The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) has acted to help electric customers affected by Hurricane Ike who may have trouble receiving and paying their bills due to the storm’s devastation.

In an order issued last week , the PUC suspended certain market rules regarding customer deposits and disconnection of electric service . For customers impacted by Ike (meeting a certain criteria discussed below), electric companies cannot charge deposits for customers to establish service, or deny service based on not receiving a deposit from such customers. The rule gives customers displaced by Ike a chance to set up new electric service at their new location without having to post an additional security deposit.

Electric companies are also prohibited from disconnecting electric service to customers impacted by Ike. The deposit and disconnection waivers run through October 10, but the PUC will re-examine them at a meeting on October 8 and may decide to extend them.

Customers in certain zip codes in the Houston-Galveston area are automatically eligible for the added disconnection protection and deposit waivers. These are customers in CenterPoint Energy areas whose zip codes as of 9 p.m. on Sept. 23 had outages to more than 60% of customers living in the zip codes.

Customers in other CenterPoint zip codes, and customers at Texas-New Mexico Power, are eligible for the emergency consumer protection measures if they lived in a county that is included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declaration (or in Rusk County) and provide evidence that they have been adversely impacted by Hurricane Ike. Such evidence could be aid from FEMA, the Red Cross or similar governmental/non-profit organizations, rental assistance from Disaster Housing Assistance Program-IKE (a joint effort by FEMA and Housing and Urban Development), or proof of home damage. Proof of residency in an affected county, through a driver’s license, electric bill or voter registration card may be required. There are also specific rules for customers in the Entergy area.

Officials have reported that 6,000 Texans remain in shelters after Ike, and another 8,000 are in FEMA-funded hotel rooms. The emergency protections apply to eligible customers whether they remain in the Ike-affected counties or have relocated.

Several electric companies have also announced additional consumer protections for those in affected areas, such as longer times to pay bills, extended bill payment deferral plans, waiving late fees, and extending special summer customer protections for low-income, the ill and disabled and those age 62 or above, which were scheduled to end September 30.

The PUC also moved to make sure customers aren’t hit with overly high estimated bills. Because utilities have been focused on getting the power back on, they haven’t been able to read meters, and bills issued since Hurricane Ike will be estimated until all service is restored.

The PUC ordered utilities to use their best efforts to take into account the fact that customers lost power for several days when estimating bills, to ensure the bills reflect such lower usage. The utilities are also to account for the fact that customers with damaged homes may be using less power, or no power if they have evacuated, when computing the bill estimates.

The PUC also directed the electric companies in the Houston-Galveston area to develop a process to allow customers to initiate electric service . Utilities have not read meters to initiate service for customers moving into that area because workforces are currently devoted to restoring service.

The Commission has put together a website for customers to check on the status of power outages .

It’s not that Texas business owners don’t want to shop around for the best electric rate so they can cut costs and improve their bottom line; of course they do. But it’s a complicated, opaque world out there in the electric market. There are dozens and dozens of competing electric companies all trying to spin their plan as the best. There are also a wealth of different products and options to choose from: fixed pricing, variable pricing, index pricing, blended pricing, and many more. It takes entire staffs dedicated to buying energy services at Fortune 500 companies to sift through this web of offers and competitors to find the best electric rate, but what are small and mid-sized businesses to do?

Online electricity comparison website SaveOnEnergy.com has answered that question by making it easy for Texas businesses to capture the savings available from competition. SaveOnEnergy.com’s one-of-a-kind commercial retail exchange portal gives businesses a simple, hassle-free way to receive electricity quotes from several competing, pre-screened energy suppliers, putting business owners in the drivers seat when it comes to finding the best electric rate.

SaveOnEnergy.com’s exchange portal, a breakthrough in the marketplace, makes shopping for electricity a breeze for business owners. All they have to do is enter their business address, utility territory (i.e., Oncor, CenterPoint, etc.) and monthly bill amount, and the information is transmitted in real-time to several competing energy providers. The providers then create customized price quotes for each business, and contact the businesses directly with their best offer, cutting down on the time it takes to shop by removing any intermediary steps. Because several energy suppliers are competing for the customer’s business, the customer is assured of getting the best rate possible.

