stop overpaying & lower your bill!
Tired of gimmicks and tricks that promise to lower
your bill but don't?!
Here are 5 Tips & Bonus Tip to save when shopping for rates
Customer fees
Customer Fees, Base Charges, and Customer Charges are examples of fees charged by energy companies to make money on your account regardless of how much you use. These are charges you'll have to pay regardless of using a low or high amount of power every month. Many companies will not advertise this charge, so it is best to look at the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) to be sure if you will have this monthly fee.
usage limits
Many companies advertise a great, extremely low rate but will not advertise that there might be usage limits for that rate, and if you go over it you might end up paying double, triple or more for each kilowatt! Every company has to disclose this, but many only disclose it on the Electricity Facts Label, not on the website where you’d expect it to be.
USAGE CREDITS
Usage Credits are another way many companies use to skew their prices. Companies will advertise an enticing low rate, but in the EFL it will show that in order to get that rate, you must use over a certain amount, but also stay below another amount of kWh usage.
For example, a company can advertise 8 cents per kWh, but only after a “Usage Credit” is applied, and if you use 1 kilowatt below or higher than you’re allowed, you lose that credit. And those credits can be anywhere between $50-75 or more! Companies that have these usage credits understand that in Texas, energy usage can swing from 800 kWh in 1 month to over 2000 kWh the next and will use that to their advantage
Energy Rate
The Energy Rate is probably THE MOST important factor to consider. This is the price per kilowatt that you will lock in with a company for the duration of your term. Companies in Texas can’t control your taxes or delivery fees, but they can control the Energy Rate. Make sure you are on a Fixed Energy Rate and not a Variable Energy Rate. A Variable Energy Rate will be based on the market price and is usually double what you'd pay on an a fixed rate.
Introductory Rate
The SECOND most important factor when selecting a plan is seeing if the rate is an introductory rate. This is a gimmick created to lure customers in and putting them in a long term plan. If you see energy rates as low as 4 or 5 cents on a long contract, it’s very possible that it is only temporary, but the contract isn’t. After a few months, that rate will slowly creep into what’s called a Market Rate, but this is just another name for the often much higher Variable Rate. It is best to avoid these plans.
Make it easy - average rate
The easiest way to make sure you can save money when switching providers is by comparing the Average Rate. The Average Rate is the price per kWh you pay after calculating energy charges, customer fees, base charges, usage credits & deliveries. The Average Rate is your Actual Price per kWh. On every energy bill, you will be shown your Average Rate for that billing cycle & how many kilowatts you used. Every plan you’re comparing to will have an EFL that shows what the Average Rate would be at 500, 1000, & 2000 kWh used. Compare the rate closest to your usage and if the rate is higher, then that plan will more than likely not save you money. See example below
Average Rate Comparison
free bill analysis
We know that there's hundreds of companies out there. We would be happy to make finding the right provider easy for you! If you'd like, we can provide a FREE bill analysis to see if we can save you money on your electric bill. And if we can't save you money, we won't ask you to switch.
​
Our goal is for you to find a reliable, consistent company that you can count on.
​
For a free bill analysis, fill out the form and one of our energy experts will be reaching out to you shortly!
​