Texas Electric Providers Question

[Katsmeow]

We are about to change our electric service. Contract we entered into when we moved to current house is about to expire.



There are 3 providers I am most interested in. What I am interested in, is whether any of them allow you to log on during the month and see your usage during the month. Before we moved here, we could log in online and see its days usage and estimated bill. I liked that feature. Our current provider does not offer it. I looked at the fact sheets for the providers and it didn't say if this info is offered and I couldn't find on the provider's web page.

I thought some of our Texas residents might use these providers and know if you get that kind of info available on a daily basis.

The 3 providers:

1. Reliant
2. Infuse
3. Gexa

 

[NW-Bound]

Here in AZ, we do not have the choice of the electric power provider. Each area is served by one utility company, and that's it. I am fortunate to have SRP (Salt River Project), which is a government-owned non-profit entity whose original mandate was to manage the watershed that serves the metropolitan area. Hydroelectric power was a byproduct of the reservoir management.

What I like to share is the Web service provided by SRP, and wonder if this is common with utility companies across the nation.

SRP smart meters report the electric consumption for each hourly interval. They need to know this for demand-rate billing. The hourly consumption data is kept for 1 year. The daily consumption data is kept for 2 additional years. I can log in to see the data of the previous day at about 3AM.

I found this data very helpful to see the effect of changing the usage habit, or equipment update. For example, I regretted keeping my old pool pump for too long because it was such an energy waster. I also can see right away the effect of changing the temperature setting of the thermostat.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have used many here in Texas and all but one had daily usage... do not remember which though...


Go to their websites and look to see if that is an option...


However, usually there was a clear winner for price and price was the winning factor in my decision..

 

[pj.mask]

Why not call them? Reliant always seems >20% more expensive than most. Summer is a bad time to renew yearly contract - suggest you pick a 3 month contract to get you to fall. I did last month at 9.5 cents flat rate.

 

[Katsmeow]

Summer is a bad time to renew yearly contract - suggest you pick a 3 month contract to get you to fall. I did last month at 9.5 cents flat rate.

That is a good idea. I like that. It will also let me get a better handle on my new electricity usage.

 

[audreyh1]

We are about to change our electric service. Contract we entered into when we moved to current house is about to expire.



There are 3 providers I am most interested in. What I am interested in, is whether any of them allow you to log on during the month and see your usage during the month. Before we moved here, we could log in online and see its days usage and estimated bill. I liked that feature. Our current provider does not offer it. I looked at the fact sheets for the providers and it didn't say if this info is offered and I couldn't find on the provider's web page.

I thought some of our Texas residents might use these providers and know if you get that kind of info available on a daily basis.

The 3 providers:

1. Reliant
2. Infuse
3. Gexa

Reliant gives you this info. It might be a couple of days delayed.

In fact they will even mail you a weekly summary showing a graph of your electricity use each day, overlaid with the prior week. I thought this was pretty handy.

Unfortunately, they were no longer offering us good renewal rates, so I switched to a different provider.

 

[aja8888]

Unfortunately, they were no longer offering us good renewal rates, so I switched to a different provider.

Daughter is in the same boat with Reliant. The only plans they are offering for her are all averaging about $0.17/ Kwh (based on 1000 - 2000 Kw use) which is considerably higher than other providers. She is in the process of looking at other options also.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Daughter is in the same boat with Reliant. The only plans they are offering for her are all averaging about $0.17/ Kwh (based on 1000 - 2000 Kw use) which is considerably higher than other providers. She is in the process of looking at other options also.

that's why i fired reliant about 10 years ago - they wouldn't budge on rates

i ended up getting a plan that was about 10 cents a Kwh. Saved me 200-3-- a month, easy

we only have one provider here but the electricity is so cheap that no one cares

 

[Texas Proud]

One of the things that I have found is that I almost always have to change providers in order to get the best price.. IOW, they have a teaser rate and the renewal is higher.. so you go to another company's teaser... repeat...


One time I tried to renew all wind at the teaser... called them... they told me it was only for new customers and I said I was leaving if I did not get it... they basically said goodbye...


Do not get stuck with one provider... BTW, I have been with some 3 times already... as long as you are switching service you get the teaser rate...