The convenience of SaveOnEnergy.com’s exchange portal, available anytime day or night, means business owners can shop on their schedules, and do not have to take time away from their other pressing tasks during business hours to call and research energy suppliers, distracting them from their core business.

And business owners can be assured all the electric companies on SaveOnEnergy.com are financially sound, stable providers that won’t leave the marketplace. SaveOnEnergy.com extensively vets each energy provider, ensuring each has high levels of customer service, a strong balance sheet, innovative products, and savings. That means Texas business owners can shop for the best electric rate with piece of mind, knowing SaveOnEnergy.com is taking the work out of buying electricity.

As thousands of Texans flee the path of Hurricane Ike, the National Weather Service issued a dire warning to people living in small houses on Galveston Island that they faced "certain death" from flooding if they remained in their homes. Storm surges are expected to reach 16 feet, with winds topping out at 130 mph.

The danger from the storm extends northward, forecasters predicted, including hurricane-force winds, and flooding potential.

"It looks like we’re going to get a pretty good swath of hurricane winds right up I-45, spreading out a good 40 miles from the center," 11 News Meteorologist David Paul said. All that wind means fallen trees and power outages as well.

Meanwhile, the storm, expected to turn into a Category 3 with winds above 111 mph before it came ashore, has shut in 93% of Gulf of Mexico natural gas production, and 97% of Gulf oil production, according to published reports.

Oil production from the Gulf of Mexico is roughly 1.3 million barrels of oil per day, while natural gas production is 7 billion cubic feet per day. However, most of that production has been suspended until Ike is no longer a threat

"Without Ike crude prices would be below $100," one analyst said.

"Ike is headed into the heart of the refining industry," Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told Bloomberg .

The damage to oil and gas facilities is likely to come from flooding, and a lack of power
for an extended period of time, Bullock said.

Cheniere Energy Inc. is closing its Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas terminal and Creole Trail pipeline. Sabine can move up to 2.6 billion cubic feet per day of gas to Creole Trail and has 10 billion cubic feet of storage, according to Cheniere.

Ike has the potential to cost insurers $25 billion, ranking it behind Katrina as the second-most expensive storm in U.S. history, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu estimated.

Meanwhile, local electric wire utilities are preparing for the effects of Ike’s winds and flooding, and advising customers of safety tips for those losing power. Utilities reminded customers not to use generators in enclosed spaces, including garages, because they produce carbon monoxide — a colorless, odorless gas that can cause serious injury or death. Generators should not be connected directly into a home’s wiring system through the main circuit panel or fuse box without proper isolating equipment. Improper connections can create "backfeeding" — a dangerous condition that energizes the transformer box outside even though the power appears to be shut off.

ERCOT, which runs most of the state’s electric grid, has also coordinated emergency procedures with generators and "schedulers," or traders who nominate amounts of power to be bought and sold. Depending on Ike’s impact to operations of power plants or ERCOT itself, ERCOT may disrupt the normal market operation and rely on more "out of merit," or emergency, capacity to keep the grid stable in rapidly changing conditions.

Texas electric prices continue to fall, and customers have a real opportunity to save some real money by switching their energy provider . SaveOnEnergy.com makes it easy for customers to take advantage of these savings, by offering simple, side-by-side comparisons of screened and vetted electric companies , offering customers the ability to shop anytime day or night with just a click of the mouse.

With the price of oil and natural gas falling , electric rates are plummeting, and customers are seeing the types of prices they saw in the spring before a big run-up started in May. Texas residential electric rates are some 2-3¢ cheaper than they were just three weeks ago, as the end of summer brings cooler weather and cheaper prices. All and all, it’s a good time to shop.

