after getting a ridicoulous electric bill this month i am thinking about switching to TXU. who are you using and have you noticed any savings? also are there any promos for switching to a different company?
really?? significant savings? I have not noticed significant savings at all, and I switched about 5 months back.
Used Green Mt. then thier rates went up and the savings wasnt that much better then Reliant.. I'm now on the plan that keeps the payments about the same every month all year.. forgot the name of the thing, works well for me..
Study up here... http://www.powertochoose.com/yourchoice/compareoffers.asp As a residential customer, you have a lot of choices. I'm not going to make any personal recommendations because I work for one of the companies, so I need to be careful about what I say here. About your ridiculous bill, have you compared it to your bills from the same time last year? Part of the increase is tied to an increase in the fuel-factor (which would affect all retail electricity providers, not just Reliant). You also should pay attention to the usage... compare this June to June of last year. You may very well find a better rate per kWh somewhere else, but the biggest contributors to higher bills are the fuel-factor increase and your own personal usage habits. I keep pretty good tabs on my own usage from month to month, and I noticed about a 200 kWh jump this June (with a shorter billing cycle this time as well). I kept the thermostat at a constant 78 for the month. The main factor in the increase in consumption is pretty simple... temperatures. This year the average high from 6/01-6/29 was 88 degrees... with a low of 75 degrees. Last year for the same time period... 84 degrees and 70 degrees. I think the bottom line here is that, while in switching providers, you'll likely save a little on the cents per kWh, but with the other factors involved your savings may not be as great as advertised or as you might anticipate. Other things to consider would be security deposits with new providers. Most would require a deposit in the neighborhood of $200 (depending on the size of your house or apartment). You may end up getting the deposit back after a year or so... If your payment history with Reliant is good, you might be able to get it waived if the new provider considers a letter of good payment history. Hope this helps.
I use Gexa. Can't tell if my savings were significant, since I've always had them for the house I live in now. They are a couple pennies cheaper than Reiant per kwh though, so I imagine so.
That's Balanced Billing (or Average Monthly Billing depending on who's marketing it)... it can be a double-edged sword though. On the one hand, you flatten out the "more expensive" months so June-October are more manageable. For some people though, knowing that each month they'll only have to pay $XX for electricity tricks them into thinking they can kind of relax a bit with the thermostat and other appliances because they know that the month ahead will still be a set $XX for electricity. The problem is that when you're up for your annual or bi-annual re-calculation (based on prior usage), you may find a decent jump in the monthly payments going forward. Regardless of how you make your payments, it's always good to keep tabs on the temperatures and your own usage habits.
I used to work for TXU in Dallas, and kept them as my energy provider when I moved back to Houston. They are cheaper than Reliant, but I just switched to Gexa. Saved about $20 on my last bill with Gexa vs. TXU. Gexa charges a flat rate per kwh while TXU's rate changes depending on the amount of energy you use. The first 200 kwh are charged at one rate, the next 300 at another, the next 50 at another, etc. TXU does have a much better online billing system and customer support, but with Gexa you can earn AA or Continental miles.
Re: the rates per kWh, I realize this data is for the month of April, but the Public Utility Commission of Texas always seems a few months behind. This .pdf breaks down rates and comparable savings depending on the service area in which you live. If you're in the Houston area, p.2 might help. http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/rates/RESrate/rate05/Apr05rates.pdf
From the people I've spoken to who have switched... supposedly, they received lower rates initally, but eventually their rates climbed to be close to what Reliant chages.
thanks for all the info. my situation is this...i am a new home owner so i really cant compare my bills with the bills from last year. i live in a 3 story townhouse and keep the AC for the 1st and second floor at 78. the third floor i keep the thermostat at 80 and turn it down to 75 when i go to bed. it seems the AC on the 3rd floor kicks on every 10-15 minutes. i covered up the skylights over the weekend to see if that will help with cooling the 3rd floor. my bill for august was $130 and it jumped to $300 (2259 kw/h) this month!!!!! (nearly dropped a load in my pants) i am the only one living there and my g/f spends time over there but between the two of us i dont think we use that much electricty. i am good about turning off lights and keeping an eye on the thermostat.
Ditto. Haven't gotten my first bill yet though. Can't be worse than Gexa, who I've used since I moved back to Houston.
Without prior usage to compare to, it's a little harder to gauge... How long ago did you move in? Did you mean your bill for August (or April) was $130? The hottest months are typically August/September, so keep that in mind regardless of who you buy your power from... Cooling a three story townhome can be tough... especially if you sleep on the top floor. Some other tips: - if you don't already change your A/C filter every couple of months, you should. At the very least, check it monthly for the dust build up... It makes a huge difference. - ceiling fans, ceiling fans, ceiling fans... did I mention ceiling fans? -Adjusting the blinds/curtains for the hottest parts of the day should also help. -Look into Balanced Billing. As a conscientous energy consumer who pays attention to the thermostat, you're more likely to benefit from it than would the "I want it just so I don't have to think about the bill" user. Depending on who you're with (I know you're with Reliant, but almost all providers offer this), you can get a free energy check up online: For Reliant: http://www.reliant.com/residential/energycheckup?1id=225061&2id=220007&xid=348116 For TXU: http://www.energyguide.com/ha/Welcome.aspx?referrerid=145&sid=461 For Direct: http://directenergy.com/texas/home/energy_management/default.aspx?WT.svl=nav
Typo on my part. It should of been April and not August. The house was built in 1978 and the AC unit looks pretty old. Will be replacing the unit in the winter so hopefully that will help. The joys of owning a home
I work for Reliant as a backoffice analyst so I pretty much touch every single issue regarding usage disputes in our entire residential and small business sector through our database. I'm sorry, but if you're looking to save boatloads by switching providers, you're looking into a pretty dry well.. make sure you pay attention to the small, fine print and the details of your agreement. Other providers may save you more by charging you less per kWh, but they'll get you back in service connection fees, base monthly charges or 'miscellaneous' TDSP charges. In the end, it all evens out. But this is probably the biggest reason for your high energy bills: Signficant increase in absolute heat 2005 vs 2004 for June Measured on 06/28/05 DFW: June 2004: 438 CDDs June 1-28, 2005: 532 CDDs 17% increase with 2 days left HOU June 2004: 476 CDDs June 1-28, 2005: 529 CDDs 10% increase with 2 days left btw, I'm with TXU myself.
