Tag Archives: Energy in TX

Market Prices: Green Energy Plans 6/30

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Today we’re going to take a look at the green energy plans that are available from the different REP’s in Texas this week. The plans listed below are the cheapest rates, sorted by TDSP, for plans that composed entirely of environmentally friendly resources, such as solar or wind power.

Oncor:

  • Bounce Energy – Month to Month Plan – 8.8
  • Dynowatt – Month to Month Plan – 8.8
  • Southwest Power & Light – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 9.7
  • YEP – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 9.8
  • Southwest Power & Light – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 9.8
  • YEP – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 9.9

    • Centerpoint:

  • Dynowatt – Month to Month Plan – 9.2
  • Bounce Energy – Month to Month Plan – 9.7
  • Southwest Power & Light – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 10.6
  • YEP – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 10.7
  • Southwest Power & Light – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 10.8
  • YEP – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 10.9

    • AEP North:

  • Dynowatt – Month to Month Plan – 8.9
  • Bounce Energy – Month to Month Plan – 9.5
  • Southwest Power & Light – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 10.1
  • YEP – 6 Month Fixed Plan – 10.2
  • StarTex Power – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 10.4
  • Champion Energy – 12 Month Fixed Plan – 10.4

    • AEP Central:

  • Bounce Energy – Month to Month Plan – 9.7
  • Dynowatt – Month to Month Plan – 9.7
  • Southwest Power & Light – 6 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 10.9
  • YEP – 6 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 11.0
  • Southwest Power & Light – 12 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 11.1
  • YEP – 12 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 11.2

    • TNMP:

  • Dynowatt – Month to Month Plan – 8.5
  • Southwest Power & Light – Month to Month Plan – 9.2
  • Southwest Power & Light – 6 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 10.0
  • YEP – 6 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 10.1
  • Tara Energy – 12 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 9.8
  • Southwest Power & Light – 12 Month Fixed Rate Plan – 9.9

    • This weak was pretty easy to break down…hence the fact I’m offering a breakdown. Basically, Bounce and Dynowatt were at the top of all the variable rates, and YEP and Southwest Power & Light were consistently in the top 2 (with some exceptions for all) in regards to 6 and 12 month fixed rate plans.

    Commission Report Recommends Sweeping Changes in Texas Electricity Groups

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    This is a fantastic article from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram that I think everyone should check out. It has lots of potential good news for consumers in the Texas electric market. The article discusses the sweeping changes that were recommended by the Sunset Advisory Committee, a group created by the Texas legislature in 1977 to police government and public agencies to eliminate waste and inefficiency. And yes, I realize the irony of the statement in saying that one government agency is going to effectively eliminate overlap and bad policies in another government agency. That being said, the changes suggested in this report are fantastic news for the everyday consumer, although we might not ever be able to tie any benefits directly to these changes (assuming these changes are adopted).

    So what are these changes suggested by this commission? First off, the report suggests that the PUC need to be given more teeth to effect changes and levy fines against criminal behavior of people working to fleece the electricity market for profit. This suggested change comes from a 2008 case where Energy Future Holdings was accused of withholding electricity from the market to drive up prices. Energy settled without admitting any wrongdoing, and paid a 15 million fine. The case suggests that the fine was 3 million less than the profits the company made, and more than 40 million less than the 57 million consumer might have overpaid in elevated electric rates. So basically, they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and the only punishment that had was to give back some of the cookies they stole. Hardly an impediment on behavior to keep them from doing it again in the future. They didn’t even have to admit to any wrongdoing. In the future, if these changes take place, the idea is that the PUC would be able to actually fine these companies enough money to actually hurt them and alter bad behavior. For companies that are still claiming they are having a hard time making a profit, this could be a huge game changer for the benefit of Texas consumers. If this policy IS adopted, the only question would be whether or not they actually use it, akin to the Death Penalty in college football. Which brings us to the next, and even bigger point.

