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"Deregulating" any industry is intended to foster competition which it obviously has with all of the various providers out there. However "Deregulating" does not mean a complete lack of oversight also occurs which on paper it hasn't. What is needed are regulations on how services are advertised and explained to consumers and oversight/enforcement when they are not as advertised and explained. Both advertising and explaining should not be allowed to gloss over the potential issues with the plans offered.
Another aspect of the issues with deregulation lays with the consumers who should be closely reading their contracts to understand what they will be receiving. If the contract is not clear the consumer should be asking questions and demanding answers for them. The most effective deterrent to bad service and bad companies are withholding consumer dollars from them through the actions of diligent consumers. The concept of competition are that consumers control bad companies by not buying their products or services.
Another aspect of the issues with deregulation lays with the consumers who should be closely reading their contracts to understand what they will be receiving. If the contract is not clear the consumer should be asking questions and demanding answers for them. The most effective deterrent to bad service and bad companies are withholding consumer dollars from them through the actions of diligent consumers. The concept of competition are that consumers control bad companies by not buying their products or services.
I don't disagree with you on this, but it's not as simple in practice as it seems. Most people are not sophisticated legal eagles. One can read something to make sure you understand the basics, but reading the fine print on a 16 page "Electrical Terms of Service" document... nah, ain't no one gonna do that. And remember, they've hired the best lawyer they can find, for that very reason.
One good sign that Texas' electric system has failed is how unhappy people are, how confused people are, and how we still pay the same prices as much of the country. If we were in the top ten lowest prices, one could argue the pain is worth it. We're #19, which is 38th percentile. For those 37% above us, they don't have to worry about all this crap, pick a company, hope it's the best plan, hope they didn't sign up with a loser... those 37%, over 1/3 of Americans, they just pay a bill.
Again, any time this much money goes to something that doesn't benefit us, you have to ask... who DOES it benefit? Do you really think all that lobby money going to our leaders was so they would treat us fairly?
All you have to do is look at regulated markets like calif. the politicians get involved and presto - they required solar and wind generation and guess what happened?
What the hell are you talking about?
California deregulated their electricity before Texas did
California beat Texas to deregulating retail electricity, passing a bill in 1996. So Sibley, Wolens and Wood flew to California to scope out their market, jotting down their takeaways and concerns on a napkin on the flight back.
I have GEXA Energy from day one,I dont have any contract,not even sure they offer any?
But during Uri,my rates stay the same,I have heard horror story of those who sign up with that now bankrupt company based in CA.
Can't you guys just use less energy?
Central A/C is rather wasteful,try pedestal and ceiling fan.
Unfortunately I missed the part in my new contract about them charging a 3% fee for making a credit/debit or eCheck payment via the website but it's free if you pay via snail mail. Not sure how that even makes sense.
Overall this just seems very consumer unfriendly and another way for companies to squeeze a few dollars from consumers.
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why are they charging 3% for e check payment,ACH should be free.
As for credit card,yes,it has to pay % to process your credit card,and with debit card,a smaller %.
if you pay nothing,it means those who pay by check or cash is subsidizing your use of cards while you earn points on their back.
Certain time of the day,you can set your thermostat higher and if you are just spending time in one room,keep the fan running,why cool the whole house?
I shut off A/C at night and open the windows and the ceiling fun on as the temperature drop .
They now have portable room size A/C ,I dont know if it is any good
Texas ranks 19th in the country. Not the highest, not anywhere near the lowest. Considering all the issues we have, and the fact we're in the middle tier price-wise, it would seem deregulation isn't the "end-all be-all" as it was promised. Certainly not in this incarnation.
PS: Please don't use CA as a benchmark. Almost EVERYONE is lower than them.
That link shows Texas as being lower than the national avg. National Avg is $15.42 Per kWh and Texas being $13.30 per kWh, so at the very minimum it is more affordable than atleast half of the country.
You’re right that Texas has high avg energy bills, but that is because Texas has high energy usage on avg of 1,132kWh where the states averaging lower bills are using only half as much energy on average, not because the energy itself is cheaper in other states.
My bills have gone down considerably when I moved from Georgia and Georgia Power as a utility provider was not cheap. Not California but I did see a reasonable savings on energy even in an all electric home.
I particularly am not a fan of a privatized energy sector, but there is little evidence that it is doing remarkably worse than anywhere else in this country with the exception of the hurdles of adding capacity and the rest of the nations grid is doing the exact opposite anyway. The entire Midwest was preparing for rolling blackouts this summer. California is threatening that as we speak. In the end, energy regulation != energy security.
