How do I find a new Houston electricity company?
As new players enter the deregulated Texas electricity market, more competition often leads to lower prices for consumers. But sometimes, when companies leave the Texas market their customers must find new electricity providers.
What is POLR Service?
So Texans aren’t left in the lurch when their retail electricity providers close up shop, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) designates one company in each utility area to be the provider of last resort (POLR). This service acts as a safety net for Texas retail electricity customers.
No matter which company sells you electricity, two companies always work together to power your home in the deregulated market. There’s the transmission and delivery utilities (TDUs) that maintain the power poles and lines throughout Texas to deliver electricity to you. The retail electricity providers (REPs) find generated electric supply and sell that electricity.
The PUC chooses one REPs to provide POLR service in each TDU service area in Texas. If your chosen electricity provider leaves the Texas market, that designated POLR will take over to keep your lights on.
For the REP company, POLR service is relatively high-priced due to both the costs associated with planning and the risk of serving an unknown number of customers with unknown electricity usage. The idea is to provide a temporary solution in the rare event that a retail electricity provider is unable to serve its customers.
Who provides POLR service in Houston?
Reliant Energy is currently the designated POLR for residential Houston electricity customers. The PUC also designates POLR service companies for commercial and industrial sized customers.
Should I switch from POLR service?
Yes! When customers are transferred to the POLR, whatever rate they had contracted with theiir old provider is no longer valid. Customers are almost always put into month-to-month plans that reflect the market rate for electricity. And that can be very expensive!
That’s why it’s imperative to use your power to choose a new retail electricity provider as soon as you learn about being transferred to POLR service. Even if you want to remain with the POLR service company, you should shop for a plan that works best for your home’s electricity usage. You’ll save money right away and over the long haul.
The first place to look is Texas Electricity Ratings. Here you can compare electricity companies and plans based on reviews from actual Texas customers. You also receive clear information taken straight from each plan’s contract terms. When you switch your electricity plan through Texas Electricity Ratings, you know exactly what you’re getting.