Switching electric providers

[tokamak 6353]

Rates are high right now but Just/Tara/Amigo (all seem to be the same outfit) has a 60-month plan at a decent fixed rate with a $175 cancellation fee. Seems like an OK deal. I’ll just check every few months and if rates ever come down, bail and switch. 

[tokamak 6353]

Rates are high right now but Just/Tara/Amigo (all seem to be the same outfit) has a 60-month plan at a decent fixed rate with a $175 cancellation fee. Seems like an OK deal. I’ll just check every few months and if rates ever come down, bail and switch. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13426]

6 hours ago, tokamak said:

Rates are high right now but Just/Tara/Amigo (all seem to be the same outfit) has a 60-month plan at a decent fixed rate with a $175 cancellation fee. Seems like an OK deal. I’ll just check every few months and if rates ever come down, bail and switch. 

This is a weird (to me) aspect of their pricing. 

Market Securitization Debt Financing (Default): 0.00159 ¢/kWh • Market Securitization Debt Financing (Uplift): 0.065 ¢/kWh
Market Securitization Debt Financing (Default) and (Uplift) may change during the contract term.

[tokamak 6353]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

This is a weird (to me) aspect of their pricing. 

Market Securitization Debt Financing (Default): 0.00159 ¢/kWh • Market Securitization Debt Financing (Uplift): 0.065 ¢/kWh
Market Securitization Debt Financing (Default) and (Uplift) may change during the contract term.

Don’t they all have that right now? I thought that was ERCOT’s “we lost a few bucks during the last freeze and we definitely need to pass that on to residential customers” fee. I guess I should’ve done more research. 

[Okie State 3789]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:59 AM, Doc Daneeka said:

I agree completely with this.

If your first thought is “this calls for a spreadsheet” they’re probably not adding much value. And are taking away some fun. I have my monthly usage data, which is reasonably consistent across time, and I can pretty easily see what my bills are likely to be under any plan. Granted, I don’t look to jump around from plan to plan during a contract, so I miss out on that “benefit,” but I’m fine with that  

if your first thought is “yay, free nights and weekends” without necessarily considering they’re making up that cost somewhere else, Energy Ogre may well be for you. 

This made me LOL because I definitely have a spreadsheet with historical usage and multiple rates to toggle between. No I am not an Energy Ogre customer and no I don't do any marketing gimmicks. Lowest realized rate is all I'm interested in.

Edited May 27 by Okie State

[Nice Guy Eddie 13426]

What's up with some plans requiring you to connect your smart thermostat to the energy provider? Failure to do so or disconnecting that connection will result in higher costs. I can't imagine giving my AC control over to a company that would be tied to ERCOT and the pricing models. One of these providers, Octopus, claim that they won't make your house uncomfortable, and that you can override the temp setting. But if you override too frequently there is a penalty. My bet is that when ERCOT requests lower usage, these types of plans enforce it.

In the meantime, I'm floored by how expensive plans are now. I guess we have to pay for those expensive 2021 freeze bills. Thanks Greg.

[tokamak 6353]

4 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

What's up with some plans requiring you to connect your smart thermostat to the energy provider? Failure to do so or disconnecting that connection will result in higher costs. I can't imagine giving my AC control over to a company that would be tied to ERCOT and the pricing models. One of these providers, Octopus, claim that they won't make your house uncomfortable, and that you can override the temp setting. But if you override too frequently there is a penalty. My bet is that when ERCOT requests lower usage, these types of plans enforce it.

In the meantime, I'm floored by how expensive plans are now. I guess we have to pay for those expensive 2021 freeze bills. Thanks Greg.

Yeah, I noticed that fuckery is starting to creep back into plans. They used to game them to make the 1000 kWh price look low on PtC. Then that kinda stopped and for a while we had pretty straightforward plans. Now the new thing is fine print saying you have to connect your smart thermostat or charge your EV during certain hours and stuff like that. Don't follow the rules and your price will be a lot higher.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13426]

2 minutes ago, tokamak said:

Yeah, I noticed that fuckery is starting to creep back into plans. They used to game them to make the 1000 kWh price look low on PtC. Then that kinda stopped and for a while we had pretty straightforward plans. Now the new thing is fine print saying you have to connect your smart thermostat or charge your EV during certain hours and stuff like that. Don't follow the rules and your price will be a lot higher.

another plan is offering the best rates but the start date isn't until September. WTF.  I like to think that I'm on top of electricity rates but I'm not planning out the switch 90 days in advance.

