Retail Electric Providers

[Guest]

In Dallas.  Anyone know of a reliable REP here that charges less than $0.16-$0.18 / kwh?  Anyone have a feel for how electricity will increase?  I'd like to make a move but my current provider wants to lock me into a 2-year or 5-year contract at $0.164 or $0.165.  That seems 10-15% high based on what I can get in the market, but I don't recognize the names of the other providers.  I moved from TXU to Direct Energy a few years ago.  Thanks.

[Dahobbs 17625]

4 hours ago, Pinchers the Korean said:

In Dallas.  Anyone know of a reliable REP here that charges less than $0.16-$0.18 / kwh?  Anyone have a feel for how electricity will increase?  I'd like to make a move but my current provider wants to lock me into a 2-year or 5-year contract at $0.164 or $0.165.  That seems 10-15% high based on what I can get in the market, but I don't recognize the names of the other providers.  I moved from TXU to Direct Energy a few years ago.  Thanks.

It doesn't really matter if you recognize the name. They don't do any of the physical work in providing your service. If they go belly up, you can get a new provider instantly. Just make sure to carefully read the terms of the plan. 

[C-Man 27235]

Pay EnergyOgre $10/month to handle it for you. That's what I wound up doing.

[Texzilla58 4740]

That sounds high. Go to powertochoose.org and figure it out. Filter your search to fixed rate to the term you want. Rates are up; we need more generation now.
My 9.9 seems cheap now and it was an increase from 6.7 before.

Would imagine you can get a 2 year plan for less. The retailer just sends you a bill. I’ve had champion, gexa, reliant, and a bunch of others and never noticed a difference.

It amazes me that lots of folks think the electrons coming into your house are different depending on the retailer they choose. “I like that TXU. We’ve had it for forty years!” Uhh Redi Kilowatt ain’t making that power pal.

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

13 hours ago, Pinchers the Korean said:

In Dallas.  Anyone know of a reliable REP here that charges less than $0.16-$0.18 / kwh?  Anyone have a feel for how electricity will increase?  I'd like to make a move but my current provider wants to lock me into a 2-year or 5-year contract at $0.164 or $0.165.  That seems 10-15% high based on what I can get in the market, but I don't recognize the names of the other providers.  I moved from TXU to Direct Energy a few years ago.  Thanks.

Power to choose shows 24 month contracts at around $0.13 per kWh for Dallas.
 

I locked in for 36 months earlier this summer ($0.11 per kWh, 100% renewable) when I was getting 3 emails a day asking to conserve power. Our grid looks like it’s only going to get worse in the future. 

[huge 3793]

9 hours ago, C-Man said:

Pay EnergyOgre $10/month to handle it for you. That's what I wound up doing.

I have heard nothing but bad reviews.  Care to tell us your experience?

[SydneyCarton 48112]

At the end of the day, there are plenty of plans out there that are cheaper than the 16 average, but as others have said, you want to read the terms and the pricing thresholds in the EFL carefully. You also probably want to eyeball what a cancellation charge is for that plan, and any monthly recurring charge. The other thing you might run into is credit. Lots of the cheapest plans out there are cherry picking the best credit customers and ignoring the rest. Not sure if that's an issue for you, or not, but lots of companies these days are asking for deposits that wouldn't have in years past, thanks inpart to rampant organized crime level fraud they're experiencing. 

 

30 minutes ago, huge said:

I have heard nothing but bad reviews.  Care to tell us your experience?

REPs don't like Energy Ogre. At all. When times were good, Energy Ogre was great, but now a lot of REPs refuse to work with Energy Ogre at all, and that makes the pool of available plans they have for their customers smaller. And with higher natural gas prices and higher rates, Energy Ogre customers have noticed they're no longer getting the amazing low rates they had in years past. This has created some unhappiness by EO customers. Basically, they lost a lot of their leverage. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Do any offer guarantees to make sure you aren't without powers for days on end during bad weather? That's who I would go with.

[C-Man 27235]

42 minutes ago, huge said:

I have heard nothing but bad reviews.  Care to tell us your experience?

Bad reviews? That's interesting. What are the chief complaints? It's simple really. They charge you $10/month, do all the research to move you around from company to company when your contracts expire and supposedly fit you with the best plan for your usual usage, etc. I feel that my bills have been roughly about the same as they were when I was doing all the meticulous work previously to find the best provider every six or 12 months. Maybe I'm not saving every last nickel but not having the sunk cost of having to pore over each carrier is worth it to me. Before my buddy's provider (Breeze) went tits up, he used to just put me in their best-priced plan. It was awesome. For me, $10 extra per month to have somebody do the dirty work for me seems worth it.

[Samson's Wig 3193]

Alternative option: move to Austin where you'll take the rate the city says you will and you'll like it.

