Electricity Rates: Why so low? Should I lock it in?

Low natural gas prices.

Lock it in, bro

 

SWA that. Lock 'er in.

 

Lock in. I did too, thought about it at first but the low cost was hard not to lock in.

 

Also, lots of rain and cooler weather this spring.... Plus nat gas.

 

change to 4Change Energy..thank me later..

 

These Energy Fact Labels are so damn confusing.

Some have low rates listed 5.5c per kWh, but then they add in Energy Charges and monthly charges. And then they have different rates based on a scale.

0-500 - 11.3c
500-1000 - 5.5c
1000 - 2000 - 9.5c

If you use less than 1000 kWh then you pay an additional 30. If you use more than 2000 then your energy charge goes up. WTF.

And to make matters worse, each company has their requirements listed differently making it almost impossible to compare.

 

have you tried this website?

http://www.powertochoose.org/

 

It doesn't really help. It only lists the base rate . The place they get you is the fine print with the additional variations depending on usage.

TrueCost helps a bit, but even that doesn't tell the whole story.

This article helps articulate my frustration. (And also provides an alternative search mechanism)

https://www.searchforenergy.com/blog/powertochoose/

 

Damn 3 years! Just noticed Champion has a 5 dollar charge per customer service incident

 

Rates are stupid low right now. I locked in at 1.9c/kwh 6 weeks ago for a year and my first full month at 1200 kwh was $22.

The rates right now are even LOWER than they were then. 1.7c/kwh in Centerpoint area for a 12 Month fixed period.

With summer around the corner, it's time to lock in!

http://www.powertochoose.org/

 

"No plans found. Your zip code may not be in a service area open to competition."

Seems unfair.

 

Texas only, not China, grand master.

 

I'm in Texas, 77356.

 

No power to choose in my area. What kind of country is this?

 

Stupid low, but our energy usage rarely goes into the 1000+kWh range

 

Only parts of Texas deregulated. 77356 is not.

Unfortunately, with powertochoose retailers have found advantage in finding ways to make the headline price (the price assuming 1,000 kwhs of usage) look low and collecting their money elsewhere. Case in point:

This is from the EFL of a similar product from Infuse Energy for 1.7 cents assuming 1,000 kwh of usage, starting with a CenterPoint-area energy charge of 6.119 cents (which isn't very competitive by itself):

[rquoter]The price you pay each month includes the following: Energy Charge (cents per kWh) as shown above; Base Charge of $1.50 (flat fee per billing cycle); $4.95 Minimum Usage Fee (flat fee per billing cycle only if your usage is below 500 kWh); $90 Usage Credit per billing cycle if your usage is greater than 999 and less than 1,501 kWh; $40 Usage Credit per billing cycle if your usage is greater than 1,500 and less than 2,001 kWh; and regulated Transmission & Distribution Utility (TDU) delivery charges in effect for the associated billing cycle, passed through at cost (with no mark-up).[/rquoter]

So, in order to game the system and reduce that 6.119 cents per kwh energy charge to an effective 1.7 cents per kwh at 1,000 kwhs of usage, they've applied a $90 credit. So, if you let your usage fall outside of this band of 999-2001 kwhs in a month, go ahead an add $90 to your bill. For example, looking at the high end:

If you use 2000 kwhs: Cost excluding CenterPoint's charges = (fixed costs) + (variable costs) + (bill credits) = (1.50) + (2000 * 0.06119) + (-40) = $83.88

If you use 2002 kwhs: Cost excluding CenterPoint's charges = (fixed costs) + (variable costs) + (bill credits) = (1.50) + (2002 * 0.06119) + (0) = $124.00

So, for a delta in usage of 0.1%, their margin can go up 48%.

At the low end:

If you use 1000 kwhs: Cost excluding CenterPoint's charges = (fixed costs) + (variable costs) + (bill credits) = (1.50) + (1000 * 0.06119) + (-90) = -$27.31. (the company takes a loss)

If you use 998 kwhs: Cost excluding CenterPoint's charges = (fixed costs) + (variable costs) + (bill credits) = (1.50) + (998 * 0.06119) + (0) = $62.57.

So, by making sure you hit 1000 kwhs, you actually have that retailer subsidize your CenterPoint costs, but if you fall just short your rate is shot to hell.

See Reliant on the same 998 kwhs, excluding CenterPoint charges: (fixed costs) + (variable costs) + (bill credits) = (5.00) + (998 * 0.026) + (0) = $30.95.

Infuse Energy isn't the most egregious example I've seen. I saw a product once whose band for the credit was 999-1,200 kwhs. Even with Infuse's wider band, can you hit it often enough to win more often than you lose? I average about 1,500 kwhs a month, which would seem to have me well-placd. By I know I dip to 800-900 in the shoulder months (particularly November and February) and my summer usage is routinely over 2,000.

Buyer beware. I would suggest to anyone to take your historical usage over the past 12 months (your retailer can provide if they're reputable, otherwise smartmetertexas.com), drop it in Excel and model the billing calculation the retailers will do given that usage.