Southwest Power & Light Customer Reviews

I have been with SWP&L for years and they offer the best rates. I have never had a problem with them and I recommend them all the time.

I've been using Southwest Power & Light for several years and they are very good. I'm an electrical substation designers and their electricity is as good as anyone else.

I don't usually have the time to write reviews. Signed up with SW P & L 2 years ago online because of a very attractive rate. I was on autopay. Every month a got a statement showing how much my account was charged. I never had a problem or needed to call for anything. I enjoyed the low rates. As far as I'm concerned it was a no brainer. No problems at all!

Reading all the bad reviews is surprising! I signed up with SWPL 8 years ago and the highest my bill has EVER been for my 2 bedroom home is $180! And that is only during the summer months in HOUSTON TEXAS! Average bill is well under $100 otherwise. I am pleased with the service and any time anyone shows up trying to get me to switch, I'm told they have never heard of SWPL and then I send them on their way. The only downfall I can list is the high deposit ($390) but once you pay your bill on time for 12 consecutive months w/out a late/disconnect notice generated, they refund half of the deposit back to you! I recommend SWPL to everyone who asks me about power company options. (=

Unsure why people are having problems. Sign up for a term (you know there's a cancelation charge) and pay on time. I have used SWPL for almost 3 years and never had an issue. Saved $ hundreds (if not thousands) in that time v's TXU. Always check each year to compare there rates prior to renewing and they're great.

I had this company for 2 years without any problems, however i get these new promotions and decided to change, BIG MISTAKE, southwest is fair and does not give you extra charges, it is what it is all the time, I am going back to this company

I have had SWP for 3 years and have had no problems. No hidden fees and rate is the same as quoted. Payment comes out automatically from checking account each month for a 5% discount and a color chart shows your usage to compare to year prior. Not sure why others are having problems. Have not needed customer service. I am looking for the best rate now as it is time to renew or switch.

I've had Southwest P&L for about 18 months now. I pay them on-time and they give me electricity at a decent price. It's really not that difficult.

The switch over was seamless and we have yet to encounter a problem. We just renewed at a slightly better rate and probably will next year as well.

I have been a customer since 09-10 and I've had a 4.5 rating out of 5 experience with this company. The only negative I can say is they call you to remind you your payment is due as if you didn't know this already.

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I have spoken with customer service on five ocassions and have had a great experience each time. So, YES I will recommend them to others unless their pricing structure were to get out of hand. After all, most people do kick the cat...

I signed up for their 100% renewable 1 year contract about a year ago and have been very pleased so far. I have been able to do everything online so far and have not needed to contact customer service for anything. I know that this has more to do with Oncor than SW P&L, but during the rolling blackouts caused by the major snowstorm this year, my house did not lose power once. The only thing that they could do better in my opinion is to provide an option to not receive paper statements.

I have been with them for six months and hey have some of the best rates in my area. Customer service is very easy to work with. I have always been able to reach a live person in less than 1 minute and it's NOT someone from some far off land. They are always very friendly and helpful. One note though, they can only be reached during normal business hours. But if it's a power outage or emergency you will be directed to the electric distributor.

First I get a bill (after 1 week and 4 days of service) which has the rate without my discount and plus a service fee. When I call to ask why the bill was so high, the only response got was that I didn't use enough electricity. So I end up having to call every month to find out why my bill was so high, they just gave me the run around. My rate is supposed to be 8.4 yet my bill consistently shows I'm being billed anywhere from 9-11.2. Still no one has an answer!! I was with them a year before this and had no problems. As soon as I renewed it was all downhill. I work part time and in school full time. I'm barely ever home, yet my bill looks like I live in a big house with at least 3 other people. I won't be renewing when this contract it up. I regret every resigning!!

I live alone and use less than 1000 kWh per billing cycle. I get ripped on monthly charges and the highest rates. This would be cost effective, like all other plans, to use 1000 or 2000+ kWh... then you get the advertised rate. However, their online system for billing / payment management is easy and I was able to get a hold of someone whenever I need customer service. My contract ends tomorrow and I'm switcing to a company with better rates. When your contract is up, be prepared that they call endlessly to renew.