    For the longest time in the worlds of business and government, there have been conflicts of interest in people making the laws, those enforcing them, and those making money in the marketplace. A perfect example is the American political system, full of lobbyists, campaign contributions, and politicians inclined to work in the best interests of those that contribute to their political careers. The Texas electricity market is no exception. The Sunset report urges that ERCOT (Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, responsible for maintaining the grid and transporting electricity over power lines to customers) be given more independence, and most importantly, a new board of operators. Currently most of the 16 members of ERCOT are all pulled from the energy industry and all have financial stakes in the decisions of the council. So it’s the inmates running the asylum. The report suggests all members with industry ties be removed, and the PUC be given more oversight into the actions of ERCOT…particularly since their budget has more than quadrupled in the last ten years.

    For the record, the PUC has endorsed the findings of the report. Next up are public hearings, which will take place in May, where the findings will officially be presented to the PUC and ERCOT, and for the Texas Legislature to vote on during next year’s session. So between now and then, consumers just cross their fingers.

    Weather and Your Electricity

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    Ran across this article/post by the folks at Bounce Energy. It’s a pretty good read, although kind of lengthy. I think everyone should give it a read. It discusses, at length, exactly how the weather affects your electricity bill. But what makes it interesting isn’t so much that it covers the obvious (you use more electricity when it’s hot outside) but the way in which it explains all of the details of WHY things work together. Basically, the article peals back the onion an extra layer as it discusses energy in Texas.

    I think this article is a good primer on understanding an aspect of the electric market that functions, but that a lot of people probably don’t put a lot of thought into WHY things work the particular way they work. Also, this is a good article for people to read who have recently moved to Texas and are perhaps shocked exactly why their electricity bills aren’t what they’re used to seeing from some of the northern states or locations on either seaboard. It’s a good overview of what people can expect from their electricity company (and why) when it comes in the mail each month.

    Texas and Smart Utilities

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    Here’s something that most of us (including myself, until I read this blog post) probably ever think about in regards to their electricity bills: old technology and how it affects our bills. This post by Richard Stuebi on Cleantech Blog kind took a minority view on the deregulated Electricity markets of Texas and California, which are popular targets for criticism by many people.

    His viewpoint was interesting in that it was much more forward looking than most people’s standard “What is this costing me right now” attitude. So what is he talking about? Smart Grids. Now we’ve touch on Smart Meters on this blog before, and Smart Grids are, for the sake of simplicity, are tomorrow’s jet engine of an electricity grid compared to today’s hang glider. They will improve the way electricity is delivered and monitored and in general just do a more efficient job of what grids do today. This efficiency will show up as electricity savings and reduced consumption at the same time. Pretty cool, even if it is still a ways off, right?

    So, how does this relate to us in Texas (and California)? Well the short of it is that the deregulation of our electricity markets have forced us (the electricity market/companies) to be more clever in how we go about business instead of just dancing with the one that brought us, so to speak. Texas and California have modified policy and set in place legislation that will make it much easier to adopt smart grids going forward, as well as forcing large companies to adopt new and more intelligent business practices. Basically, we’ve taken some lumps early that will set us up to be WAAAAY ahead of the rest of the country in the long term when it comes to energy efficiency and consumption. Which will mean savings from our electricity providers which we probably can’t even put a price on right now.

    Texans Unhappy With Their Electricity Providers

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    I ran across a great article from the Houston Business Journal the other day, and I want to talk about a few quick points mentioned in the article that I found interesting. In short, Texans are unhappier with their electric companies than they were just a few years ago.

    The article is based on the results of the recently released JD Power and Associates report on Texas electricity companies, which is a good, unbiased survey. Although it should be noted that not every company IS ranked by the survey, so keep that in mind as well. Anyway, the results gave the top stop to StarTex Power, followed by Green Mountain and Amigo Energy. This is all well and good, but I had some other interesting take-aways from the article.

