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Most of us have been there. You forget to pay the bill. You go on vacation. You’re running short on funds. And then that disconnection notice comes in the mail. Oh no! What now?
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What happens if your Retail Electricity Provider (REP) were to suddenly go out of business? In Texas, thanks to the Provider of Last Resort (POLR), your lights will stay on. But, your bill will go up dramatically!
In this article, you’ll learn about the POLR, and why you should immediately shop for electricity if the POLR becomes your provider.
To promote energy choice in Ohio, the Ohio PUC requires that all utility bills include a Price To Compare disclosure. This is based on the standard service offer or SSO for your local electric utility. But the SSO and price to compare are not always the same!
Read on to learn more about what the Price To Compare number is (and also what it isn’t) so that you can accurately compare apples to apples electricity rates.
America’s demand for electricity is huge, totaling 18% of the world’s electricity consumption in 2015. We take for granted that electricity will be there when we turn on the lights or crank up the air conditioner. We can’t imagine life without it. But, have you ever wondered how electricity is made, or where it comes from, or how we get it the instant we want it?
Beginning in 1879, electricity was first sold in the United States by the California Electric Light Company in San Francisco which produced and sold enough electricity to run about 20 electric lights. Since then the use of electricity has grown exponentially. Fast forward to 2016 and Americans consumed about 3.85 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In this post we cover the basics about what powers this huge amount of consumption, the sources of electricity in the US, and the role of deregulation.
Texas is deregulated. That means that most — but not all — Texans have a choice of electricity supplier. If you live in an area served by an electrical cooperative, a municipal owned utility, or a utility that’s not part of ERCOT, you can’t choose your electricity provider.
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Electricity deregulation gives consumers the power to choose their own electricity provider and an electricity plan that fits their budget. With this freedom comes responsibility. That fabulous rate you signed up for with your electricity provider will come to an end when your contract expires.
Don’t let your electricity contract expire without taking action. If you let your contract expire without renewing or switching providers, you will have a shocking electric bill coming your way. Keeping your rate low isn’t overly difficult, but it does require some planning and timely action.
If you are moving before your electricity plan expires? In Texas, you can take it or break it. That means you can take your electricity contract with you to your new home or break your contract with no penalty. You can even have electricity in your name in two homes while you are moving.
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You’re aware of the importance of having a small carbon footprint, and do all you can to leave this world a little cleaner while saving money in the process. But what about the next generation? Are you doing all you can to raise your kids in an energy-smart way?
Making your kids energy aware takes more than just nagging them to turn out the lights when they leave the room. Teaching kids to be conscious of the environment will instill good habits that last a lifetime. Try these tips to make saving energy a more fun and natural part of their day.
No matter where you live, there will always be fluctuations in the amount of power you use and pay for each month. This also means having months where the electric bill can be as much as twice the normal amount in extreme weather.
Electricity providers have created a system that attempts to solve this problem: average billing. Also known as budget billing, average monthly billing, or balanced billing, average billing aims to smooth out the bumps in your monthly electric bill. Ideally, this should result in a predictable electricity bill each month. But is average billing for electricity worth it? It depends.
A kilowatt-hour is a unit of measure for using one kilowatt of power for one hour. Just knowing what a kilowatt-hour is and what it can power can save you money on your electricity bill. Once you understand what is a kilowatt-hour, you can monitor electricity usage, make educated choices about saving energy, and lower your monthly electric bill.
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