I was promised 8.6 cents if I signed up for autopay (the discount for autopay was .5 cents). The first month they 'forgot' to put me on autopay and I had to pay 11.9 cents because it was a partial month and I didn't use enough electricity to get the lower rate (I was only with SWPL for a week). I didn't appreciate that they wouldn't prorate it. The second month, I was on autopay and got charged 9.3 cents. They said their system runs a month behind on the autopay credit, so the autopay discount wouldn't take for another month. Another ripoff as far as I'm concerned. They also said that all electric companies require you to use 2,000 kwhs to get the advertised rate, which is why I got charged 9.3 cents instead of 9.1 cents. I didn't print out the original electricity facts label and it has changed several times in the last two months, but I sure don't remember it that way. I've used a half dozen companies in the last fifteen years, this one seems especially devious to me. Also, their website is terrible. Four of the last five times I tried to access my bill, every link I clicked on timed out instead of taking me to the webpages.

I've read several reviews here about how this company charges hidden fees. This is not the case. The company breaks down its fees into two categories. One is the category it charges you for your electricity and the other is the "Utility fee" which is the amount it has to pay the company that generates the power. All other companies combine these together for one charge. So at first look, it seems you've been hit with a high fee. But when you examine closer, you see the two fees are simply categorized.

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The average poorly educated Texan is incapable of making this distinction and feels they have been ripped off. The company offers very good rates and I was able to lock in a 3-year deal which I am quite happy about.

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If I dont mail my payment the day the bill arrives I receive a cut off notice every month-irritating at least

I would NOT recommend this company!!! They have lots of hidden fees and even just making a payment, there is a charge for that too......talk about a disgusting company to do that to their clients!!! I will NOT do business with a company that charges you a fee to take your payment! Look out for hidden fees and watch your pocket book as they will take as much $$ for anything.....Money hungry and dishonest!!!

They charge a Utility Charge every month and it

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fluctuates. The charges are not broken down so I

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don't know what I am charged for.

Look out for the delivery charge it was almost as much as my electricity charge! Cancelled after 1 month despite $175 charge. Ripoff!!!!!!!!!

I would give them 'zero' stars if possible. Their customer service depart will not answer the phone nor will they call you back. Invoicing process is inaccurate and online payment process is confusing and expensive.

Just as others on here have said. My bills keep going up, I watch my consumption very close what my a/c unit is set on etc . I hardly ever run heat. I use my fire place that heats the house , my hot water heater is new I have all energy efficient bulbs, never use light during the day since I have lot windows natural light. I dont see how my bill is $500-$600 now $925 in the past couple months every since I renewed. Before that it wasnt bad but now it is ridiculous. The customer service just transfers me they give me run around etc.

My bill went from $40 to $ 146 due to summer.I was late I called and made 2 payments I was 2 weeks late.Next month same thing$146 bill I made 2 payments I was 1 week late.Now they want to charge a Deposit.Ridisulous!!! They don't even tell you it just shows up on your bill.DO NOT USE THEM HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.I called today to speak to supervisor held for 8 minutes CS comes back on no supervisor available.So unresolved.

I'll be honest. Service was good, right up until I had to move.

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Abstract (TLDR):

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Every ticket I submitted was virtually ignored. I had to call to disconnect, and even then communication was muddled and I continued to be charged after I requested that my contract not be renewed.

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One of the tickets I submitted even disappeared. I have an email confirmation proving I submitted it and another after I called letting me know the ticket was resolved, but I couldn't find it in either my open or closed tickets.

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Full Saga:

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Unlike certain public cellular companies that shall not be named, but begin with "V," rhyme with "-erizon" and make it virtually impossible to cancel without incurring penalties, working with this company wasn't quite like making a pact with the devil. However, not being the devil incarnate in regards to one's customer service and the cancellation process is a pretty low bar to surpass.

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My contract with this company was set to end in May, while I was planning to move into a new apartment in April. I was well aware of this and had no problem paying for the final month that I wasn't going to be living there. I was hoping to avoid cancellation fees, but alas, I had a lot to learn about properly documenting conversations and choosing my every and each spoken word carefully.

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So, I submitted a ticket requesting that my service be disconnected once my contract ended, this initial ticket was submitted a month early in April. I received response that I should call them to resolve the ticket.

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While there wasn't a long wait and the rep was friendly, I learned later that we walked away from that call with very different ideas of what my request was and what the next steps were.

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I was still receiving invoices three months after my contract ended and had received a disconnect warning notice, as if this was something I hadn't explicitly wanted and requested, in writing, on the initial ticket, months earlier. Well, maybe not exactly. This email specifically requested that I pay the latest bill, which my bank had stopped doing, understandably, since I had a new electricity company.

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I submitted another ticket in July, informing them that my disconnect should have happened when my contract ended and that I had moved from the address in April. I received a ticket that it was "resolved," and was, once again, told to call the number provided. I called, and the first person didn't seem to understand why I called and even seemed baffled as to why I wouldn't want to pay the latest bill.

