Which energy company?

[koochingchang]

Hi guys, we recently had a thread on cable v. satellite which was very helpful. Now how about one for electric companies? There are so many out there claiming to be cheaper and yada yada yada. What do you guys think and what do y'all use?


Richard

[tolne57]

I use commerce energy and so far I'm pleased. It doesn't have auto or online payment, but the prices are much better than Reliant.

[Dream Sequence]

www.powertochoose.org


and you're done!...btw, citibank has a home rebate card that pays 6% on utilities (no balance has to be carried or any other gimick) for the first year..automatically pays against your home mortage..a nice touch if you can find a elec company that takes credit cards...

[glad_ken]

I switched to Stream Energy (https://secure.igniteinc.com/cust_zip.asp?BC_ID=200628) about 3 months ago. Check out their rates at http://www.powertochoose.org/

[Supermac34]

Also make sure you check out the Better Business Bureau for any company you choose.

Some folks around Houston got burned by Gexa Energy and some kind of shady billing practices last year when they were the "cheapest energy in Houston."

I very nearly signed up for them, then thought I ought to do some research.

[jgreen91]

I switched from Reliant to TXU. I think no matter who you go with, the rates are outrageous especially in the summer.

[Davidoff]

Anyone ever use Spark?

SPARK (https://www.sparkenergylp.com/Spark/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx)

[rhadamanthus]

I use green mountain.

[MR. MEOWGI]

Do energy companies actually check your usage?

I think if I kept my house at 70 degrees or 80 degrees 24/7 my bill would be the same.

[Drewdog]

I use TXU because Im a little leary to try the other companies. The rates have been pretty reasonable until last month when my bill was $94. Granted I live in a 685 SF condo, but that seems a little steep.

So what is the deal with the companies like Spark, Green Mountain and the like? Anyone have any problems?

[MR. MEOWGI]

I use TXU because Im a little leary to try the other companies. The rates have been pretty reasonable until last month when my bill was $94. Granted I live in a 685 SF condo, but that seems a little steep.

So what is the deal with the companies like Spark, Green Mountain and the like? Anyone have any problems?

try 300 for a one-story 3 bedroom house. :mad:

[UTweezer]

i moved into a 3rd story apt...jesus.

my electricity bill for my place (620sq ft?) is $185 a month. I guess those "rumors" of heat rising are true after all :cool:

[krosfyah]

Well, I'm using Gexa because they have 2-1 Continental mileage.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/onepass/earn/other/gexa.aspx

I heard that some people had problems with them but no problems here. My average electric bill will probably be $250/month this year. So that would be around an extra 6,000 miles earned each year. Given that I didn't need to do anything extra for that, I'll take it.

[kpsta]

Hi guys, we recently had a thread on cable v. satellite which was very helpful. Now how about one for electric companies? There are so many out there claiming to be cheaper and yada yada yada. What do you guys think and what do y'all use?


Richard

Richard,

A pretty important factor in choosing your retailer/provider is your location. If you're in the Houston area, Reliant is the incumbent. In the Dallas area, it's TXU Energy... and in South Texas, it's Direct Energy. For the remainder of the year, while Price-to-Beat (PTB) is still in effect, each of the incumbants has to charge a higher rate for the customers in their area (unless you have switched to one of the term products or some other non-PTB offers.

Check out the link that Dreamsequence posted:

www.powertochoose.org

It is non-biased site run by Texas Electric Choice and it contains a ton of useful info.

Like others have said, lower rates may be attractive, but definitely check out other mitigating factors (rates of customer complaints with the PUC and the BBB). It's also worthwhile to look at each of the retailer's websites for promotional offers ($ back, miles, etc.)

Keep in mind throughout all of this that, while the retailer/provider may be different, you will still be dealing with the same utility (Centerpoint in Houston, TXU Electric Delivery in Dallas, etc.) So, basically:

- if you've ever had a crazy-high meter read in the past that affected your bill
- if the meter reader kicks your dog climbing over the fence :eek:
- if the field service guy accidentally shut off your power instead of the delinquent downstairs neighbor

you'll be dealing with the same people again... it's just that your billing entity has changed. Hope that helps. :)

[JuanValdez]

I have Gexa too. I've never really had much of a problem.

[rrj_gamz]

I got a great rate from First Choice Power last week, about $0.12/KWh, but they went up to $0.14/KWh this week. Do your research before you pull the trigger...

[MiddleMan]

try 300 for a one-story 3 bedroom house. :mad:


Try 580 for a two story 5 bedroom house :o :eek: :eek:

[Stack24]

Try 580 for a two story 5 bedroom house :o :eek: :eek:

We just got done changing our electric company here at the bar. We were with Gexa energy for a while and our average bill even in the hottest times in the summer were right about $4500 bucks. Then all of a sudden we started recieving bills starting at $6000 then it got all the way up to $8700 this past month. Well nedless to say when the bills got up into the $8000 mark we quested it and they said "oh well your contract went out and your not on your contract rate anymore your on standard rate." Which is basically double what we were paying.

So we finally called around and got with Commerce Energy which gave us a rate of like .097 we were paying somewhere in the .14 range with Gexa. They offered to reup our contract but only give us a price of .109. When we told them Commerce energy was giving us .097 they laughed and said we dont' even come close in any type of plan.

So thank god we changed and we are hoping it takes into effect this month becuase we can't handle another 9000 electricity bill...talk about losting $4500 in profits each month...

[rrj_gamz]

Anyone ever use Spark?

SPARK (https://www.sparkenergylp.com/Spark/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx)

I haven't, but two friends at work this week changed to them as they were the cheapest in the dallas area...To get on this provider list, you have to show ERCOT that you are financially sound...