[SydneyCarton 47942]

On 5/3/2024 at 10:37 AM, C-Man said:

I gave up the fight a couple years back and just signed up with Energy Ogre. They move me like every six months, sometimes 12. They just moved me to CleanSky last month. It's a minor nuisance to have to update billing bookmarks with the frequent change but it is what it is.

 

On 5/3/2024 at 12:07 PM, royiv said:

EO must have a deal with CleanSky right now. They just switched me to them last month, too.

Energy Ogre only has a few guys that will still work with them, thanks to market consolidation of REPs. Most big REPs view Energy Ogre as extorters, and they aren't interested in doing business with them. As a result, Energy Ogre deals are less great compared to what they used to be, and you're switched less. It used to be every 3-6 months. Now it's 6-12. It is what it us becuase...

rates are never going back down, imo. Not after the changes made to demand pricing the last major go round. Natural Gas is as cheap as it's been in a decade. Natural Gas used to be the bellweather or electricity pricing. And yet here we are. Things have changed, don't expect them to change back. 

[tokamak 6353]

23 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

Energy Ogre only has a few guys that will still work with them, thanks to market consolidation of REPs. Most big REPs view Energy Ogre as extorters, and they aren't interested in doing business with them. As a result, Energy Ogre deals are less great compared to what they used to be, and you're switched less. It used to be every 3-6 months. Now it's 6-12. It is what it us becuase...

rates are never going back down, imo. Not after the changes made to demand pricing the last major go round. Natural Gas is as cheap as it's been in a decade. Natural Gas used to be the bellweather or electricity pricing. And yet here we are. Things have changed, don't expect them to change back. 

I've been wondering if REPs will eventually pull their plans from PtC. Anecdotally, it seems like there are fewer there now. There's nothing for them to do there except race to the bottom on price. I assume they'd much rather gain new customers by promising free Alexas or whatever. I've also noticed the consolidation. A lot of them will have 3, 4, 5 brands that are all exactly the same.

[SydneyCarton 47942]

2 minutes ago, tokamak said:

I've been wondering if REPs will eventually pull their plans from PtC. Anecdotally, it seems like there are fewer there now. There's nothing for them to do there except race to the bottom on price. I assume they'd much rather gain new customers by promising free Alexas or whatever. I've also noticed the consolidation. A lot of them will have 3, 4, 5 brands that are all exactly the same.

Why would REPs do that? It's free advertising and free traffic. It's free orders. 

Yes, there's about 10-12 companies that comprise all of the actual brands operating in Texas. I'm probably on the low side, but for residential, you get the point. 

[tokamak 6353]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Why would REPs do that? It's free advertising and free traffic. It's free orders. 

Yes, there's about 10-12 companies that comprise all of the actual brands operating in Texas. I'm probably on the low side, but for residential, you get the point. 

In my mind it's kind of like how the airlines hate Expedia, etc. Users just go on there and sort by price and click the top result. There's no opportunity for them to differentiate themselves.

[SydneyCarton 47942]

15 hours ago, tokamak said:

In my mind it's kind of like how the airlines hate Expedia, etc. Users just go on there and sort by price and click the top result. There's no opportunity for them to differentiate themselves.

It’s like turning down free advertising. You have to be present to have a chance to win. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13426]

19 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

Energy Ogre only has a few guys that will still work with them, thanks to market consolidation of REPs. Most big REPs view Energy Ogre as extorters, and they aren't interested in doing business with them. As a result, Energy Ogre deals are less great compared to what they used to be, and you're switched less. It used to be every 3-6 months. Now it's 6-12. It is what it us becuase...

rates are never going back down, imo. Not after the changes made to demand pricing the last major go round. Natural Gas is as cheap as it's been in a decade. Natural Gas used to be the bellweather or electricity pricing. And yet here we are. Things have changed, don't expect them to change back. 

