in for 1 – 2 years on a very good fixed electric rate.

Read the entire article on ElectricityBid.com.

With customer choice forcing Texas electric companies to compete for customers’ business, Texas electric rates have gone from above the national average before competition, to below the national average.  However, that’s not the story that’s typically reported by the media, because the federal Energy Information Administration is using flawed data which underestimates the significant decline in Texas power prices since the start of competition, according to a new study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).

“Most competitive prices are considerably lower than what is reported in the federal government’s data,” said Bill Peacock, Director of the Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom. “In fact, the average competitive price is below the national average, and consumers who exercise their choice can easily find rates that are lower than in our neighboring states.”

TPPF found that the average electric rate offered by electric companies in the competitive regions of Texas in December 2009 was 11.01 cents/kWh, while consumers could choose offers as low as 8.52 cents/kWh.  However, the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that Texas consumers paid an average of 12.26 cents/kWh in October 2009 (the most recent month of data).

For 2009, the EIA data shows a national average price of 12.06 cents/kWh.  According to EIA, the average Texas rate is 12.26 cents/kWh, but in reality, the average Texas rate in parts of the state open to competition is actually lower — only 11.01 cents/kWh.  Texas energy prices are thus below the national average in areas where Texans can choose their energy provider.

Read the entire article on SaveOnEnergy.com.

Last week the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas imposed a total of $3.7 million in penalties on two retail electric providers related to their default in 2008, which left thousands of customers “stranded” and forced to pay a very high energy price.  The penalties are a reminder of the dangers of going it alone when looking for a lower electric rate, as history has shown that not all electric companies are equally dependable and stable.

The PUC’s fines date back to the high prices experienced by Texas customers in the spring and summer of 2008, and the failure of two energy providers: National Power Co. Inc. and Pre-Buy Electric LLC.  Both suppliers, prior to running into trouble, had some of the lowest electric rates in the market, enticing customers to sign up with these firms.  However, both companies lacked proper internal controls and risk management processes to serve customers reliably.  When wholesale electric prices soared, these companies had not hedged their purchases in advance, and could not cover the exorbitant costs of serving their customers.  The end result was that thousands of these companies’ customers, who had been promised some of the lowest electric rates in the state, were shifted to the emergency “back-up” electric company, known at the Provider of Last Resort.  In some cases, the rates customers ended up paying for the emergency Provider of Last Resort service was more than double the rate they were promised from their original electric company.

Read the entire article at SaveOnEnergy.com.

You often hear that the electricity energy coming to your home is all the same so it really doesn’t matter which electric company you choose. This opens up the window for the sales person to then tell you that the most important point is to pick the cheapest electricity company since the energy is all the same. I agree with this to a point.

A problem comes in when a customer approaches the Texas energy service shopping process in this way but fails to understand the rate. Another problem can crop up if the customer chooses an electricity company that is new to the market, has undercut almost all established Texas electric providers, and has a small amount of capital backing. A small energy company that comes in and all the sudden is offering the cheapest electricity rate causes some of the larger energy suppliers to salivate. Why is this? The smaller company is in danger of going out of business and having the PUCT take all of their customers away from them and giving them to what is known as, “The Provider Of Last Resort”.

Read the entire article at electricitybid.com.

A Year In Review On Houston Electricity Prices

Last year we saw residential electricity prices in Houston go up to as high as 31 cents per kWh during the summer energy crisis. Right now as of Dec 12 2009 a 1 year fixed rate is going for 10.86 cents per kWh for a residential rate and even cheaper for commercial businesses. The ERCOT balancing energy market went off the charts in 2008 and several electric providers in Houston could no longer honor their fixed energy prices. Fortunately none of the Houston electricity companies we recommend were in the bunch that hiked up their promised fixed rates. The fact that our comparison chart shows only reputable Houston electric providers that have clear straightforward electricity prices and easy to compare terms gives Houston residents an easy way to pick a Houston energy company.

Read more at Electricity Bid.

Many companies offer retail electric power contracts in the competitive retail portions of Texas, but for a long time the contracts have been kind of, you know, boring: either fixed rate or variable, if fixed then for 1 or 2 years. Renewable content offerings provided a little color, ranging up to 100 percent. Toss in some prepay options and differences on early termination fees, and that about covers the range of options.

Now smart meters, being installed in both the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, are enabling more diverse rate designs. Elizabeth Souder at Texas Energy and Environment mentioned TXU Energy and Reliant had begun offering time-of-use rates. Souder reports that for the Oncor distribution area (D-FW area)…

Read more at The Energy Collective.