SaveOnEnergy.com Enters 10th Year of Saving Customers Money on Energy with New Website, Expanded Markets
SaveOnEnergy.com , the leader in helping customers find a lower energy rate by getting competing energy suppliers to compete head to head, is entering its 10th year of saving customers money with a newly redesigned website, and other features to enhance the customer experience. The redesigned website is more user friendly, and features enhanced search and sorting features for residential customers, making it faster and simpler to find a low rate for electricity and natural gas . Residential customers can easily filter products to see the products that best meet their needs and criteria, such as green products, or products for customers with poor credit. Customers can also sort products by SaveOnEnergy.com’s recommendation, lowest rate , term length, and by energy provider . SaveOnEnergy.com has made its form for commercial customers much easier as well, streamlining the process. Using this form, commercial customers can leverage the competition available through SaveOnEnergy.com
Texas Risks Rolling Outages This Summer; Electric Rates Set to Rise
Last week, officials from the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which runs that state’s main power grid, updated legislators on Texas’ generation adequacy and ability to meet peak electricity usage this summer. As SaveOnEnergy.com has previously noted, the state has only a razor-thin margin of “excess” power (called a reserve margin) to call upon on days when it is extremely hot, and additional power is needed above even the typical summer peak. Officials told lawmakers that the picture remains bleak, and that if last summer’s weather is repeated, the state would need conservation — on top of the level of conservation seen in 2011 — to avoid rolling outages and keep the lights on. H.B. “Trip” Doggett, CEO of ERCOT, told lawmakers that from 2013 onward, the state will not have enough reserve capacity unless companies start building more power plants .
Frustrated El Paso Residents, Businesses Look to Electric Choice
El Paso businesses and residents, fed up with some of the highest electric rates in Texas , continue to mull the introduction of competition to the area’s electric market as they see customers in parts of Texas with electric choice — like Dallas and Houston — paying much lower electric rates . Back in November, SaveOnEnergy.com noted customers’ frustration with the high rates at the area’s monopoly electric utility , El Paso Electric. Like some other parts of Texas not connected to the main Texas grid such as Southwestern Public Service and Entergy, El Paso Electric was not forced to open its system to electricity competition , like Oncor, CenterPoint, and AEP. The result is yet another clear example that competition drives down electric rates , as customers at El Paso Electric are paying some of the highest electric rates in Texas, and customers and city leaders have had enough.
“Captive” Customers Upset with Lack of Choice at Austin Energy
Last month, SaveOnEnergy.com told you about looming electric rate hikes at Austin Energy, where customers cannot choose their electric provider , and are instead subject to the city monopoly for electricity . Now, more customers are speaking out against the rate hike, as they see lower electric rates in parts of Texas where customers have a choice in their electric supplier . ” Austin Energy’s rates are soaring, while rates elsewhere are declining. State officials will want to know why Austin Energy’s residential rates have escalated sharply because statewide average rates have dropped by 14 percent and are still falling,” one customer wrote to the Austin American Statesman . The customer notes that Austin Energy, under its new energy rate proposal, would impose an “inclining block” rate structure on customers, where higher levels of usage pay a higher per kilowatt-hour rate. In parts of Texas open to competition, like Dallas and
Shoulder Months Less Price Friendly as Grid Changes, Shop for Low Electric Rate Now
Electricity demand within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which covers about 80% of the state, increased 5 percent in 2011, ERCOT recently reported . A forecast for a similar high level of load in 2012 means that electric rates will likely rise with increased demand, and that customers should shop for a low electric rate now on SaveOnEnergy.com . Net energy for load for 2011 was 335,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh), compared to 319,097 GWh in 2010 and 308,278 GWh in 2009. April had the highest energy increase compared to the previous year with 14.4 percent, followed by July which increased 12.2 percent compared to last year, ERCOT said. The April statistic is telling, and should prompt customers to check their electric rate now and lock-in a lower price, before energy prices increase. Typically, the spring and fall are good times to shop for electricity in Texas , because the
