Electricity Providers - Dallas (apartment, rent, coop)

[stephenm85]

Anyone have suggestions for electricity provides in the North Dallas area? I was given the suggestion for TXU but I've heard they are not the best company to go with. I live in just a one bedroom apartment just shy of 600ft. I don't have alot of electrical appliance on when I'm there in the first place.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by stephenm85

Anyone have suggestions for electricity provides in the North Dallas area? I was given the suggestion for TXU but I've heard they are not the best company to go with. I live in just a one bedroom apartment just shy of 600ft. I don't have alot of electrical appliance on when I'm there in the first place.

Use this website to help you:

Power To Choose | Home

View your past electric bills to estimate usage if you can (noting that weather may be different in DFW).

We use Reliant and haven't had any issues, bill seems fair to me (I guess), not sure if we are missing out on better options or not though...

[tb75252]

The following article appeared in today's (10/18/17) edition of The Dallas Morning News, section 1D. It mentions electricity providers with the lowest complaint rates.

*****Begin*****
Power gripes fewer
Complaints to PUC hit lowest level since deregulation began
By JEFF MOSIER Energy and Environment Writer jmosier@dallasnews.com
ELECTRICITY MARKET
Choosing an electric provider in Texas still requires consumer initiative and sometimes leads to frustration. Increasingly, however, shoppers are complaining less.
This year, customers sent state regulators 4,175 complaints, the fewest since the start of deregulation 16 years ago, according to the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power. That was a 14 percent drop compared with 2016.
The consumer advocacy group’s annual reports have shown a steady decline in the past decade when the number of complaints were nearly 16,000.
“These findings suggest the state’s electricity market continues to mature, with Texans becoming more comfortable with both prices and service,” said coalition executive director Jay Doegey in a written statement.
Another of the group’s reports released this year found that electricity prices in Texas’ competitive markets — most of the state — have also declined over the past decade. Prices in exempt areas of Texas have increased, according to that same report.
The record high for complaints was 17,250, the year after Texas deregulated its retail electricity market at the start of 2002. In 1998, before deregulation, there were only 684 complaints, according to the report.
Consumers still have to shop around for deals or risk ending up on a high-price plan. Differing rates based on electricity usage, special promotions and variable rates also make it difficult to shop for plans.
That’s led to a new industry of electricity shopping services that help consumers find good deals.
The coalition’s report is based on complaints submitted to the Texas Public Utility Commission. It does not include complaints filed directly with electricity providers.
Here are the electricity providers with the lowest complaint rates:
■ Alliance Power (APC Electric)
■ MidAmerica Energy
■ MP2 Energy Texas
■ Engie Retail (Think Energy)
■ Nueces Electric Coop (NEP Retail)
■ Texpo Energy (Y.E.P./ Southwest P&L)
■ Reliant Energy
■ CPL Retail Energy
■ TXU Energy
■ Infuse Energy
■ Just Energy
The list takes into account the number of complaints compared with the size of the customer bases. But even that can penalize smaller companies.
At least two companies on the high-complaints list had five or fewer complaints in a sixmonth period this year.
The PUC said the small numbers of complaints can change companies’ scores from month to month. The complaint rates also don’t take into account which complaints were serious enough to generate fines.
“This complaint scorecard should be viewed as only one measure of the customer service provided by [retail electricity providers],” the commission said on its website.
*****End*****

[Ralph_Kirk]

Three years ago, we had one of the better area AC dealers in to evaluate our system and determine if we needed a new one. We didn't, but as we chatted at the kitchen table, he made this remark: "You should be changing your electric provider every six months."


Basically, his point was that after six months or so, the "new customer" incentives drop off on most plans and I could expect to see a jump in rates, no matter how good they were to start. In my case, the "six months" figure is because we also have electric heat.


His advice was to get a good picture of your usage pattern (for instance, how often, if ever, do you use more than 2,000 KW hours) and to go back to the powertochoose site just before every high-use season (for your system, twice a year or once a year) and go for the cheapest rate you can find. Don't let "customer loyalty" get in your way--loyalty only costs you money. The Texas system makes changing electrical utilities as easy as pie.


I didn't really believe him at first, and it took about 18 months for me to see that he was completely right.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk

Three years ago, we had one of the better area AC dealers in to evaluate our system and determine if we needed a new one. We didn't, but as we chatted at the kitchen table, he made this remark: "You should be changing your electric provider every six months."


Basically, his point was that after six months or so, the "new customer" incentives drop off on most plans and I could expect to see a jump in rates, no matter how good they were to start. In my case, the "six months" figure is because we also have electric heat.


