Welcome...

My first post will be to simply point out the links on the side of the blog. I will be adding links as I progress on this project. My goal will be, to not overpopulate the links section and only put what I believe to be IMPORTANT information, forms, stories ect. That being said as of today I have links to the LITE-UP Texas program which helps provide discounts to low income customers. Though the program is limited to summer months, I encourage anyone who thinks they may qualify to apply at any time (see federal poverty level guidelines @ the following link). http://www.coverageforall.org/pdf/FHCE_FedPovertyLevel.pdf

There is also a link to the critical care customer form; those customers for whom a loss of electricity service could cause medical issues should file this form with their Retail Electric Provider. The powertochoose website is also linked, this is a webpage where a customer can simply go in and type their zipcode and compare offers in their service area.

The other link will hopefully be viewed as a helpful tool to some consumers. It is a basic calculator that will allow someone to plug in values, such as cancelation fees deposits and new rates, and then compare their estimated year total bill with what they would pay if they stay with their current provider.

The impetus for this calculator is the numerous calls by the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC ) Barry Smitherman for customers to take advantage of the market and shop for lower rates. Chairman Smitherman has repeatedly encouraged customers to do this while denying Representative Sylvester Turner’s Emergency Petition on Summer Disconnection Protection this summer. One of the reasons for the denial was the Chairman’s repeated reference to what he says are lower price offers in the market. So please plug in and see if it works for you! I must make clear that I do not believe this option of switching is a fix to the problem Representative Turner and co-petitioners seek to remedy. Most of the customers the petition they filed seek to help cannot absorb the cancelation and new deposit costs because they are on fixed incomes. A point Rep. Turner has tried to make to the Commission, which has seemed to fall on deaf ears.

On a side note, when he says lower we should ask lower to what. His reference point has been 2006 prices when the PUC last ordered a disconnect moratorium. However, Texas residential rates continue to be higher than neighboring states (40%- 60 %), and higher than pre-deregulation. As pointed out by this truth bearing statement by Loren Steffy of the Houston Chronicle, “the deregulated market continues to defy the basic rule of capitalism. Competitive rates remain more expensive than non-competitive ones.”

Well, I hope this is the beginning of a insightful and useful conversation regarding the evolution of the electricity market in Texas and I look forward to hearing from my readers. Oh ya, I will explain who I am on the next post, for now I must go forward with my evening. This is not how I envsioned my friday night when I left work today!