Electric rates (1 Viewer)

[foos]

One of my coworkers needed to renew and was saying the rates were back down to 13cents/kWh, they are not. Seems companies noticed everyone was mad about the hike and realized that plans are compared at 1000kWh so the ones with low rates if you look at the details give a credit of $80-$150 at 1000kWh so they compare at 13 cents. In reality they are 20-28 cents/kWh with a credit at 1000kWh so they look better.

If you use just over 1000kWh this would be great for you, but most of us with tanks are probably going to be in the 2000kWh or more range and have an effective rate over 20cents/kWh.

 

[decimal]

It’s a ridiculous. I find that the more complicated things are made, the more opportunities they have to rip you off. This goes for all contracts. A simple 3 page document should be enough to convey the nature of the relationship. If I’m starting a job as a sales guy and they give you a 30 page contract I can guarantee you will get shafted at one point or another. At the very least, your expectations will not line up with reality. Electricity distributors are the worst. I use 2000-3000kw in the summer and none of the plans on powertochoose.org are set up like that. Everything is pretty complicated with every provider setting up their own twist of how they can screw you.

 

[Erin]

There are websites that let you enter your exact usage to determine how much each plan will cost based on your last 12 months... Makes it a lot easier to predict future costs.

 

[decimal]

Link?

 

[Erin]

Link?

There's a few of them... I don't recall exactly. You can also use a broker who can do it for you.

 

[Erin]

Comparepower.com
Let's you search by your previous use...

 

[Erin]

Here's another I easily found with a Google search but have not used it myself

Texas Smart Meters: A Guide to Maximize Savings | 888-616-5859

What are Texas Smart Meters? Browse our Texas Smart Meter Guide to learn about smart meters, your energy usage and how to save on electricity.

homeenergyclub.com

 

[decimal]

Ok thanks. Comparepower.com is a different search, but the tos is structured exactly the same. Tiered pricing info up to 2000kw. After that, you’re on your own. That strategy of keeping you in this.. window of usage but as soon as you go outside of that, it’s $$ money time. I have encountered plans that look great as long as your using 1500-2000 kwh but usage beyond 2k costs more.. sometimes a lot more. I have had my share of experiences with electric companies and they range right up there with Comcast and Att.

 

[Erin]

Ok thanks. Comparepower.com is a different search, but the tos is structured exactly the same. Tiered pricing info up to 2000kw. After that, you’re on your own. That strategy of keeping you in this.. window of usage but as soon as you go outside of that, it’s $$ money time. I have encountered plans that look great as long as your using 1500-2000 kwh but usage beyond 2k costs more.. sometimes a lot more. I have had my share of experiences with electric companies and they range right up there with Comcast and Att.

No, it's not the same... there is the option of entering your usage in 2 different ways - first, you can choose 500, 1000, 2000, or enter your own value. Second, as I showed in the screenshot I attached to my post, you can bypass the 4 choices above and enter your kwh from the last 12 months and it will find the plan that's cheapest based on that usage and current rates.

 

[reeftopia]

Always compare my bill to previous months to check trend. This month used the exact kwh as last month but my bill was $80 higher.

 

[decimal]

Makes you wonder who pocketed that extra $80 bucks.