Texas Electricity Deregulation – All You Wanted To Know.

by EnergyTX Admin on January 18, 2012

There have been considerable discussions lately about the Texas electricity deregulation. However, not all of us are aware of the turn of events and the change in conditions that have resulted due to this. The article here sheds some light on what this deregulation is all about, and also the impact that it has on the lives of common people.

The Texas Electricity Deregulation – why was it necessary?

Before electricity in Texas was deregulated, the local government had total control on it. This meant that power rates were decided by PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas), and each market only had a single provider who was solely responsible for the generation and distribution electricity.

Now, this created a kind of monopoly in the electricity sector because of the control of this single provider. There was no one that could create a competition in the market, and this sometimes created a scenario where people were forced to think that the company wasn’t always acting for the common benefit.

However, things finally changed in the year 1999 with the introduction of Senate Bill 7. The bill proposed the deregulation of electricity in the state of Texas to get rid of this monopoly and create opportunities for other power companies. This was initiated by Senator David Sibley back then, and after much discussion and debates, the bill was finally passed and came into effect on January 1st, 2002.

The benefits of Texas Electricity Deregulation

Once the electricity sector in Texas became deregulated, it empowered the customers to purchase power from the provider of their choice. These are also known as REP’s or Retail Electricity Providers. Some advantages of purchasing power from REP’s are:

  • Better service – Since the deregulation ended the monopoly of a single provider, the market flushed with numerous power companies. These, in order to attract more customers, gave better service.
  • Competitive rates – Similar to the above mentioned point, these REP’s also offered very competitive rates in order to retain the maximum number of customers.
  • Special offers – The REP’s constantly give out special offers to attract new customers to increase their consumer base.

In addition to changing the buying habits and also the overall electricity consumption of the consumer, other significant changes have been noticed in the local market. The interest of the customer is now safeguarded, and the emergence of multiple REP’s has also led to the creation of multiple job opportunities.

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Look at Your Texas Energy Bill – You May Be Paying Too Much

by EnergyTX Admin on August 24, 2010

While your electric bill may not be your lowest expense, it certainly doesn’t have to be the highest. Many individuals are simply paying too much for Texas energy, but unfortunately, they don’t even know it. Most people are paying an average of 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, when they could be paying a third less. It’s all about knowing how to shop with when it comes to your Texas electric provider.

Most people go with the most popular and well-known electric provider simply because they believe that is the only one that exists. When you ask someone who they receive their electricity from, you normally expect to hear of no more than the one or two local companies that you and everyone else are most familiar with. However, like everything else, there are top providers, and then there are those that you do not hear of everyday, and maybe haven’t even heard of ever before. The underdog competitors are usually the companies who are offering the lowest rates. The only difficult part of it is finding them.

Some individuals don’t even know that different rates exist – oh, but they do. There are people who pay as low as nine cents per kilowatt-hour or less. You might be wondering how this is even possible. If you were to look at your electric bill and compare it to someone who pays half as much as you per kilowatt-hour, you would be disgusted and surprised all at the same time as to what you may find out.

How much money do you spend per month on your electric bill? $100? $200? $300? Regardless of how much you can afford doesn’t matter. It’s what the Texas energy companies are charging that matters. The bad thing is that a most of the top companies know that no one is going to search for lower rates, so they assume that they are going to get away with charging outrageous prices – and they do.

Fortunately, there is a way to compare the rates of Texas energy companies in your area without having to go through the hassle of calling around and asking questions. Certain websites, such as ChooseEnergy.com are made especially to help people find out about all of the rates being offered in their area. The sad part is that a lot of companies won’t tell you when there is a lower rate, instead, they’ll just go ahead and charge you with their highest price because they know you’ll take it.

Instead of staying with the same old Texas energy provider, take some time to look around, or at least check in with websites such as ChooseEnergy.com to find out what other rates are being offered. If you’re with the most affordable and reasonable provider, then great, you won’t have to look any further. The most important thing when it comes to a person’s electric bill is that they are not overpaying, because everyone knows that the electric bill can get quite out of hand, especially when the price increases dramatically.

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Texas Energy – Choosing your own Energy Source

August 24, 2010

Paying for electricity and other energy costs is part of just living life as virtually everyone needs it to operate appliances, consumer products in their homes and businesses. One of the unique things about living in Texas is that you actually have the power to choose which company you get your energy products and Texas electricity services. Deregulation has created competition among energy companies, and Texas residents no longer have to settle for one electricity provider.

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How EnergyTX Can Help You

August 24, 2010

While there has been a lot of changes to the rules and regulations about utility service providers, much of it has been about how consumers have the right to choose which utility company they want to provide services to their homes or businesses.

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