The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) is moving forward with reforms meant to prevent electric customers from paying the highest rate for power if their energy provider goes out of business and customers are forced onto emergency service. 

Last week, the PUC approved a draft to revamp what is currently known as “Provider of Last Resort” service, or POLR service.  POLR service is where customers end up if their chosen electric company goes bankrupt or leaves the market.

Under the current rules, the POLR rate is set at a variable price tied to the wholesale energy market, plus a 20% mark-up to cover the risk electric companies serving as Providers of Last Resort take on.  However, that means the POLR rate is the highest in the market, and extremely volatile. 

Some 40,000 Texans were hit with extremely high POLR prices never seen before in the Texas market this summer, because five electric companies went out of business and left customers stranded.  The rates were higher than normal because of extreme volatility in the wholesale market, with record high prices.

The PUC is trying to prevent customers from seeing those prices again.

Under the proposal issued last week, the PUC would try to put more stranded customers with an electric company that charges a lower rate.  The PUC would encourage more “volunteer” Providers of Last Resort, who would charge a month-to-month market rate without the current mark-up.  Mandatory Providers of Last Resort — electric companies pressed to take on stranded customers — would also only be allowed to charge a monthly market rate without the current mark-up.  The only time the mark-up would be permitted would be for extremely large transitions, where the Providers of Last Resort would be forced to buy large blocks of extra power for hundreds of thousands of new customers on very short notice — an expensive proposition.

Another alternative suggested by the PUC is giving customers transitioned to a Provider of Last Resort a short period — say 30 or 45 days — to find a new electric company before having to pay the marked-up POLR price.  During this period, customers would not have to post a deposit with their Provider of Last Resort either.  During the troubles this summer, customers in some cases were faced with having paid three deposits:

1)      First to their original energy provider who went out of business, with the deposit not refunded or refunded very slowly;

2)      Second to their interim Provider of Last Resort to prevent disconnection of service;

3)      And third to a new energy provider if customers wanted to switch away from the POLR to another company with a cheaper electric rate.

The proposed rule would attempt to address that situation.  The PUC also suggested it may decide to waive special fees so that customers can switch electric companies immediately to leave POLR service and find a cheaper electric company, instead of waiting for their monthly meter reading.  Typically such accelerated, or out-of-cycle, switches cost the customers money.

While the PUC is aiming to reform the emergency service rules, the Commissioners recognize that the best solution is for electric companies to not go out of business, so customers never have to deal with having to be transitioned to a Provider of Last Resort.

The best way customers can protect themselves is by choosing an energy provider that is financially strong with a proven track record in the market.  That can be difficult and time consuming for customers, but there’s an easy way to find a good, reputable electric company.  SaveOnEnergy.com, which lets customers find the cheapest electric rate online, screens all its energy providers so only financially robust and reliable companies are recommended.  The energy experts at SaveOnEnergy.com conduct painstaking research of all the energy suppliers in the Texas market to find out which ones are the most financially sound and competent.  That means when you find a cheap electric rate on SaveOnEnergy.com, it’s with a company that can stand behind it, not a fly-by-night operation that will leave you stranded.

One-year ago, Dallas-based SaveOnEnergy.com revolutionized the way Texas businesses shop for electricity, giving them the ability to conveniently leverage the power of competition to get the lowest electric rate.  It’s been a resounding success for businesses, with over 3,000 using SaveOnEnergy.com’s exchange portal to save on their electricity bills. 

Only SaveOnEnergy.com’s exclusive commercial retail exchange portal gives Texas businesses of all sizes the opportunity to receive direct competitive bids for their electricity service from several competing energy providers. 

“SaveOnEnergy.com’s service took the stress out of finding an electric provider for my new business,” said Metroplex-based small business owner, Susan Dequeant of Special Occasion Chocolates who used the exchange this August to lock in a 24-month fixed rate for her business. 

SaveOnEnergy.com’s industry-changing exchange portal lets energy companies compete head-to-head for the customer’s business, and makes it simple and fast for businesses to benefit from competition.  Business customers simply log on to the SaveOnEnergy.com website, enter their business and usage information, and the information is then delivered real-time to each of several participating energy suppliers.  The suppliers then evaluate the information and contact the customer directly, rather than making customers go through a middle-man. 

