Texas Electric Deregulation - What You Need To Know

By Jerry Dyess Jr

The state of Texas has offered consumers the power to choose their electricity provider since 2002. This means that if you're a Texas resident and you're not happy with the service your power company has been offering, you can get different service. You can choose from companies that offer better quality customer service, renewable energy sources, and many other features that your current provider may not have. Let's take a look at the details.

Before deregulation was put into effect, only one utility would manage power distribution, transmission and sales in an area. That meant you had no other options. Today, the same company you used to use maintains the distribution and transmission of the electricity, but other companies handle sales and billing. That means that you can work with the business that offers what you want. The reliability and safety of energy distribution are overseen by the Public Utility Commission, to prevent problems in the long run.

Keep in mind, the entire state of Texas doesn't necessarily have this option. The good news is that about 75% do, which means the electric company doesn't have complete control over those bills. In fact, places like San Antonio and Austin still have the same rules as year's past. If you're trying to figure out what side of the fence you're on, just speak with your city utility or co-op to get a concrete answer.

Even though this law has been in effect for just about eight years, the future still looks brighter. Even though deregulation can help with customer service issues or prices, the main benefit will be having the option to use renewable resources. In fact, if you take a Sunday cruise around the state you would find that there are tons of wind farms being built to fight constant air and water pollutants.

We recommend that anyone living in Texas shops for the best product and service. Since you actually have a choice, it's a lot easier today. The best thing to do is find all the informative websites that are out there, and do a little research so you can figure out which company suits your family's needs the best. Thanks to today's innovations, the advanced sites will even allow you to compare power prices in real time. This way you don't have to leave the website to place orders.

Once you've made all the comparisons, picked a new electricity provider and had your order accepted by the company, you should expect to receive a terms of service agreement from them, as well as some information listing your rights as one of their customers. There's no need to get in touch with your current provider - that's all going to be handled by the new one. You'll get a notice of your change request in the mail, and the change of service will happen the next time you have your meter read. You'll get bills from the old company until you've paid in full, and once that final bill is paid, you'll start getting ones from the new provider.

The power of choice is a wonderful thing, and this is all it takes to get started. If you're wondering whether or not the new company will be reliable, they will. Everything happens in the same frequency, so don't be afraid of change if you're not happy with the current company. In the end this option allows you to choose the company, what type of rates, and how the electricity is actually produced. It just means you have more control of your utilities than ever before.

The first thing to do like we mentioned earlier is to figure out your options. Your service can only get better thanks to the competitive market, which makes this an exciting change for everyone. Plus, when people are able to switch to renewable resources, the environment will be a better place for everyone. - 26221

About the Author:

0 comments: