I will save a THOUSAND DOLLARS on electricity next year

[Cow Poke]

Electric rates are even cheaper where my parents live (also in Texas) but there is no option to go with another power company as there is only one.

Almost no one in the area has solar panels because it would take quite a long time before they paid for themselves. But now that I am in the UK, where electricity is very expensive, I am seeing solar panels all over the place. I thought that was interesting.

Yup, which is why Obama wants to kill coal, drive prices up, and make solar COMPARATIVELY more "affordable".

[QuantaFille]

Electric rates are even cheaper where my parents live (also in Texas) but there is no option to go with another power company as there is only one.

Almost no one in the area has solar panels because it would take quite a long time before they paid for themselves. But now that I am in the UK, where electricity is very expensive, I am seeing solar panels all over the place. I thought that was interesting.

[Teallaura]

Texas has its OWN power grid - where would Canada be without U.S.?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1066[/ATTACH]

(ok, that makes no sense at all, but I'm going with it)

Cool...

[Cow Poke]

I understand that the Americans have purchased Alberta's power grid.



http://www.altalink.ca/about/the-facts.cfm

Once again, where would the States be without us?

Texas has its OWN power grid - where would Canada be without U.S.?

texas power grid.jpg

(ok, that makes no sense at all, but I'm going with it)

[mossrose]

I understand that the Americans have purchased Alberta's power grid.



http://www.altalink.ca/about/the-facts.cfm

Once again, where would the States be without us?

[Cow Poke]

Real quick -- there are some utilities that will lure you to switch by offering as much as $400 on a debit card, or other drastic discounts. It should be obvious that they get these "awards" by NOT giving you the best rate, so you have to compute the ANNUAL savings minus the "award" for comparison.

So far, ALL of the "award" situations I've checked into are less of a value than going for the deeper discount. They just appeal to the "gotta have it now" (the "savings") crowd.

[Cow Poke]

I love renegotiating contracts!

My electric bill "contract" came up for renewal, so I began searching for a new provider. In Texas, this is pretty easy, because there are a number of websites that list the providers along with associated costs, fees, early termination penalties, etc.

First - make sure you are in a "competitive" zone for electric rates. I am.
Second - make sure you compare apples to apples. Texas makes this easy, because each utility has to file a "data sheet" in a particular format.

The data sheet shows the cost in cents per 500 k Wh, 1000 k Wh, and 2000 k Wh.

My current (now former) company was charging 17.1, 14.2 and 13.8 respectively.
My NEW company charges 11.4, 9.4 and 9.4.

Assuming a monthly average of 2000 k Wh, a monthly bill WAS 2000 x 13.8 cents = $276 a month
with the NEW rate, that would be 2000 x 9.4 cents = $188, for a savings of $88, or annual (12 x 88) savings of $1,056!!!

That ain't too shabby!

You just have to make sure you are subject to an early termination fee before switching, and the switch is "on paper", meaning there is no disruption to your electric service. Your actual "provider" remains the same, you just get billed from a different company.