Some companies have stepped up and are offering incentives to switch plans and or companies... May be time to shop around for some consumers

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Whether it was on their own good will, market driven, pressure from Chairman Smitherman, or the repeated efforts of State Representative Sylvester Turner, AARP, Texas One Voice, Texas ROSE, and Texas Legal Services Center to impose additional summer protections for electricity consumers this summer; many companies have stepped up and are offering an array of incentives and new products to keep, attract, and ease the financial burdens of summer electricity bills. What does this mean for you consumers out there? It may be time to shop the market and switch companies or take advantage of better product offerings with your current provider.

I commend those companies who have stepped up, and I will be informing customers whom I come in contact with of such retail electric providers and their summer offerings (as Chairman Smitherman encouraged advocates to do). The following is a abbreviated breakdown as highlighted by the PUC in a press release this week of what these companies are doing. Please contact the specific company to get all the details of their offers…


Ø Reliant, TXU, First Choice Power, Dynowatt, Stream Energy, Gexa, Direct Energy – Deposit waiver for seniors 62 or older (as low as age 60 in some cases). This benefit is especially important for customers who want to switch providers.

Ø TXU, Stream Energy, Reliant – Credits up to $250 for customers who enroll in a new plan. This benefit rewards long-term customers concerned about termination fees.

Ø Dynowatt, Direct Energy, Tara Energy, Reliant, First Choice Power, Stream Energy, Green Mountain, Gexa, Just Energy, TXU, StarTex Power – Additional announcements about LITE-UP Texas, the low income discount program. Customers who are not automatically enrolled in the low-income discount program are eligible if their income does not exceed 125 percent of federal poverty guidelines ($27,563 annually for a family of four). TXU provides its own low-income discount of 10 percent to eligible customers in addition to the LITE-UP Texas discount.


A couple of notes on these offers. I want to highlight a couple of differences between the three companies (TXU, Reliant, & Stream) who have offered all three of the above incentives.

Cheapest Fixed Rate: (per kilowatt hour) *per http://www.powertochoose.org/ 7.30.09

Reliant - 13.5¢
TXU - 13.5¢
*Stream - 11.3¢

This equals a monthly savings with stream of $36.60. What should also be noted is 11.3 ¢ is a mid level price offering and that 13.5¢ is one of the higher price offerings in the market. Before you jump the gun and think I'm endorsing Stream Energy, keep reading!

There are many other factors one must weigh and evaluate before making a decision, that is one of the conundrums of this deregulated market. It is almost impossible to do a side by side comparison and choose the cheapest! Some other factors…

Cancellation Fees:

Reliant - $150
*TXU - $100
Stream - $150

Customer Complaint Score: (1 being least complaints - 5 being most complaints)

*Reliant - 1
TXU - 2
Stream - 3

As you can see, each company is the best in one of the three categories. To add another twist TXU & Reliant have introduced voluntary moratoriums on summer disconnects if you honor an agreed to payment plan (an additional protection which adds value to their product). It is hard to choose what is best. Everyone has different individual needs. That is why the market may be good in some instances, different products for different people. My point, customers should shop around right now and try to take advantage of some of these product offerings.

Another VERY IMPORTANT thing to point out and make customers aware of, was a reiteration today at the PUC by Chairman Smitherman with concurrence from his two colleagues that they believe they have the authority to enforce or take action against any company who offers a voluntary program and does not completely HONOR it. If you or anyone you know thinks a company is not honoring any of these programs or has improperly denied access to any of these programs please contact the PUC and register a complaint!

BEWARE: As I alluded to in one of my first posts, a cheap rate does necessarily equate to a cheaper overall contract with a company. Look into the details and the customer satisfaction levels and additional customer protections a company offers. It will be well worth you time in the long run.