That drastically reduces the time it takes to find a new, cheaper electric rate, and lets businesses start saving money faster.  It also keeps them focused on running their business instead of searching for a new power provider.

“SaveOnEnergy.com’s savvy small-to-medium business owners and operators are among the most knowledgeable in the buying market in understanding the positive impact the exchange portal can have on their businesses,” noted J.P. Schlensker, vice president of sales at Cirro Energy, one of the energy providers vetted and approved by SaveOnEnergy.com.

SaveOnEnergy.com’s exchange portal only features premier energy suppliers that have a proven history in the electric market.  SaveOnEnergy.com only recommends energy companies that have robust financials, high levels of customer service, and innovative and low-cost products.  SaveOnEnergy.com’s screening process gives businesses using the exchange portal confidence they are getting quotes from only the best electric providers, and not fly-by-night companies which may not be around in a few months. 

It all means SaveOnEnergy.com’s exchange portal is the best way for business customers to get competing electric quotes.  Fast. Easy. Convenient.  SaveOnEnergy.com gives Texas businesses the power of competition.

Falling natural gas prices make now an excellent time for Texas businesses to lock-in a cheap electricity rate ahead of the winter season, when higher natural gas demand from colder weather could erase the slide in gas prices.

The economic slowdown has depressed natural gas prices from the highs seen during the summer.  Once topping $13 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), natural gas has tumbled to just over $6.50/mmBtu, bringing down electricity prices with it.  Natural gas is down about 40% from the levels seen in January, when the recent run-up in gas prices started.  The fourth quarter of this year is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of these low prices, and avoid any similar spike in January of 2009 caused by weather or other market conditions. 

Falling oil prices also make this a good time to lock-in a cheap electricity rate, as intraday trading has seen oil hit $77.09, a level not seen since September of 2007.  However, OPEC has called an emergency meeting for November, at which time it will likely cut production to ease the oil price slide and return prices to the $100+/barrel level.  Any such action would likely move natural gas prices higher, meaning business owners have a brief opportunity to lock-in a good electric rate now before the oil and gas markets recover.

Even though the commodity markets are supporting lower energy prices, Texas businesses still need to make sure they’re finding the best deal out there.  But rather than taking days, if not weeks, to research over 100 electric companies in the market, and risk missing out on the current buying opportunity, businesses can simply use SaveOnEnergy.com to find the best electric rate quickly and easily.

SaveOnEnergy.com offers Texas businesses its one-of-a-kind commercial retail exchange portal to directly compare offers from several competing energy providers head-to-head.  All it takes is a few minutes and a click of the mouse, as businesses need to simply enter their address, service area, and monthly bill amount.  The information is instantly transmitted to several competing electricity companies, who then respond directly to the customer with their best deals.  SaveOnEnergy.com’s retail exchange portal cuts down on the time it takes to compare electric rates allowing business owners to shop for and compare rates on their own time.

More importantly, using SaveOnEnergy.com to choose an energy provider means an energy expert is vetting and screening your suppliers.  Businesses do not have to worry about locking-in a fixed rate with an energy provider that might go out of business in the next couple of months.  SaveOnEnergy.com’s energy market experts inspect each supplier to ensure they have the highest financial strength and fundamentals, and also only approve suppliers with low prices and high levels of customer service.  SaveOnEnergy.com’s retail exchange portal takes the work out of finding a cheap electric rate, making shopping a breeze for commercial electric customers.

The financial integrity of Texas energy providers is becoming a top concern for customers again after two of the top electric companies reported significant revenue losses related to Hurricane Ike, and are evaluating strategic options, including possible sale of the companies.  That makes vetting your electric company more important than ever, and SaveOnEnergy.com provides a simple, independent way to find a reputable, stable energy provider that won’t leave customers stranded.

A volatile spring in the Texas electric market saw about eight electric companies exit the business, either by dropping customers to expensive Providers of Last Resort (POLRs), or by selling their businesses to competitors.  Either way, customers may have lost their fixed-price electric rates they had originally contracted for.