[huge 3793]

1 hour ago, C-Man said:

Bad reviews? That's interesting. What are the chief complaints? It's simple really. They charge you $10/month, do all the research to move you around from company to company when your contracts expire and supposedly fit you with the best plan for your usual usage, etc. I feel that my bills have been roughly about the same as they were when I was doing all the meticulous work previously to find the best provider every six or 12 months. Maybe I'm not saving every last nickel but not having the sunk cost of having to pore over each carrier is worth it to me. Before my buddy's provider (Breeze) went tits up, he used to just put me in their best-priced plan. It was awesome. For me, $10 extra per month to have somebody do the dirty work for me seems worth it.

What I read was people previously happy with it were now getting stuck with bad contracts.  I didn't bother to look further but $120 a year to stay low would be something that would interest me.

Last month was the highest power bill I have ever had.

[C-Man 27235]

14 minutes ago, huge said:

What I read was people previously happy with it were now getting stuck with bad contracts.  I didn't bother to look further but $120 a year to stay low would be something that would interest me.

Last month was the highest power bill I have ever had.

Same -- but I think that was probably the same story told by millions of Texans. I'd have to look but I don't believe EO has put me with anybody for longer than six months. Maybe I had one that was 12 months. I'll probably dig into this a little deeper today since both of my primary account managers are on vacation this week so work is a little slow.

[fuggled 576]

I'm about 18 months into a 24 month contract with Octopus Energy and have been happy with them.  They have special plans if you have an EV or certain smart thermostats that seem to be some of the cheapest 12 month plans.  I'm not able to take advantage of those (no EV yet, and wrong brand of thermostat), so I'll probably have to switch when this contract is up.  But, if you already have an EV or a compatible thermostat, it could be a good deal for a shorter term contract.  They're also 100% renewable.

If you sign up using my referral code below you get $100. 

Spoiler

https://octopusenergy.com/friend-referral/Mauve-Shell-9962/

 

[HiggyBaby 2541]

Pay EnergyOgre $10/month to handle it for you. That's what I wound up doing.

It’s money well spent.

[Dahobbs 17625]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Do any offer guarantees to make sure you aren't without powers for days on end during bad weather? That's who I would go with.

REPs have zero say in any of that. They are mainly paper pushers and customer service centers for billing requests. That's it. 

[Catpfish 618]

2 hours ago, fuggled said:

I'm about 18 months into a 24 month contract with Octopus Energy and have been happy with them.  They have special plans if you have an EV or certain smart thermostats that seem to be some of the cheapest 12 month plans.  I'm not able to take advantage of those (no EV yet, and wrong brand of thermostat), so I'll probably have to switch when this contract is up.  But, if you already have an EV or a compatible thermostat, it could be a good deal for a shorter term contract.  They're also 100% renewable.

If you sign up using my referral code below you get $100. 

  Reveal hidden contents

https://octopusenergy.com/friend-referral/Mauve-Shell-9962/

 

Be careful with the lower rates or rebates associated with smart thermostats.  Some require you to allow the provider to access the thermostat and they can regulate your settings without your knowledge.

[fuggled 576]

7 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

Be careful with the lower rates or rebates associated with smart thermostats.  Some require you to allow the provider to access the thermostat and they can regulate your settings without your knowledge.

Oh for sure, I should have mentioned that.  The Octopus deal is that they can adjust your thermostat in some situations.  I don't have the right kind of thermostat, so I've never looked into the specifics of it.  But anyone should definitely read up before pulling the trigger.

The EV thing seems less invasive to me,.  I think they let you request how much you need to charge by a certain time and then they'll balance the electricity to give you a lower rate.

[Texzilla58 4740]

Do any offer guarantees to make sure you aren't without powers for days on end during bad weather? That's who I would go with.

Take that up with Oncor. REPs have nothing to do with it.

[royiv 9326]

I like my electrons to be Louis Vuitton.

[HiggyBaby 2541]

 
REPs don't like Energy Ogre. At all. When times were good, Energy Ogre was great, but now a lot of REPs refuse to work with Energy Ogre at all, and that makes the pool of available plans they have for their customers smaller. And with higher natural gas prices and higher rates, Energy Ogre customers have noticed they're no longer getting the amazing low rates they had in years past. This has created some unhappiness by EO customers. Basically, they lost a lot of their leverage. 

Interesting. I have no complaints so far but I have noticed them switching me to more and more random small providers. This is my current DFW area plan.

[BigHorn'13 3378]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:58 AM, Samson's Wig said:

Alternative option: move to Austin where you'll take the rate the city says you will and you'll like it.

San Antonio says what up! Fuck cps and saws

On 9/26/2023 at 2:44 PM, Catpfish said:

Be careful with the lower rates or rebates associated with smart thermostats.  Some require you to allow the provider to access the thermostat and they can regulate your settings without your knowledge.

And they'll be able to read and control your thoughts, too!