Help - Confused about Electricity (apartment, leasing, month to)

[jeevcy]

I tried going thru power to choose, but still am unable to decide? I am leasing a 2 Bd 2 Bth apartment for 9 months. I want to make sure my electric bills dont shock me.

Should I go for variable where i see rates as low as 4.5 c/kWh as compared to 9 c/kWh for fixed. If variable is cheaper, why people don't chose that and go month to month? I have never seen a fixed plan cost less than variable.

do the companies change rate without intimating? so if i sign up for 5 c/kWh will i get a bill for 9 c/kWh in the name of a variable plan?

How does it matter if I have 1% renewable energy content or 11%? Is it going to change my billing and i will have lower amount to pay because of this?

I need to have electricity turned on in my new apartment by 1st Oct. How long do the companies take to set this up by visiting the complex?

[Willsson]

Only one principal electric provider. De-regulation. Multiple billing companies, some with options. Your choice.

The apts probably have smart meters so they can turn on the juice from New York City if need be. If not smart meter then some guy will take about 30 seconds to record the current mileage and you'll be on go.

Good luck. Make sure your agreement is not for MORE than 9 months.

[Macbeth2003]

Variable is just that, variable. It makes it difficult to plan expenses, and can shoot up without warning. Both the fixed and the variable usually have a low rate for the first period. In variable that is a month, in a fixed it is 6/9/12 months - whatever the term of the plan is.
ALWAYS look at the detailed terms before signing. If a plan is 2 cents less, but has a high base fee, and shoots up drastically when your usage is bellow a certain amount, you can find yourself paying more than you would have for a plan priced a little more per Kilowatt hour.
Also read the terms on a fixed. Many may be for 12 months, but have an exemption if you move first, or you can always transfer it to your new address.
Personally I would never do a variable plan, I know too many people who got burned with them.

[hindsight2020]

What do you think a variable plan is? That is what everybody effectively has in non-deregulated states. I never saw wild swings in my pricing then, why should I now? This is a case where de-regulation didn't necessarily help me out. When I didn't live in Texas and didn't have a choice, I merely paid for what I used. Summer and winter were high, fall and spring were ridiculously low. Now with de-regulation I have to read 700 caveats to the plans and lookie lookie, I've paid the most I ever did because they jack up the rates well above market under the auspices of "well, it's variable". They get you with the fixed plan too, because most people underuse power during said fall and spring, and their rates hike UP for a low use month (typically <500 kWh). So you end up eating it for power you didn't use. Then it dawned on me that it was one power company and merely multiple billing companies. That is the equivalent to having one show on TV and adding 20 channels...all broadcasting the same show. Choices!! Pff. Give me socialism in this case. At least that way when the power company jacks the rate up, they **** off the whole street instead of just me and the other dupes on billing company A, while my neighbors with billing company B are aloof. Strength in numbers fellas.

Fixed rate is for people who cannot survive a month where the power bill increases 100%. Akin to the car payment crowd, they don't care to pay 3x as much for the same product, as long as the monthly outlay is fixed. Myopia. Nobody's saving jack here, unless you have enough free time to hawk your usage plans and tinker with it like a full time day trader and/or go look at my power meter every day to make sure I game it so that I don't get underuse penalized?!?! Gimme a break. I got a life to tend to.

De-regulation is not always king. Now, you provide me with multiple primary service companies, sure we can talk about de-regulation. But we're talking utilities here, everybody needs power in the winter, you can't mess with things like light and water too much without infringing on these pesky things like human dignity and other whiny civil rights lol

[MckinneyOwnr]

Fixed rate is generally a better deal than variable in my experience. Especially this summer, with the chronic high heat, I'm sure variable plans got their rates jacked way up to compensate for the amount of usage. I like fixed because you always know what you are getting, and I normally do a 18month fixed plan. Energy costs keep rising... with a fixed plan, you don't have to keep paying more every month. It's also a good idea to get a plan that starts in a cooler month, like Oct or November, when rates tend to dip a bit, vs the hot summer months.

[ggolf]

You might be better with a variable than fixed. I went through powertochoose and noticed a lot of the fixed rates with low teaser rates had HUGE penalties if you bailed before the end of the agreement.

[Pete53FR]

I would gamble on a company that has a decent internet reputation with a variable rate plan. Most are selling at about 5 cents a kw but be sure you are not getting a promotional rate plan cause those guys will triple your rate the next month.

I have a favorite https://www.pennywisepower.com/

Or you could try a 6 month plan and than go variable. FYI Pennywise is part of Reliant Electric a major electric provider in South Texas.

Good Luck You can call them and ask what was the variable rate for last year it may ease concerns. Natural Gas that sets our rates is abundant and probably not rise much in next year.

[ggolf]

Originally Posted by Pete53FR

I would gamble on a company that has a decent internet reputation with a variable rate plan. Most are selling at about 5 cents a kw but be sure you are not getting a promotional rate plan cause those guys will triple your rate the next month.

I have a favorite https://www.pennywisepower.com/

Or you could try a 6 month plan and than go variable. FYI Pennywise is part of Reliant Electric a major electric provider in South Texas.

Good Luck You can call them and ask what was the variable rate for last year it may ease concerns. Natural Gas that sets our rates is abundant and probably not rise much in next year.

Yeah, do the math. Figure out how many kwatts per month you'll use (estimate) then do a side by side comparison. Since you're only talking 9 months it's not like a death sentence. Just watch out for early cancellation penalties.

[Texan2008]

I personally prefer fixed vs.variable. Always read the fine print of ANY contract....too many are getting high bills with variable because they didn't read the print about promotional times,etc. Also be aware that some companies will charge you a "usage charge" if you don't use a minimum amount of electricity in a month. I had Cirro on a fixed 6 month plan and rarely used the minimum 1,000kwh that was necessary to avoid the charge. Even so, that was only $5.00 extra for those months and my average kwh usage per month was in the range of 700-900 except in the dead of winter running the heater more where it was closer to 1200-1650 a month. My apartment was 720 sq foot. I chose an apartment unit with trees around it for shade in the summer and went with a programmable thermostat. Kept the AC off during the day at work to save. My summer bills averaged $88.00 month with a thermostat at 77 degrees during the night.

[nic3456]

Am I reading Pennywise's website correctly? It looks like once the promo periods are over they are always higher than Oncor? (its not clear, but appears that centerpoint is pennywise?)

https://www.pennywisepower.com/en_US...calpricing.jsp