Utilities/Electric bills in Texas

[Trainwreck20]

Austin and San Antonio have some of the cheapest utility rates, at least if you are supplied by AustinEnergy in Austin and CPS Energy in San Antonio. Of course, those two are quasi-governmental entities, so there are a few tax dollars probably going there, but it is still nice to have cheap electricity.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by citizen_jane

Which provider are you using that is 25-30% cheaper than pre-deregulation? Do you know the price per Kwh around the time of dereg?

With Reliant prior to de-reg it was averaging about 15.9. This was when they hid their pricing in "fuel charge for use" and tiered billing, or whatever they were called. You actually had to do the math to figure out your real rate. However if you had an efficiency apartment, tiered billing made it the cheapest for you. Big house, and you could easily see yourself close to 17.0 in the summers.

Now I'm with Spark, paying 12.2 per kWh. I followed the market and if I would've signed up at the right time (fall), they were offering 10.0 per kWh. Catch is you need good credit to be approved and the bills are all delivered online - 100% paperless. And you have to renew every year or you stand the chance of getting nailed.

The reason why people aren't saving any money is because they are stuck in their old ways (Reliant) and scared to change. Much of that is based on rumors of degradation of service, which makes no sense. If consumers would stop being lazy and actually take a stand by doing some research, they would force companies to drive prices down. That's the way the market works. No one stays in business by charging people prices they won't pay.

But overall, consumers are still lazy so you have these asinine articles that make some people believe socialism is the answer. That way the sloths get rewarded, and the ones who actually do their research to understand the markets get punished. No thanks.

[nrfitchett4]

Originally Posted by pioneer8

Hi there. When we moved to TX last October, we didn't use air or heat until May (I think)... I remember thinking the bills were fabulous. We froze a bit and had a fire going all day (which was so cozy, but hard work with a wood burning one)-

Anyway, when we put the air on (about 78 in the day and 76 in the night) the bill soared to about $360. Holy Moly! We were so astonished by it. Our home is about 2500 square ft., two story (it has an extra unit for the upstairs, but we dare not use it) -Luckily, the second floor is a big loft looking down and is all open. This way the air circulates.

My tribe and I are home almost very day... so a lot of electricity is being used- Unlike yourself, there are eight in this house.

The home is well insulated, brick, and newer... We are outside of Abilene.

We did take a couple of steps to try to lower the bill. Firstly, I stopped drying clothes in the dryer... This was huge. I hang them all around the house each day. (Funny enough, I think it helps put a little humidity into the air.) Secondly, instead of five hours a day, we try to run the pool pump more like three. Thirdly, we all try to remember to take shorter hot showers and obviously, turn stuff off when not in use. All of this has kept our bill at about $300. Still WAY too high- though, $60 cheaper.

Thank goodness things are cooling down again. I talked to the power co (Oh, we even changed once, from a "save the earth" co. that cost a bit more... to one of the cheaper ones.) (Sorry Earth) and they said we could qualify for the "average billing" type program (in Oct). This will, hopefully, keep the bills more even instead of huge ones in the summer and small in the winter. If it's any consolation, my family in FL say... the bills have gotten out of wack there as well.

It sounds as though you will have a bit of an easier time being one person. Hope so, anyway. Hope this was informative for you.

your probably using more electric with the pool pump than the a/c. can't see why you think it should be cheap to cool a house and filter the pool. your doing good if you have it that low.

[nrfitchett4]

Originally Posted by Bowie

San Antonio has a municipal electric utility, City Public Service, which provides some of the lowest electrical rates in the state. The document below includes a comparison of rates in 7 Texas cities.

http://www.cpsenergy.com/files/current_financial_data/Srs2004OS.pdf (broken link) (broken link)

but that doesn't include the "fuel surcharge" that peaked at almost 200 dollars this summer for me.

[nrfitchett4]

Originally Posted by ozonehole

The size of your house and the insulation (the more the better) makes a big difference. Double or triple-glazed windows also are important. Late model mobile homes actually have better insulation than stick-built homes (but old pre-1990s mobile homes suck).

Or instead of air-conditioning, make much better use of electric fans in summer. Open windows at night for cool air (if crime is an issue in your neighborhood, consider installing bars on the windows?). A ventilating fan in the attic helps a lot at night (though again, at least one window needs to be open to suck in the cool night air).

In winter, wood stoves are good only if you've got a ready supply of wood, and air pollution laws in your area allow it. Wood stoves are a PITA to run. Much better is a pellet stove (make sure wood pellets can be bought in your area - dried corn can also be used, but it's not as good).

Consider getting a house with a basement. Basements are cooler in summer, warmer in winter. But dampness can be a problem (you might need a dehumidifier), and flooding is a real issue in some areas.

have you ever been to Texas? I have never seen a house with a basement here.

[TexasHorseLady]

I've seen one (as in, only one)! (And I'm a real estate agent.)

We don't tend to do basements here. Really takes folks from "basement country" back, for some reason.

[NOTAM]

my electric bill went down by over $200....was using Reliant, and now moved way out into the country and have Hamilton Electric Coop. yeehaw!

[crystalblue]

Report: Texas electricity rates have soared since deregulation | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Dallas Business News (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/020909dntexelecdereg.16d7381.html - broken link)


seems like the free market didnt work quite as planned

[crystalblue]

do you still have an option to choose your electric company if you live in an apartment, or does the apartment community make that decision?