His advice was to get a good picture of your usage pattern (for instance, how often, if ever, do you use more than 2,000 KW hours) and to go back to the powertochoose site just before every high-use season (for your system, twice a year or once a year) and go for the cheapest rate you can find. Don't let "customer loyalty" get in your way--loyalty only costs you money. The Texas system makes changing electrical utilities as easy as pie.


I didn't really believe him at first, and it took about 18 months for me to see that he was completely right.

This makes sense..especially if you have gas heat. Just need to identify your usage patterns first.

[stephenm85]

Thanks all, I don't use much electricity that I can think of. I leave most lights off and my computer turned off when I'm not there. The only thing I might have on is the heat because I'm not bothered by heat. So I guess I should check my past usage because most of the time I didn't use much for bills to get above $50 if I can think of it.

[Gone Again]

We have Bounce. After doing research in order to choose a reliable provider, I expected problems, rate increase, etc. Against my expectations, this hasn't happened. In fact, our cost each month has remained remarkably consistent for two years now.

[justsomeguy]

So question for some to try and gauge if I'm using the right provider - we have a 1770 sq ft older house. Electric bills the last 3 months (Jul-Aug-Sep) averaged around $137 and were pretty consistent each month. I thought this was very reasonable for summer electric bills in Dallas for our size home. Does that sound low, or am I missing out on potentially even lower rates? Avg. KwH used was 1537.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

So question for some to try and gauge if I'm using the right provider - we have a 1770 sq ft older house. Electric bills the last 3 months (Jul-Aug-Sep) averaged around $137 and were pretty consistent each month. I thought this was very reasonable for summer electric bills in Dallas for our size home. Does that sound low, or am I missing out on potentially even lower rates? Avg. KwH used was 1537.

That's almost 9 cents a kWh, which is rather expensive.

[RemyLebeau]

Originally Posted by stephenm85

Anyone have suggestions for electricity provides in the North Dallas area? I was given the suggestion for TXU but I've heard they are not the best company to go with. I live in just a one bedroom apartment just shy of 600ft. I don't have alot of electrical appliance on when I'm there in the first place.

You're right about TXU. When I moved to Dallas in the early 90's, they were the only company you could use in Dallas county.

At the time I worked from 10am to around 10pm, M-F and sometimes on Saturday. I was 19 and poor. My apartment was about the size of yours, 550-600sq. I would leave the apt at 9am and totally turn off the AC or heat. Actually, I love the cold weather so I rarely actually turned on the heat.

My electric bill from TXU was always between $180-280 a month. Lucky my apartment naturally stayed somewhat cool so even when I got home, I didn't have to crank the AC down. I usually kept the temp around 78. The only thing that ran when I wasn't at home, aside from appliances, was the ceiling fan in the living room and bedroom.

Like I said, I was 19 and poor. My rent was $500 so having an electric bill that was half of that hurt. I decided I was going to start recording my meter numbers. There was 12 meters on the wall and none were marked with apartment numbers so I called TXU to ask how to figure out which one was mine.

The lady literally asked, "why do you need to know?". I told her my bill was just way too high to be correct. I wanted to log my numbers and see why it was so high every month.

She told me the meter was none of my concern and if I had issues with my bill, I could cancel and get a generator or pay what I owed.

Once deregulation hit, I jumped to a different provider and to this day, when TXU sends me offers, I don't even open it. It's gets ripped up and tossed in the recycle bin. I don't care what they are offering, I will never give them money unless I have no choice.

I can't remember what company I switched to, but I do remember having issues with them not logging my checks properly, having to fax canceled checks showing I paid everything in full, etc.

Eventually I landed with Reliant and was with them almost a decade. They were great but every year I noticed my bill getting higher and higher. By this time I had a house so I started shopping around.

One company that stuck out when comparing local "providers" was Bounce Energy. Their kw/h was one of the lowest, cheaper then what Reliant was offering me, but they also have a reward program. The reward program I chose was as long as I paid my bill in full, on or before the due date every month, I would get 5% cash back at the end of the contract term.

That was 3 years ago. Not only does my bill range from $80-140 through out the year, but when I renew every year contract I use the 5% credit to pay my bill every July. In July I owed less then $7 after the credit.

As far as service, where I live the actual lines are owned by Oncor. Unless I own a business, I cannot be an Oncor customer. Stupid, I know. Bounce, Reliant, Green Mountain, etc are just middle men. They have nothing to do with how my power is deliver or maintaining those lines. When I lose power, I have to call Oncor to report it.