Changes in how the wholesale market works made for a calmer summer, and it looked like the rash of failures in the electric market had been stopped.

However, that may change due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike, which has cost electric companies millions, and has put even the biggest, most well-known providers under a cloud of uncertainty.  Energy suppliers have been hurt not only because of lost sales due to outages, but because they bought power in advance to serve customers, then were stuck with that power that customers didn’t end up using.  Electric companies also had to set up emergency and temporary operations as their offices and employees lost power.  It all means that it’s been a rough third quarter for electric companies after a very bad second quarter, and the losses are piling on.  With credit markets tightening, electric companies have little recourse in looking to borrow to shore up their bottom line.

Reliant Energy, one of the dominant energy suppliers in the Houston area, announced that it is undergoing a comprehensive company re-organization after cutting revenue projections by $350 million due to losses from Ike.  The review includes selling to fewer of the largest business customers, in an effort to reduce collateral needs.  According to the Houston Chronicle, “renewing commercial customers may have to accept shorter-term contracts or deals structured so they bear more of the risk from changing commodity prices.”

Reliant has lost more than half of its stock value since Sept. 15, and investors slammed Reliant for its loss-prone retail business, questioning why the unit is not sold-off so Reliant can focus on owning power plants.  Reliant was forced to admit all options were on the table in terms of the future of its retail electric business, though it defended the value of the unit.  Nonetheless, many investors would like to Reliant sell the unit.

Meanwhile, another of the largest electric companies, First Choice Power, announced that it expects a $10 million loss in earnings from Ike. 

Both Reliant and First Choice Power are “incumbent” providers for certain parts of Texas, meaning they took over the customers of the old utilities like Houston Light & Power when competition started.  Because they inherited customers from the old utilities, many Texans see incumbent providers are more stable or reputable than many of the new competitors that entered the market in 2002.  However, with both Reliant and First Choice considering the future viability of their retail energy units, it’s clear that customers cannot just assume the companies they’ve always been with will be around in the next quarter or next year. 

Because of the complexity of the electric industry, it’s hard for customers to research an energy provider’s financial bona fides, especially when many are privately held.  That’s where SaveOnEnergy.com can help customers by vetting and screening electric companies, to get customers the best rates offered by the most reliable companies.  By using SaveOnEnergy.com to find the best electric rate, both residential and commercial customers can be assured their energy provider won’t abruptly leave the market and leave customers stranded on a higher rate.

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.

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 .

Electricity prices for commercial customers are starting to break in Texas, and business owners are seeing the cheapest electric rate offers made in the past three months. That makes it a good time to lock in a fixed price electricity plan at SaveOnEnergy.com , where commercial customers can get competing price quotes from various energy suppliers with just one click of the mouse.

It’s all because the price of natural gas, which is one of the main drivers of retail electric prices, has fallen nearly 30% from a peak of $13.57/MMBtu June 30. That means energy suppliers can charge cheaper rates for electricity, and are starting to trim their prices. While it varies by energy provider and product, some offers have been cut by 5-10%. A few of the higher-priced plans have fallen more, up to a nickel from where they were just a month ago.

But like with gasoline prices or airline tickets, falling prices often start as a trickle, as energy providers try to determine how low they should go. The big drops come when competitive pressure revs up, and one electric company cuts its rates a little more than everyone else, prompting competitors to follow suit, or lose out on new customers.

Customers can accelerate this process and get cheaper electric rates now by forcing electric companies to compete for their business, and by demanding that suppliers match and undercut each others quotes. The quickest and easiest way for business owners to have that happen is by using SaveOnEnergy.com to get custom price quotes from energy suppliers competing head-to-head. SaveOnEnergy.com’s exclusive commercial retail exchange portal is the only place where Texas business owners can get electric rate quotes from various competing electric companies with one click of the mouse. Commercial customers simply enter their business and usage information, and the data is then delivered real-time to each of the competing energy suppliers . The suppliers then evaluate the information and contact the customer directly, drastically reducing the complexity and time required for business owners to get price quotes from competing suppliers. SaveOnEnergy.com makes it simple for business owners to take advantage of today’s cheaper electric rates .

