Electricity Facts Label (EFL)
Market securitization charges are a new line item on Texas electricity bills. They’re a direct outcome of Winter Storm Uri, paying for some of the extraordinary costs of that storm.
The Texas legislature passed House Bill (HB) 4492 in 2021 in response to the storm’s financial impact on the ERCOT power region. The legislation allows Texas REPs to add the charge to their bills for the next 30 years
You can’t avoid paying these fees, which are from a regulatory change. But you might as well understand them, since you’ll be paying them for the next 3 decades.
Read More about What are Market Securitization Charges?
What’s electricity usage got to do with it?
Being the electricity geeks that we are, we talk way too much with our customers, friends, and family about the price they’re paying for electricity. For whatever reason, people happen to like to swap stories about their electricity provider and rate.
The conversation usually starts with “Hey, guess what? I just got a <insert ridiculously low rate>,” and usually (unfortunately) ends with a gotcha and a comment about teaser rates, fine print, and usage.
Read More about Shopping For Your Best Electricity Deal? Know Your Usage
Bill credit electricity plans are among the most popular in Texas. These are the electricity rates that look amazingly low at the advertised rate of 1000 or 2000 kWh. But dig into the details and you may find you’re paying a higher price per kilowatt hour than you expected. We call these plans a Texas teaser rate. And while they can be good for some consumers, they can be a big red flag for others.
Read More about Bill Credit Electricity Plans – Texas Teaser Rate or Good Deal?
If you are shopping for electricity based on the advertised rate or one of the three electricity rates shown on the Electricity Facts Label, stop. You might pick the electricity company advertising the lowest rate based on 500 kWh, 1000 kWh or 2000 kWh. But you could soon discover it’s not as straight forward as you’d hoped. Because unless you read the find print you may choose the wrong plan.
Before you blindly click on the plan with the lowest advertised rate, read this article.
Read More about Why Does Texas Have Three Electricity Rates?
Knowing how to read an Electricity Facts Label (EFL) is the key to finding the right electricity plan for your home. It’s easy get pulled in by the advertised rates, showing low prices at a certain usage level. But the EFL shows you the math behind that attractive rate, showing you exactly what to expect from your electricity plan.
Read More about How to Read an Electricity Facts Label (EFL)
