Lost in the utility selection

[Ny700]

So being new to texas and an open market for utilities is a whole new adventure for me. Any suggestions or pitfalls to watch out for?

Any red flags to look for if shopping price alone?

Anyone using green mountain energy solar leasing? And if so how has your experience been?

 

[motorcarman]

Welcome to Texas.
I live in a Rural area so we have an electric Co-op. No choice but I can't complain.

bob

 

[equin]

I've found that the company offering the cheapest rates doesn't necessarily offer the best bargain. There is something to be said about customer service and the ease of making payments online with those who may offer slightly higher rates. I usually go to powertochoose.org where they have a section that lists the number or percentage of complaints levied against a particular company.

 

[TXAZ]

The texas energy bargains are gone, courtesy of "deregulation" resulting in price fixing...

 

[Younggun]

There are nightmares on either side of the coin. Look at some issues people are having in Colorado with Excel Energy. I prefer having a choice.


Course, now I'm co-op so not much choice. But I'm happy with it.

 

[lonestardiver]

I also live in a rural area and have co-op power. Much more consistent in delivery and quality....fewer brownouts, low voltage or high voltage issues.

 

[Bozz10mm]

As equin stated, the cheapest rates don't always turn out to be the best deal. Do the research. Use your Google foo and find reviews. Read the small print. Watch for hidden charges.

Living in a rural area, the co-op is the only choice I have. Can't really complain tho, the rates are fairly reasonable. It averages out to about 11 cents per KWH. So far, no brownouts, but we do have what seems like a lot of momentary outages that last 1-5 seconds.

In what part of Texas do you reside? Maybe you will get some recommendations here from others in that area..


https://www.google.com/search?q=gre...8#lrd=0x865b4b2441977f0f:0x825afbe31d8212a1,1

 

[Ny700]

Im moving to melissa which is just north of mckinney. Only 4500 people but im guessing about to blow up over the next 5 years with all the new business moving into the area.

 

[Acera]

The State of Texas is happy to help you in this. Power To Choose | Home

Who you pay your bill to, who owns the power lines and who generates the power sometimes are all different folks.

Just because Green Mountain uses green methods for power production, and you pay higher rates to them because of this, does not in any way mean that the power that is running to your home is generated by them, or use of those methods.


My guess is that your electricity will come from the Forney Energy Center, located near Mesquite, an natural gas fired plant.

 

[Vaquero]

PUC (public utility commission) will put a shady power company out of business overnight.
powertochoose.org
As stated, read the fine print and pick the cheapest.
They don't maintain the wires or substations anyway, just billing companies created by deregulation.
The wires companies answer to PUC and ERCOT too.

Any company that is dishonest dissapears.

 

[Ny700]

The % from renewable is a bunch of BS. But I have heard from some cooworkers who are leading solar panels that they seem to be doing well with it one who is running credits month over month but their draw will be far less than mine with a young active family with lots of electronics.

Some of the fine print is really really fine and I read contracts all day as a career. Just looking to see if there were any experiences that were really good or really bad to help narrow the choices. I also have a co op as an option they are a little more expensive but the rates seem to be structured more simplistically

 

[Vaquero]

If you can get coop, do it.
You can't really pick a rate, but, you can talk to the boss.
You can vote ror the board of directors.
You will get a refund most years.
And you'll deal with employees who really care 99% of the time.


I've been in the powr business since 1981.
The coop model is not the cheapest, but it's the best. Inside and out.

 

[TheDan]

The best part of being with a co-op is the magazine!

 

[mitchntx]

A deregulated environment means retail, production and delivery are segregated.
Each retailer in the list buys power on the open market. Some companies have retail and production subsidiaries, but there is no real advantage any more.

A retailer like Green Mountain may claim they only deliver clean, renewable power but the reality is they purchase credits big generators claim when renewable power is put on-line.
They actually produce nowhere near what they retail. They buy power just like anyone else.

Conversely, a coal fired utility has incentive to erect renewable wind farms in order to be issued those credits to offset the credits lost because of EPA regs on the coal burners.

Its a shell game ....

Your power comes from an ERCOT grid. All consumers and all power producers are connected to the same grid. Thats so someone who lives in Sanderson, Texas has the same access to reliable power that a consumer has in Dallas or Houston.

Wind is getting better because the delivery infrastructure is starting to catch up. And while the power they produce is renewable, the infrastructure to manufacture, deliver, erect and maintain takes a LONG time to generate back the un-clean power they consume.

Also, there's a phenomenon called VARS ... when a production facility generates power, the goal is to deliver it to you at 60 cycles. A couple tenths of a cycle off and efficiency of current sensitive gear begins to suffer. Processors don't like it and name something in your home today that is processor free ...

So production facility 1 puts out 120V/60 cycles and its delivered 100 miles away. Wind generator 1 also delivers 120/60 but has to travel 200 miles away. Phasing can be adjusted ... It's AC current and has to be timed perfectly in order for the cycles to match and your PC to work. Then the wind dies ... or gusts ... timing is thrown off.

I kind of rambled, but production and delivery isn't simple.

 

[Vaquero]

Me and Mitch could take this thread down a rabbit hole with no end.

 

[TheDan]

Do it. This stuff is interesting.

 

[F350-6]

As mentioned, powertochoose.org is the place to go to find the deals. Rates are usually separated in groups of below 1000, 1000 - 2000, and above 2000 kwh. Be sure to pay attention to the different rates because some will offer a really low rate in one category, but really stick it to you if you are under or go over. Also make sure the TDSP charges are included in the price being quoted.

The 3, 4 and 6 month plans usually have the best rates. I'm in the sticks but have Oncor as the provider so I use that site at renewal time. I'm currently paying 5.1 ¢ / kwh on a 3 month plan. My current contract expires next month so I'll be renewing then.

Word of warning, don't let a short term contract expire. They will surprise you with the worst rate possible if you let them switch you over to month to month billing.

 

[Vaquero]

Do it. This stuff is interesting.

I could glaze your eyes over.
f350-6 is right.
TDSP charges can make or break a good deal.

 

[Tony2]

Me and Mitch could take this thread down a rabbit hole with no end.

Ok lets discuss what a var is and what it does

 

[mitchntx]

Ok lets discuss what a var is and what it does

Basically the change in timing over a given distance in relationship to the other production sources.

Close Vaq?