Nearly a third of Texans living in areas served by deregulated electric companies still get their power from former monopolies under the price plans they had before markets opened to competition five years ago. Another third switched plans but stayed with their old providers.
A survey of customers taken for the Public Utility Commission last fall found that a majority haven’t considered switching companies, or feel unprepared to make a decision and need a lot more information. Michael Webber, associate director with the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas, attributes this to what he calls the information barrier.
Consumers may drive across town to save a few cents a gallon on gas because they can easily check the posted rates and compare, Webber says. But it’s not as easy to compare electric bills with their varying rates, taxes and fees.
It doesn’t help that the Legislature slashed funding for consumer education from $12 million in 2001 and 2002 to $750,000 every year since 2004.
The PUC’s “Power to Choose” Web site gathers information on most of the competing plans, but comparing the details in dozens of plans can be confusing. And for Texans who lack computers or Internet access, many of them elderly or low-income, the only options for shopping are calling around to the companies or relying on promotions that come in the mail.
Consumer groups have asked the PUC for a standard terms of service agreement to simplify comparison shopping. The lack of a standard format means people have to wade through fine print for such key information as whether they will have to pay a penalty for ending a service agreement early or if a “guaranteed” rate can rise if fuel prices do. Here are the stories of eight customers and their efforts to navigate the new system.
Overwhelmed after move
Natasha Kelly learned about choosing an electric company when she moved this month from Austin, which is served by a municipal utility, to a Clear Lake-area apartment.
The 38-year-old auditor, who relocated for a job in Galveston, was overwhelmed at first when she printed out eight pages of electric plans available in her new ZIP code from the state’s “Power to Choose” Web site. “There were 25 providers, deposit requirements, cancellation fees,” she said.
Kelly zeroed in on the lower rates offered if she went with a short-term, variable rate plan. She nearly gave up that idea, however, when the first company she contacted said she would have to call each month to lock in a rate.
But at YEP (Your Energy Provider), a representative assured her she wouldn’t have to do anything but watch her bills each month to keep track of the rate.
Although it took more than four hours of reading and phoning to settle on YEP, Kelly is glad she found a low-cost provider.
“Just going by names you hear often, you’re going to pay a higher rate,’’ she said.
Research before switching
John Burrmann, 54, knew for months that he could do better when the price he paid Gexa Energy rose to 15.1 cents per kilowatt-hour earlier this year.
He had switched to Gexa from Reliant several years ago, shaving 20 percent off his bill, but started shopping around when Gexa’s rate climbed. He found a cheaper provider, Amigo Energy, but it required a deposit about equivalent to a month’s bill.
“There was no savings there,” said Burrmann, a salesman who lives in Missouri City. “So I just didn’t do anything more about it for a while, even though I knew better.”
Finally, when he received a bill for $470 at the end of August, Burrmann set aside some time for the search. After about 45 minutes on the PUC’s “Power to Choose” Web site, he chose a plan with Hudson Energy for 11.3 cents per kilowatt-hour that didn’t require a deposit. He completed the transaction without talking to a customer service representative.
“I feel comfortable with the decision I made to switch providers, but only time will tell if it turns out to be a good one or not,” he said.
Looking for best deal
Tilford Vik, 67, a retired pipeline safety engineer, has switched providers repeatedly looking for a better deal. Vik changed from Reliant to Entergy several years ago, but Entergy left the Texas competitive retail market in 2006 and turned its Texas customers over to Direct Energy. Unlike Entergy, Direct itemized every tax, fee and charge on Vik’s bill, which led him to discover he was being charged taxes for jurisdictions that shouldn’t have applied to his North Houston neighborhood.
He filed a complaint with the PUC and received refunds for the incorrect charges, he said, but it took him many hours on the phone and online.
Vik has since switched to Spark Energy because of its low rates, 12.475 per kilowatt-hour. But the same incorrect charges showed up on his bill, resulting in more work to resolve that issue. His August bill was $171.57.
“I’ve concluded the missing element is simplicity. The Legislature should have mandated that electricity would be sold per kilowatt-hour, period,” Vik said. “No multiplicity of plans and pricing schemes making it difficult for the average person to determine which supplier has the best deal.”
Via: Chron|by
TEXAS|
