Everyone wants to spend as little of their hard-earned money as possible on their electric bill. This not only means that you must adapt some energy-saving habits, but you also need to learn how to compare electricity companies in Texas before you sign a contract with one of them.
Preparing to Conduct an Electricity Audit
When you’re preparing to compare what various electricity companies will charge, you’ll need to have a few things at your disposal. These things include the following:
- Zip code: Your current location determines what electricity companies you can choose to obtain service from.
- Estimated current energy consumption: Looking at previous bills will show you how much energy you use and when you use it. If you can’t find a previous bill, check your online account or call your current supplier.
- Current plan: Understanding its rates and fees will provide you a point of comparison when you’re looking at other companies.
Knowing How to Compare Electricity Companies in Texas
Once you gather together all these items, it’s time to start comparing various energy plans from reliable electricity companies in Texas. Some of the things you’ll want to compare, include:
- Plans: Look at all the residential plans that different suppliers are offering.
- Rates: Learn about the pricing scale that’s used for each of the plans that you look at. Commonly these consist of fixed rates (a set price per kWh for a pre-set time) and variable rates (a fluctuating charge based on market conditions).
- Service Options: Here you’ll want to know your enrollment contract (e.g. monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.) and how you can pay this bill (e.g. direct debit, prepaid, credit cards, or cash).
- Contract Types: There are both standard (includes set terms and conditions that the supplier can’t change because it’s set by the government) and market retail (terms and conditions that are independent of the government’s control) types available.
- Special Offers: Sometimes you can get a special discount if you sign up for a long-term contract or pay your bill on time, all the time.
- Penalties: In the same way as you can be rewarded, you may also be penalized. These penalties typically exist for things like late payments and leaving your contract early.
- Green Add-ons: Some electricity companies provide alternative, green energy options, but they do charge a slightly higher rate for them.
- Transfer Fees: Connection and disconnection fees are typically charged when you want to switch providers.
Once you gather together everything you need and make your comparison you should be able to find Texas electricity companies that will work well for you.
