What to Know about Comparing Electric Rate Plans
 

Residential Electric Companies
 

There are a few things that residential electricity buyers should be aware of before deciding on a company. In Texas for instance, which is the largest de-regulated state in the USA, also has plenty of electric companies. They are sometimes known as power companies. Most of them have different prices for the amount of time you want the price fixed. Fixed rate electric plans vary widely. I have seen people paying on a 5 year plan, and I have see people pay month to month. If rates will be flat to heading south, you don't need much of a rate plan. But some companies are known to jump your rate up significantly when you go off the electric rate plan, so know when yours ends.
 

Customer Loyalty
 

There are many things to say about residential customers and the companies they buy from, but lets start with point of view. That is the mindset of the buyer. Now, as a residential and commercial electricity consultant I can tell you that I am quite surprised by some of the things I hear when I am talking to residential electric customers. One thing that I hear is, "I have been with company XYZ for 22 years, and I ain't about to change it now!" Now the person who said this could probably have saved at the time, about 25-30% on their bill. But that didn't matter at all! What mettered to them was the relationship he felt he had with this electric company. So, sometimes the company that you may have may be there for other reasons than cost.
 

Price per kWh
 

Some people are very interested in cost. Especially when the economy is not doing so well. These people need to keep in mind that rate per kWh is important, but some companies will not give you this quoted price unless you use at least a certain amount of electricity. For instance, you may need to use 1,000 kWh's of electricity, otherwise you pay a higher rate.For other compainies, you may pay one price for the first 1,000 kWh's and after that, you pay another price. In addition to this, some companies will charge you a monthly fee as well. Some companies may not have this monthly fee. And some can drop it if you pay slightly more. I am not here to tell you which type of payment arrangement is best for you, but I can let you know this is available, and may even be in your fine print. Electric companies will explain it if you ask them to. It is best to ask what your total cost per kWh will be when considering all costs. This is usually found on your bill, but you will have to look for it. ?This is really the number that matters
 

What about deposits?
 

Why are there deposits? I don't know why it is, but there are a lot of companies that treat their electric utilty poorly. They want to pay them the very last second possible. But electric companies have to usually buy electricity up front, or pay interest if it is on time. When a customer pays a bill nearly a month late, this is causing extra cost to the electric company. So in the end, they are not really happy to have such customers. There are even people that seem to go from electric company to electric company leaving large bills unpaid. Ergo, a deposit! And rightly so really. These same people do the most crying over being forced to pay any and every electric utility company a deposit, just because 1 bill wasn't paid, etc. Some companies have incorporated no deposit or low deposit into their cost structure. Some companies have pay as you go. This is where you prepay for x amount of energy. In this scenario you do not need a deposit. Be careful not to let such companies charge too much.

Don't want a deposit?
 

Join the group! The thing to remember is that if you have to pay a $300 deposit, it is very much like pre-paying your bill. That is a big outlay initially for many customers. Why not instead work to get a 0 deposit the next time? This is easy to do really. Just do a little planning, and PLAN to pay your electric bill on time every month for a year. Then, the next time you get new service, or look for a cheaper rate, and are denied no deposit you have something you can do. You can ask your last company for a LOA. This is a letter of authorization to be sent to you, or your new potential electric provider. This will show among other things like usage, how well you paid on time. ALso you can bring your bill statements down, they often show whether you have paid the electric bills on time. YOu show these to the new company and many of them will waive your deposit fee. Then just keep a good track record, so that they don't make negative remarks in your credit file.
 

Visit these sites: Power to Choose Electric , Affordable Power , Startex Power , Need a Bandaid
 

If you are a business, commercial or industrial user of electricity contact us for assistance getting good electricity rates send an email with contact to: consultant (@)cheaptexaselectricrates.com