Texans who can shop for lower electricity prices through sites like SaveOnEnergy.com may not know it, but not everyone in the state can choose their own energy supplier.

The benefits of that freedom to choose were evident last week, when, right before Independence Day, the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) saddled Northeast Texas customers with a bill for $500 million to pay for a new power plant for SWEPCO, the monopoly electric company in that region. Customers in the SWEPCO territory can’t broadly choose their own energy provider, can’t benefit from customized, lower pricing, and can’t avoid the hefty bill the state’s regulators just handed them. Since customers can’t choose, it means they have to pay for any power plants SWEPCO builds with state approval, even if the plants turn out to be bad investments or more costly than other alternatives.

The new SWEPCO power plant has been the subject of great debate. Many customers, such as industrial users, argue the plant is too expensive and isn’t needed.

"We are clearly disappointed by the commission’s ruling and concerned about the impact it will have on Northeast Texas ratepayers," said Eric Bearse of the consumer group Texas Electric Ratepayers Alliance.

Even the PUC, in approving the plant, raised concerns about potential cost overruns that could leave customers footing the bill for a dinosaur if technical innovations or carbon regulation make the coal-fired power plant obsolete.

But for most Texans, these concerns are a thing of the past. In the 1990s, the PUC stopped guaranteeing profits for electric companies in most of the state by opening the area known as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to competition. ERCOT covers about 75% of Texas’ land area, and includes the utilities Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North, Texas New Mexico Power and Sharyland. If you’re a customer of one of these utilities, it means you have the power to choose your energy supplier, and have been freed from the burden of guaranteeing profits for power plants.

It also means independent electric companies are competing head to head for your business, which means savings for you.

SaveOnEnergy.com offers customers a quick, reliable and hassle-free way to check out these competing offers, and assure themselves that they’re getting the best deal.

Residential customers can simply select their area and see a list of the best offers out there, with SaveOnEnergy.com highlighting the best deals. From the comfort of their home, anytime of day or night, customers can shop around for cheap electricity prices. Many of the electricity products on SaveOnEnergy.com include valuable bonuses for customers, such as airline miles, gift certificates, cash-back offers, and bill credits. Texans can also choose to help the environment by picking from a selection of renewable and green electricity products.

Business customers get access to SaveOnEnergy.com’s unique commercial retail exchange portal which pits eight energy suppliers against each other to give each business the best rate possible. Rather than having to call a bunch of different energy providers for quotes, business owners can submit their information just once to SaveOnEnergy.com and compare up to eight electricity prices to find the cheapest rate. It couldn’t be easier.

And, with another electric company leaving the market last week, customers can rest easy that SaveOnEnergy.com screens its energy suppliers so only those which are financially robust and reliable are listed. It’s piece of mind customers can’t find when going it alone.

All this is possible because customers in the ERCOT region aren’t tied to specific power plants, and aren’t forced to pay a specific rate of return to a power plant owner. For customers at SWEPCO, this freedom is going to take a bit longer to attain.

It won’t come as a surprise to Texas small business owners, but rising energy prices are second only to health care costs as the top problem facing small businesses, according to a recent study by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Some form of energy costs were ranked as a "critical" problem by 58% of business owners. According to NFIB’s Energy Consumption poll, energy costs are one of the top three business expenses for 35% of small businesses.

NFIB isn’t telling business owners anything new by reporting that energy costs have increased rapidly over the last two years and even more so in the last six months. Small business owners are not able to adjust the price of their goods and services quickly enough to match the steep energy price increases without hurting their customer base, NFIB noted.

Business owners are also not able to change business practices fast enough to offset the increases. For example, NFIB reported that most owners cannot afford to buy new, more energy efficient equipment if current equipment still has useful life. "They are effectively caught in a squeeze that only time and/or good fortune will release," NFIB warned.

High electricity rates particularly impact retailers and non-professional service providers, such as auto repair shops, barber/beauty shops, theatres, restaurants, motels, and delis, NFIB found.