Lastly, California having higher energy rates than most states is not a valid argument to dis-include them as a benchmark and I would find it concerning that someone would do so...especially given most California relocatees are saving a considerable amount of money on energy. California's energy bills are so high because of its policies. The same policies that someone may push for in thinking that they fixing the system, just may in turn make it much worse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dopo
You can laugh at this bill
IMHO you're both using alot of energy. I have 4 PC's, 5 Freezers, 1 Server, a 72" Flatscreen that stays on 24x7, I don't turn some of my lights off at night, and my thermostat has been set at 71*F all summer and I still only used 1,845kWh last month.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrohip
So you're suggesting that we stop using A/C, and just use fans, like our caveman ancestors?
Yeah, that's gonna go over big here.
He does have a valid argument in that aspect that people should be more conscious of their energy usage before blaming energy pricing. Face it, everyone wants the convenience of our appliances, but energy is finite is both resources and immediate supply.. ..the more you use, the more you should pay. If you do not like how much you are paying, use less of it... ...most states use far less energy on avg than Texas hence their lower bills.. ..but there's no talk about adopting those practices now is there?
Last edited by Need4Camaro; 09-05-2022 at 10:01 AM..
I don't disagree with you on this, but it's not as simple in practice as it seems. Most people are not sophisticated legal eagles. One can read something to make sure you understand the basics, but reading the fine print on a 16 page "Electrical Terms of Service" document... nah, ain't no one gonna do that. And remember, they've hired the best lawyer they can find, for that very reason.
One good sign that Texas' electric system has failed is how unhappy people are, how confused people are, and how we still pay the same prices as much of the country. If we were in the top ten lowest prices, one could argue the pain is worth it. We're #19, which is 38th percentile. For those 37% above us, they don't have to worry about all this crap, pick a company, hope it's the best plan, hope they didn't sign up with a loser... those 37%, over 1/3 of Americans, they just pay a bill.
Again, any time this much money goes to something that doesn't benefit us, you have to ask... who DOES it benefit? Do you really think all that lobby money going to our leaders was so they would treat us fairly?
And hence the purpose of my first paragraph as noted below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by escanlan
"Deregulating" any industry is intended to foster competition which it obviously has with all of the various providers out there. However "Deregulating" does not mean a complete lack of oversight also occurs which on paper it hasn't. What is needed are regulations on how services are advertised and explained to consumers and oversight/enforcement when they are not as advertised and explained. Both advertising and explaining should not be allowed to gloss over the potential issues with the plans offered.
What is misunderstood many times is that deregulation of an industry is intended to untie its hands from laws and practices that stifle competition and the industries abilities to improve. When an industry is regulated all the players essentially become the same and there is little reason to be competitive or improve.
Also what is often misunderstood is that we have consumer protection laws which are intended to be broad and protect consumers from predatory practices such as the 16 page, fine print, fully legaleezed contracts. Those are the laws that can easily be written in general form to cover all industries and typically are. These are the laws that need to be strengthened and not regulatory laws on an industry. One example is from the OP's post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lepoisson
Unfortunately I missed the part in my new contract about them charging a 3% fee for making a credit/debit or eCheck payment via the website but it's free if you pay via snail mail.
One of the problems with our consumer protection laws is that they do not force businesses to lay out all fees in an easy to read and easy to find manner before the consumer even gets to a contract stage. Had the business been forced to provide an easy to read and follow chart of their fees the OP may have been able to compare one company to the next to see what the final costs can be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrohip
Most people are not sophisticated legal eagles. One can read something to make sure you understand the basics, but reading the fine print on a 16 page "Electrical Terms of Service" document... nah, ain't no one gonna do that. And remember, they've hired the best lawyer they can find, for that very reason.
And therein is the problem! I'm not a "sophisticated legal eagle" either but refuse to sign any contract that I do not understand. I just read through over 600 pages of contract documents from a number of insurance providers for business insurance. Yes they were full of nice legaleez but when a contract smells like BS it's sure bound to have BS in it. Had I just capitulated, selected the cheapest provider, signed the documents, and continued with my current business practices I would have been in full violation of my licensing laws. Instead the policy I picked covers my operation even though it was one of the more expensive ones. Price was not the primary factor in my choice for that and is not for all other dealings I have.
No consumer should sign any contract they don't understand! If they do without checking into it then it's all on them regardless if the business is trying to pull a fast one. Once they put their signature on that document they are expected to have understood what they are signing for. If they attempt to clarify the contract and think they have and it winds up being less than honest business then at least they have the defense that they tried and were continually deceived.
Yes it is and is basically what I stated above. But the Gubberment can not be there for all situations at all times and it still rests on the consumer to protect themselves. It is unfortunate that we have devolved to the situation where a consumer has to work 8 hours a day to make the money and pay for their "stuff" and then work another 8 hours a day making sure they are not getting ripped off when buying that "stuff". However that is where we are today and the more consumers look out for themselves the quicker they can become those semi "sophisticated legal eagles" in the process.
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