Texas Drought Could Mean High, Volatile Electric Rates This Summer
Last week, SaveOnEnergy.com noted that even with a stay of federal environmental regulations, which will keep more Texas power plants online this summer, Texas electric rates are still likely to rise because the supply of generation only marginally exceeds forecast demand. One of the reasons for this is the prolonged drought Texas has experienced, and its impact on power generation and electricity production, which was examined by the state senators earlier this week. Even recent heavy rains in some parts of the state, including Houston, have not eased the statewide drought conditions. Many types of power plants rely on large amounts of water for cooling, and without adequate water, these plants cannot generate electricity . “If Texas’ drought persists, it could pose a risk to electricity generation if there isn’t sufficient water to produce the power the state needs,” the Abilene Reporter-News reported. “The drought is already having a ‘slight
Texas Electric Rates Still Set to Rise Despite Stay of Costly Environmental Regulations
Although a federal court recently stayed implementation of new federal environmental regulations which threatened Texas with the loss of power generation and rolling blackouts, keeping those megawatts on the grid will not fundamentally change the expectation that Texas electric rates are due to rise this year, particularly for the summer, due to a remaining imbalance in power demand and supply. The stay of the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule will mean more electric generation capacity will remain on the Texas grid during the next six to nine months as the regulations are litigated in court. Already, Luminant has announced plans to maintain the operation of 1,200 MW of generation it had previously said it would close due to the new federal rules. While keeping this generation online will help Texas make it through the winter and summer without rolling outages, it doesn’t mean Texans will have relief from the expected
Start the New Year by Saving on Your Electric Bill with SaveOnEnergy.com
Who doesn’t want to start the new year by saving money? And unlike losing weight or kicking a bad habit, this is a new year’s resolution you can keep, thanks to SaveOnEnergy.com which makes it quick and easy to save hundreds, if not thousands, on your electric bill . In many states including Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, customers can shop for their energy supplier , just as they can choose their long distance carrier, cellular provider, or internet provider. However, because shopping for a low electric rate is still new to most customers, most residential and small commercial customers haven’t shopped for a competing energy provider , and are leaving hundreds of dollars on the table. Consider Texas, for example. If you haven’t shopped for a new electric provider , or just haven’t shopped for a few years, you could be paying a rate as high as 12, 13, or
Competition Bringing Lower Electric Rates to Texas as Prices Rise Nationally
The competition in Texas’ electric industry, which allows customers to choose their electricity provider , has resulted in Texas electric rates falling over the past few years — during the same time that electric rates are on the rise nationally. The Association of Electric Companies of Texas (AECT) recently noted that from August 2006 and August 2011 (the latest data available), the national average electric rate for residential customers rose by 11%, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, during this same time period, the Texas statewide average residential electric price fell by 14%, according to the EIA data. And rates fell even more in parts of Texas where customers have a choice in their electricity provider . AECT noted that when comparing competitive offers from electric suppliers as archived by the state’s Public Utility Commission, the average residential offer in Texas’ competitive electric market dropped by
Rate Hike for Austin Energy Customers Shows Danger from Monopoly Power Provider
The massive rate hike looming for customers at Austin Energy, which SaveOnEnergy.com first told you about this fall , is “Exhibit A” in how customers are better off when they can choose their electricity provider , and a reminder of how bad things were under the monopoly utility system which existed in all of Texas prior to 2002. SaveOnEnergy.com noted in September that Austin Energy’s rate case would force some customers to subsidize lower electric rates for other customers. This doesn’t happen when customers can shop for their electric provider , as customers can choose a new provider if any electric company is making them subsidize another customer’s rates. SaveOnEnergy.com also recently noted that electric rates at Austin Energy are higher than rates in parts of Texas open to electric choice — and that’s before the impending massive 23% Austin Energy rate hike for residential customers . But that’s only