I've also found that the REPs might be sick of the individual frequent switchers too. I used to play the game by switching providers every 6 months or so. Find a great promo rate and move on when the promo expires. Now I'm told that I don't meet the qualifications to avoid the security deposit of $300. My credit is good and I've never missed a payment to anyone in 20 years at my address.

And yes to rates never going back down. When I played the above game, I could frequently find 5-6 cent promo deals. Now you're basically paying that amount to the transmission/distribution companies. Tack on $0.10 to the actual REP.

But join them if you can't beat them. I've invested in NRG and CNP over the last few years as I don't see how they (& others) won't profit greatly off the Texas govt policies. Decent growth and dividends.

 

[SydneyCarton 47942]

18 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I've also found that the REPs might be sick of the individual frequent switchers too. I used to play the game by switching providers every 6 months or so. Find a great promo rate and move on when the promo expires. Now I'm told that I don't meet the qualifications to avoid the security deposit of $300. My credit is good and I've never missed a payment to anyone in 20 years at my address.

And yes to rates never going back down. When I played the above game, I could frequently find 5-6 cent promo deals. Now you're basically paying that amount to the transmission/distribution companies. Tack on $0.10 to the actual REP.

But join them if you can't beat them. I've invested in NRG and CNP over the last few years as I don't see how they (& others) won't profit greatly off the Texas govt policies. Decent growth and dividends.

 

Credit has also gone way up. Everyone profiles credit differently. But as I mentioned in another thread, in another topic, companies in general are only interested in dealing with the least risk. Not saying you aren’t, but the whole industry has gone bonkers in Texas. 

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2648]

So what’s the best way to compare rates now? Wasn’t there some excel like webpage that was good a few years ago?  

[tokamak 6353]

1 hour ago, FORTY NINE TO ZERO said:

So what’s the best way to compare rates now? Wasn’t there some excel like webpage that was good a few years ago?  

Texas Power Guide is probably the site you’re thinking about.

Prices have eased a little bit lately. If anyone was forced to sign a contract at 10+ cents a few months ago, might be time to look at your cancellation fee  

 

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2648]

1 hour ago, tokamak said:

Texas Power Guide is probably the site you’re thinking about.

Prices have eased a little bit lately. If anyone was forced to sign a contract at 10+ cents a few months ago, might be time to look at your cancellation fee  

 

Yep that’s exactly it!  Still the best? 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13426]

3 hours ago, tokamak said:

Texas Power Guide is probably the site you’re thinking about.

Prices have eased a little bit lately. If anyone was forced to sign a contract at 10+ cents a few months ago, might be time to look at your cancellation fee  

 

Are you finding plans for 10 cents or cheaper? 

[tokamak 6353]

11 hours ago, FORTY NINE TO ZERO said:

Yep that’s exactly it!  Still the best? 

Never used it, personally. I think it's just a guy that does all the research and crunches the numbers for you and charges a small fee for the trouble. As far as I know, he doesn't have any info that's not on PowerToChoose.

8 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Are you finding plans for 10 cents or cheaper? 

Yeah. Just pulled up PowerToChoose and I see a fixed rate 22 month plan from True Power for 7.99 + delivery fees. I just signed for 10.4 + delivery fees back in June, so I'm already keeping an eye on it.

The headline rates on PtC include the delivery fees but I don't ever include those when I'm shopping because they're the same for every customer on every plan. I just go by what's on the label.

[davidg 4034]

We switched our power back in March and built a spreadsheet with last 12 months of usage that broke down our bills by delivery charges, rate for 0-100kWh and 100+ kWh etc. Plugged in various current rates from the electricity providers in our area on PtC. Ended up with Gexa Eco Choice 24 at 8.42 c/kWh and $4.39/mth & 3.89 c/kWh delivery. This plan was slightly higher than our previous plan based in same monthly usage but would save $3-400 a year over any other new 12-24 month plan we could find for our area.

Same plan is currently 9.1c/kWh and same del fees.

[harpercollins 394]

Texas power guide is nothing magic—basically exactly the same thing as Davidgs spreadsheet he built. But it would take forever to look up EFLs and input all the plans yourself.

IIRC it can’t do anything like night and weekends or bonuses or anything.