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While we did manage to get the service disconnected, she still insisted I should pay the most recent bill. After going back and forth with her about the tickets I submitted and when, and realizing I was going nowhere, I thanked for her time, hung up, and called again.

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The next rep was better. I was told they would search for the original call and open an investigation. This didn't stop the emails though.

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In one day, I received four invoices for the exact same bill that I hasn't paid yet, as well as more disconnect warning notices. Almost a month later, in August, I called again asking why I kept getting notices for a bill that was under investigation.

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The person on the line apologized for the delay and assured me it was still under investigation. Then one fateful day, that very same day at, 5pm on the dot, I received a somewhat unsettling message.

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"COLLECTION / PAST DUE BALANCE"

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Uh, oh.

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"This is a last courtesy attempt to inform you your account is past due and in danger of being sent to collections."

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*Le gasp!*

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"We value you as a customer..."

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Say it's not so!

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I would receive a couple calls from the company after the message, but unfortunately I was driving and didn't want to risk death in addition to debt.

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Just reading the email was a harrowing experience though and I knew I needed to get this sorted out. After all, the word "today" was highlighted RED in their email.

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Since it was after hours Friday, I gave them a call on Monday and requested that the emails be paused while the bill was still under investigation. I was told that they were being sent automatically by the system and there wasn't much they could do, but the rep did give me something for my adrenaline pumped hands to do.

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That task was for me to find my first invoice from my new provider and email it to their customer support. This I could do.

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No talking, no overthinking my tone of voice, no writing out notes before my next customer service call. Just open my inbox, search for my new electricity company, and forward the invoice. It was invigorating, just thinking about how simple this action would be, I could only long for a cancellation process from any company so simple.

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So I did exactly that.

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Two days later, I received a call. It was to close out this investigation once and for all.

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In this final call, I finally learned what was on the recording of the original call (April, if you made it this far into my story but have forgotten). As mentioned numerous times before, I did indeed request that my service be disconnected when my contact ended.

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However, semantics nudged its pesky horns right in.

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See, when I called, I didn't verbally state that I was intending to move addresses, only that I would be switching to another provider. Based on that information, the rep said I didn't have to call - the switch would happen automatically when the new company metered in. He then asked if I wanted to cancel after I learned this new information.

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And I, the overly trusting and socially clumsy fool, said...no.

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Allegedly.

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See, I don't remember saying this last part of course, but I can totally believe that I said that.

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That, in my delusion that a customer service rep actually read my ticket and understood the details of my situation...

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In my hurry to get off the call, especially when my socially anxious ass was reassured I didn't have to call in the first place...

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In my innocent, albeit reckless, faith that because I was working with a utilities company - rather than a soul sucking corporation hellbent on lining their pockets with the cash and tears of customers who just wanted a seamless transition out of a service they no longer need - that there was a method to the madness.

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Yes, I could believe I said exactly that.

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So I apparently said don't cancel. That's on me and I paid the final bill.

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But know, their ticket system is shit. They don't read them, they don't care, and evidently tickets will occasionally go missing. If this was a company that cared for the customer experience, canceling or disconnecting service would be as seamless as clicking a button.

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Or maybe two buttons. One button to disconnect, another to confirm your cancellation.

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The ticketing system wouldn't lose tickets.

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Their reps would have the ability to stall automatic emails.

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Customer service would *read* and *respond* to their tickets.

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But, like most other companies, they will require you to call and explicitly state that you want the service cancelled. That reason alone will make me give any company three stars.

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The only thing that keeps me from giving this company one star, is that (most of) the reps I talked to listened and weren't as aggressive/pushy as reps I've talked to from other companies.

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But, for the experience of being punished for wanting my request processed in writing, it has been downgraded to two stars. This was a bad experience, update your UI, ticket system, and cancellation policy.

My bill has doubled ever since i renewed my contract. they keep trying to blame the summer heat, but my bill is doubled from last summer.they also took money out my account that was not due and i had to wait until it was reversed.dont use autopay!!! they will steal your money. the non autopay fee is an extra $10 tho.its really a lose lose situation

First they set up two different accounts and tried to charge me for not being on autopay when I was on autopay for the account they sent me via email to set up! Then they billed me twice for the same month of service on both accounts, only one bill came almost 6 weeks later. A manager told me that it was a "delayed bill due to Oncor." When I checked my bills, they had double billed me under both accounts for the same service period, even though I had paid the bill under the wrong account number. Interestingly the billing amounts for the same period were different. I have spent hours on the phone with this group trying to get their billing errors fixed and every time they tell me they finally have it straight, they manage to mess it up again. I regret ever signing up with them.