    Namely, that 1/3 of all currently electricity customers won’t stay with their current electricity provider. Thats a huge number, and personally, I think it makes it all the more important that people make a smart evaluation of their options before selecting their next electricity company. Which is exactly the purpose of my companion website, www.TexasElectricityRatings.com. The survey also mentioned (likely because of the pricing fluctuations) that customers with fixed rate plans are more content than customers with variable rate plans. It’s a good article, everyone should give it a read.

    Great Overview of the Texas Electricity Market

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    This week, I ran across a fantastic article from the Wall Street Journal that talks about the Texas heat this summer (particularly in Central Texas). The article talks about why electricity bills remain high overall despite low natural gas prices resulting in cheap electricity.

    Now, the reason for which the article was written a pretty good one, but that isn’t why I find this article so great. The real thing that makes this article fantastic is the details and processes it illustrates as to WHY the prices remain high. The article actually steps through a lot of things about the Texas market place that not a lot of people in Texas probably know about in regards to Texas Electricity. It touches on changes in Kilowatt per-hour prices, how the cost of natural gas is tied to prices, how increased demand (from heat and drought) forces into service older and more costlier generators to account for elevated demand, and even how drought conditions force increased consumption because of water usage. It’s a great overview of the residential Texas energy in an easy to understand nutshell. I think everyone should give this a read.

    More Positive Rule Changes From the PUC

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    I ran across another article talking about some more changes the PUC has implemented that should benefit customers in deregulated energy markets. A few days ago I linked to and discusses an article that spoke about how the PUC approved some changes that would make it easier to shop and switch electricity providers without incurring any secret charges or accidentally extend your contracts. Well, on the heels of that some more changes are that are worth noting showed up today.

    So, lets take a quick look at the changes. The most important one is that electricity providers will now be required to send out notices two weeks in advance prior to a customer’s contract expiration, and the envelope will explicitly say Contract Expiration Notice. So no more contracts rolling over without customers noticing anything. This will give customers more opportunity to shop for new energy providers. This combined with the other new rule I blogged about in regard to not being charged any extra charges for meter reading and relaxed rules in regards to switching should really allow people to maximize the opportunities in the deregulated Texas electricity market.

    Another piece of news worth mentioning in the article was the requirements to be a new REP (Retail Electricity Provider) in the market. After last summer’s skyrocketing prices and the general volatility of the electricity market (when many REPs went out of business) another rule was implemented to ensure that incoming REPs have to be on sounder financial ground. Basically, the gist is that REPs will have to keep a much higher line of credit and a larger store of cash on hand. The idea for this was to prevent a summer like last one, where lots of REPs went out of business when the market prices soared, and customers were forced into service with new electricity providers, which typically charged them much higher rates.

    It’s been a busy week for big changes in the PUC, and almost all of them will benefit the consumer in pretty substantial ways.

    Stream Energy Also a Pyramid Scheme?

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    An interesting article out of Dallas recently reported about a lawsuit being filed that accuses Stream Energy, or more specifically, the marketing arm of the company, of being nothing more than a pyramid scheme. There have been a lot of different accusations thrown at the different Texas electric companies since deregulation, but this is the first time I can remember any of them being called a pyramid scheme.

    Now, to be perfectly fair, this accusation has NOTHING to do with their electricity service, so there isn’t any chance that any customers of Stream Energy out there having to worry about their service just shutting off one day and reading stories of executives fleeing to Brazil with bundles of cash. And that’s important to keep in mind, so I’ll repeat: This has nothing to do with their electricity service. It’s just a marketing arm of the company designed to incentive people to sign up new customers and other sellers to the program.

    Now, that being said, it’s definitely interesting to think about a huge arm of a company being accused of anything on this level of impropriety. And this entire accusation and lawsuit could be complete garbage. Remember, this is just an accusation. Still, I found the news interesting, and if nothing else, it’s yet another example of all the different and unexpected news had happenings that can appear from seemingly nowhere in a deregulated electricity market. All the more reason to check in regularity for the prices and offers and incentives the different electricity providers in Texas have to offer the consumers. And that’s where Texas Electricity Ratings comes into play, helping Texans answer their questions about energy choice.