 

[aja8888]

One of the things that I have found is that I almost always have to change providers in order to get the best price.. IOW, they have a teaser rate and the renewal is higher.. so you go to another company's teaser... repeat...


One time I tried to renew all wind at the teaser... called them... they told me it was only for new customers and I said I was leaving if I did not get it... they basically said goodbye...


Do not get stuck with one provider... BTW, I have been with some 3 times already... as long as you are switching service you get the teaser rate...

Looks like we are all going to play the cable TV game with all these service companies. What a PIA this is.

 

[CardsFan]

I have always lived in areas with only one electric provider. I never realized that some of the power companies pull the same crap as DirecTV, Spectrum, et. al.

 

[NW-Bound]

Some years ago, there was talk of electric deregulation in Arizona. I did not follow it closely. It went away, and I forgot all about it until now. A search on the Web found that in 2004 an Appeal Court judge found some portions of the proposed plan unconstitutional. In 2013, it was considered again by the state corporation commission, and dropped again. Last year, it was brought up once more and I don't know if it goes anywhere.

Judging from posters in Texas, it sounds like it can be messy with people having to switch power providers often, like they do with cellular carriers or credit card companies.

 

[aja8888]

Some years ago, there was talk of electric deregulation in Arizona. I did not follow it closely. It went away, and I forgot all about it until now. A search on the Web found that in 2004 an Appeal Court judge found some portions of the proposed plan unconstitutional. In 2013, it was considered again by the state corporation commission, and dropped again. Last year, it was brought up once more and I don't know if it goes anywhere.

Judging from posters in Texas, it sounds like it can be messy with people having to switch power providers often, like they do with cellular carriers or credit card companies.

Texas is a mess. I live 5 miles from my daughter and she has power provider choices. My town is stuck with Entergy Texas and no option to change providers.

 

[tapahelp]

What I am interested in, is whether any of them allow you to log on during the month and see your usage during the month. Before we moved here, we could log in online and see its days usage and estimated bill. I liked that feature. Our current provider does not offer it. I looked at the fact sheets for the providers and it didn't say if this info is offered and I couldn't find on the provider's web page.

I thought some of our Texas residents might use these providers and know if you get that kind of info available on a daily basis.

The 3 providers:

1. Reliant
2. Infuse
3. Gexa

I had Reliant Energy before and they have usage available on your account online. They even email you weekly with usage and comparative usage graphs. I don’t remember if usage info updated daily.

I have Constellation now. They have weekly updates but not online usage info. Their online account management is just barebones. Don’t know about other providers.

 

[jimandthom]

Wowser--- the rates some of you pay. We pay about .09per KWH

This figure is all inclusion including charges set by state law, fuel cost adjustment for power purchase fluctuations, facility fees for fixed costs and extra during high demands times.

We only have one providier also--- but can't complain and have less outages than we did downstate with Consumers (Megacorp)Energy.

 

[NW-Bound]

The rate of 9c/kWh is darn good. All in, I pay $0.1170/kWh when averaged over 12 months, on-peak as well as off-peak, and counting all fixed charges.

I wonder if the cheap electric power in Michigan is due to the hydro power off the Niagara plant.

 

[REWahoo]

I live in an area of TX with a single electric provider (IOW, no deregulation). I just ran the numbers for the past 12 months and my average was $0.094/kWh, including all fixed costs.

I hear a complaints from relatives living in deregulated areas of the state, who tire of the "games" electric providers play as mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[NW-Bound]

According to a Web site, the highest electric rate is in Hawaii at $0.3276/kWh.

Hawaii stands head and shoulder above the rest. Next is Alaska at $0.2254c/kWh, followed closely by several states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, etc... at more than $0.20c/kWh.

The majority of the states is from $0.11 to $0.15. Only Louisiana, Washington, and Arkansas are under $0.10/kWh. The above numbers are the averages for each state, and it is not known if they are inclusive of all fixed charges and taxes.

The average over all of US is $0.1319/kWh.

Data from EIA: https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/.

 

[Katsmeow]

I did some research and from what I read it is definitely better to sign a contract between November to about February or March. Basically the rates are lower then. If you sign a year's contract then each year you renew at the lower time.

We did a 14 month contract when we moved here (used a service to select provider as we were new to the area and the house) and paid 9.3 cents a kwh. But the renewal options are much higher.