Texas small businesses at least have the power to take control over one facet of their energy costs by choosing a low-cost electricity provider . But small businesses, according to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC), have not historically shopped for a lower electricity rates in as high as numbers as their larger competitors. Instead, they’ve stayed with their old "legacy" provider who sold them power before customer choice began. The PUC found that more customers who shopped paid lower electricity rates , while those who stayed with their legacy provider typically were paying the highest rates.

Not only does that mean small business owners are paying more than they should for power by not shopping, it also means they are losing an advantage to their competitors who do go out and scour the market for cheaper electricity .

Of course, large corporate conglomerates have entire staffs devoted to energy management which allows them to devote the time needed to compare energy prices and energy providers . Small business owners, busy ringing cash registers or stocking shelves, find it harder to cull through hundreds of offers from nearly one hundred Texas energy providers .

That’s where SaveOnEnergy.com can help small business owners. SaveOnEnergy.com provides a one-stop shop for small business owners to receive and compare custom electricity offers from eight energy suppliers , just like the big guys.

SaveOnEnergy.com’s exclusive commercial retail exchange portal allows small business owners to shop for cheap electricity with one-click of the mouse, so they can get back to running their businesses. SaveOnEnergy.com’s online exchange puts small business owners in charge, and lets them buy electricity on their time and terms. Business owners just enter some information about their electricity bill, location, and any special requests for the type of product they’re interested in, and they’ll receive up to eight quotes from competing electric companies . And SaveOnEnergy.com vets their suppliers to ensure they’re financially sound providers with good customer service. That gives small businesses piece of mind, and frees them from having to devote time and resources trying to track down whether an electric company is stable and reliable.

SaveOnEnergy.com gives small businesses the power to save money on electricity without having to take time out of keeping their businesses running. That makes them more competitive and puts them on equal footing with the big guys.

High electricity rates are here to say and are a national phenomenon. Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reported Thursday that they see, "significantly higher power prices that will last for years," and that the trend is, "universal around the country."

Essentially, FERC found higher prices to be inescapable because of higher fuel (coal, natural gas, etc.) prices and higher construction and raw material prices (copper, aluminum, nickel, etc.) caused by worldwide demand and increasing demand for electricity here at home. Add in uncertainty over climate change legislation, and you have a recipe for persistently high power prices .

The effects are starting to be felt by consumers nationwide. While electricity rates may lag in some areas, utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29% , mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs and to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid. According to USA Today, "Even more dramatic rate increases are ahead. The mounting electric bills will further squeeze households struggling with spiraling gasoline prices."

While retail electricity rates may ebb and flow in Texas, the data shows over the long run they won’t be immune from these pressures, and are set to keep rising along with prices across the U.S.

Natural gas, the primary fuel for Texas power plants, will continue to be the leading fuel for new capacity over the next half decade, FERC reported. But FERC also found future natural gas prices to be as high as $13 for the coming winter, and remaining as high as $10-11 through 2010. That’s compared to a cost of $6 just last year. It’s just another confirmation that electricity rates aren’t going fall anytime soon.

But while customers in most states have little choice but to grin and bear ever-increasing prices, Texans do have a tool to at least shield themselves from future increases by shopping for a fixed-price term product. Most energy providers offer plans lasting 12 or 24 months which provide protection against rising power prices, and some energy suppliers offer 36-month or longer term deals on a custom basis.

SaveOnEnergy.com provides customers with an easy online portal to review and evaluate fixed-price electricity plans. Since SaveOnEnergy.com pits electric companies against each other in head-to-head competition, customers are assured the best rate for their fixed prices, and can evaluate value-adding features such as airline bonus miles.

The analysis from federal regulators and other market experts regarding ever-increasing electricity prices shows there’s little downside to shopping for a fixed-price electricity rate right now. While Texans don’t want to lock-in a high rate at the height of the market, no one sees significantly cheaper electricity rates in the near future. Finding a good fixed-price rate on SaveOnEnergy.com will actually shield customers from the trend of rising prices and provide budget certainty that’s only available in markets like Texas where customers have the freedom to choose their electricity provider .