For customers in the Oncor territory, including Dallas-Fort Worth, the best rate at SaveOnEnergy.com is Spark Energy’s 11.9¢ per kilowatt-hour offer for its 20% Renewable Advantage 4 plan. Not only do customers get a great rate locked-in for four months, but they also get 20% renewable power to help the environment. That’s a combination that can’t be beat. The four-month term also gives customers price security while giving them another opportunity to shop in the winter, when the Texas energy providers’ prices may be even lower.

For Dallas area customers preferring to lock-in a cheap electric rate for a longer period of time, MXenergy offers two attractive options. MXenergy is offering an 18-month plan for only 12.2¢, and a 12-month deal for 12.6¢. Both plans give customers extra protection against any possible price increases. Spark Energy’s 12-month plan, which also includes 20% renewable energy, is only 12.8¢.

Another attractive offer is Gexa Energy’s Guaranteed 6-month plan at 13.3¢. While it’s a little pricier, it also includes several bonus features that might be worth the additional cent. Gexa’s plan, which is locked-in for six months, allows customers to earn American Airline or Continental Airline frequent flyer miles just for using electricity , which can turn into serious savings on vacations or other travel. Customers can earn 2,000 American Advantage or Continental One Pass bonus miles when signing up with Gexa, and earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on electricity every month.

In Houston, electric rates are a bit higher, as they traditionally are, but have still come down a lot from the heights of summer. Spark Energy’s four-month renewable product is the cheapest on SaveOnEnergy.com at 12.9¢, while Spark’s 12-month 20% renewable plan is 13.7¢. MXenergy offers an 18-month plan for 13.4¢ while Gexa’s six-month plan with bonus airline miles is 13.9¢.

Gexa’s six-month plan with bonus airline miles is 13.4¢ for the Corpus Christi (AEP Central) area, the cheapest electricity rate offered on SaveOnEnergy.com for that territory. Prices in Corpus Christi were 17¢, and even higher, just a few weeks ago. And for Texans who thought they weren’t going to see 10¢ power again, it’s already back for customers in the AEP Texas North territory (Abilene area), with MXenergy offering an 18-month plan for 10.3¢ through SaveOnEnergy.com .

In the old days, it took a long time for Texas businesses to shop for the cheapest electric rate. They had to call dozens of energy suppliers, wait for quotes, and research each company’s viability and service. The process was also confusing, with different types of products and prices. Ultimately, business owners had to make somewhat of a blind choice for something that takes up a big chunk of their budgets.

Fortunately, SaveOnEnergy.com revolutionized the process of buying electricity for business owners with its unique commercial retail exchange portal, which makes shopping for the best electric rate as simple as a click of the mouse. The online clearinghouse puts businesses in charge and allows them to leverage the power of competition to get the cheapest electric rate without having to devote dozens if not hundreds of hours to sifting through offers and researching energy providers . Instead, SaveOnEnergy.com does all the legwork, vets the suppliers, and allows them to compete directly for a commercial customer’s business. Thousands of Texas businesses have saved on their electric bills thanks to SaveOnEnergy.com.

Here’s how it works. Texas business owners just log onto SaveOnEnergy.com and enter their business and usage information, taking just a few seconds. The information is delivered in real-time to several, pre-screened electric companies who then evaluate the information and contact the customer directly. With electric companies competing head-to-head and contacting customers directly, it cuts down on the time it takes to start saving money on electricity.

SaveOnEnergy.com’s retail exchange portal allows business customers to shop on their own terms, anytime day or night. They don’t have to have employees step away from ringing the cash register, helping customers, or answering the phone to call energy suppliers for individual quotes during business hours, then spend time researching each supplier’s reputability and financial stability. Business owners can instead shop at their leisure, even after hours, knowing that the energy providers on SaveOnEnergy.com are screened so only reputable suppliers with cheap electric rates, innovative products, and high levels of customer service will be competing for their business.

SaveOnEnergy.com offers a convenient way for businesses to find the right electric company at the right price. Its retail exchange portal allows business owners to request special product features or customized products, such as electric plans lasting a specific length of time, or products with green energy. Customers can compare a variety of offers, from fixed price plans to variable rate plans, to see what’s the best deal for them.