I think that renewing each year in August is really sort of the worst possible time. So I plan to go either month to month or do a contract no more than 6 months. I lean to the month to month or 3 months since those put me at the optimal time to sign a contract and leave the option to still be in the window if I later sign a 14 month contract.

The new customer rates for all of these providers are usually very good. However, you have to look at it carefully. Some will give you new customer rates if you are a new customer to that provider. Others want to you actually be moving to a new residence.

I can tell it is really important to look at the Fact Sheet for plans being considered. For example, some are really inexpensive if you use exactly 2000 kwH but if you use 1900 or 2100 then it is really high. You need to do a spreadsheet and try out different alternatives.

For now I will probably end up at about $.115 a kwh which is horrible but I will switch to a lower contract plan in November or so. The best choice that doesn't have horrible service ratings looks to be TXU. I do know that they display the usage information (my mom's house had service there when she died so I dealt with that service until the house was sold). I wouldn't consider them ordinarily but for month to month I think they will be OK.

 

[jazz4cash]

In our case, it is the local utility, not the provider that reads the meters and reports usage that sometimes provides detailed usage data. I’m in MD and we can choose providers. The ones in TX frequently have the best rates. The local utility is clueless and changes the data formats every few months.

 

[pj.mask]

I call the provider once to set up or confirm service. Never speak to them again. Who cares what customer rating is?
They all get electricity from center point. There will be no difference in power outages based on company. Center point owns the lines

I have calculated in the past variable rates based on last years usage. Was a bit stressful at times and we typically only saved a couple hundred. I go for flat rate plans now (with or without a low monthly fee).

3 month plans have the cheaper rate but will a Jan+April+July+October renewal be cheaper than 1 year contract in winter? I don’t know.

Our usage is higher after second kid but ranges between 750-2250 kWh so the overall cost is not is fine. If you have high usage, consider looking at your consumption and how to reduce that.

 

[Texas Proud]

Looks like we are all going to play the cable TV game with all these service companies. What a PIA this is.

Not really, the cable company will cut you a deal if you say you are leaving... no electric provider has done so so far... you have to move...


Edit to add... the good thing is that whenever you do go back to one you used before they have all the info and you use the same login etc..

 

[Texas Proud]

Decided to take a look... I can get a rate of 8.5 cents on avg for 1000 kwh... a bit cheaper for higher as there were fixed costs...


My current rate is 9.9 cents...


Looks like my contract is coming up for renewal this month or next...


Opps... just looked... took a 2 year so it goes to 2020...


Edit again... no daily usage shown, only monthly...

 

[NW-Bound]

... the good thing is that whenever you do go back to one you used before they have all the info and you use the same login etc...

They know you have nowhere to go and will come back.

 

[Katsmeow]

I call the provider once to set up or confirm service. Never speak to them again. Who cares what customer rating is?
They all get electricity from center point. There will be no difference in power outages based on company. Center point owns the lines

Here it is Oncor and I take the point. I read some of the complaints that people made on some of the lower rated companies and a lot of the complaints dealt with billing issues and problems when they went to move their service at the end of the contract.

I have calculated in the past variable rates based on last years usage. Was a bit stressful at times and we typically only saved a couple hundred. I go for flat rate plans now (with or without a low monthly fee).

In general I like the fixed rate plans that are basically an energy charge that is x cents per kwh and then they pass on the Oncor charges. Some of those have an additional monthly charge of $2.95 to $4.95 but that is inconsequential.

Using last years usage is difficult. It was our first year in this house and it had an ancient AC (estimated by HVAC guy it was functioning at about 8 SEER). We replaced with a 16 SEER heat pump so our electric charges in the summer months should go down. Of course, they will go up in the winter due to the heat pump. Don't know yet how much I will have to use the auxiliary heat strips. And we are getting an electric hybrid heat pump water heater so just a different mix of stuff.

3 month plans have the cheaper rate but will a Jan+April+July+October renewal be cheaper than 1 year contract in winter? I don’t know.

The 3 month contracts were not that appealing and there were only a few. The best just seems month to month to plan to get a new annual plan in November.

If you have high usage, consider looking at your consumption and how to reduce that.

....Hence the 16 SEER heat pump....