24 monrh electric contract (Houston: credit, month to, closing)

[JilliO]

Hi everyone! Yes, I know electricity questions are common, and I did a search and read previous threads. But this is all crazy to newcomers and it's taken me a couple of run-throughs (and two months of househunting and reading this board) for all of the comments to even sink in and make sense to me.

We;ve bought a house, and close tomorrow. I searched power to choose and did general search on google for blogs and comments re: the elec. context in Houston.

I know it's not a favorite, but Reliant seems to have the best price. Yet the only options are variable (which seems dicey as folks have discussed) and 24 month contract. I had decided that I was going to look for a 12 month contract. With rates at a high peak, is it wise to lock in 24 months? Yet with rates unlikely to go down given the geo-politics, geo-energy scenarios facing us, is a 24 month contract a good thing right now?

Ealier comments suggested that a good idea would be to lock in a short-term contract and search again in winter when rates, according to conventional wisdom, could come down. Yet that discussion is a couple months old by now, and there seemed to be dissenting opinion about it.

So smart Houstonians who've been dealing with this stuff for awhile,
is it a good idea to lock in a 24 month contract right now? (rates are 13.95 til Oct then 15.5)

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Football]

Jillio, I think the best strategy right now is to find the best month to month (or 3 month plan...preferrably fixed rate) and ride out the Summer, the rates will begin to drop in October and are usually at their lowest from January to February. That is the time that people should consider locking in for an annual contract.

[baggiegenes]

given the issues with national power, i would be hesitant to lock into a 24 month contract. I may be paying a little higher right now to go month to month, but I can jump to another provider at the first sign of danger with no penalties.

[therewego]

yes we do month to month with txu, had a bad experience with Reliant when we just moved here. The other thing about TXU is you get a small rebate card at the end of the year...nice little surprise when I got a $30 mastercard at the end of the year last year.

[xiabelle]

We just locked in a 3-month contract with Green Mountain. They had the best rates for that... We're planning to see what the rates are like at the end and either stay with them or shop again.

We tried to get Stream, but I couldn't convince them to send me the form so I could sign up for new service -- I tried twice! So they lost my business.

I never had any trouble with TXU in the past. Reliant was always pretty good to me, too. Dynowatt had an insane jump on the variable plan, which is why we changed.

[Slappy san]

Wow...electrical contracts. That's something I've never heard of up here. Just something else to think about when I get down there.

[JilliO]

Thanks everyone!

This was the most stressful thing, just about, well, this and the whole cable thing, about the move. We ended up getting a 14 mos contract. I tried to start w/reliant month to month and then switch, but the helpful (seriously) rep said that was risky because any other "offers" for 24 mos/12mos contracts would only be open for NEW customers and by then, technically, we would no longer be new customers.

I checked out 2 other companies and they both wanted $400 deposits which is nuts considering we have great credit. So I just *sighed* and went w/the contract as we were closing the next morning and needed to order the priority connection for the next day. Reliant set us up in minutes and didn't say a word about a deposit. So decided to just get my ordeal over with.

From an outsider's point of view, this whole electricity thing is crazy!

Now, the big decision is CABLE! Since we're in a planned community (I am assuming) we cant get comcast, no universe, verizon bundles, etc. Only choices are entouch, direct tv, and dishnetwork.

thanks again. this board is great. Other than these issues (which aren't really that big when you step back and examine) we LOVE Houston.

[tstone]

$400 deposits? You 100% sure you have great credit? I've switched a bunch of times and never had to pay one. Of course I've always been planted here... never came from the ''outside.'' Might have something to do with it.

After a certain amount of time, you can demand the deposit back. Don't forget!

[mom22bless]

i just signed up with stream after Dynowatt screwed us by raising our 12.9 rate to 17.2!! I got Stream for 2 years for 14.9. Reliant was cheaper JUST for the summer.....then it was 15.9.

Be wary of those "Free $50 credit in first bill" deals....they'll get it back.

[philster001]

I'm currently with Champion energy at 11.0 rate. I'm dreading when my contract is up and they raise it. I guess I'll shop around then. Comcast for cable was terrible. I recently switched to Direct TV and love it.