SteelersFan
join:2001-02-12
Rockwall, TX
| Electric Bill Jumped!
I just received my electric bill for June/July and it jumped from $227 last year to $300 this year. The usage was even less than last year. In fact, based on the average of last year's usage it should have been around $217. I have Reliant. Anyone else notice jumps year-over-year on their electric bills? |
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JeffB
Premium
join:2001-12-20
Somewhere | Yup -- $440 this month  |
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MLOK5
My Reality Check Bounced
Premium,MVM
join:2000-08-17
Plano, TX | reply to SteelersFan
I'm afraid to open my bill next month for all this sweltering weather we're having now. Blah! |
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SteelersFan
join:2001-02-12
Rockwall, TX | reply to SteelersFan
Is anyone aware that rates went up from last year? My bill was for last month and that month wasn't even "that" hot. I have a 2,400 sf house FWIW. |
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MrBradTX
join:2001-05-23
Carrollton, TX
1 edit | reply to SteelersFan
1850 sqft, 80F thermostat, gas water heater, 1436 kwhr used, $213 energy charge, $117 bill. (Gotta love average billing.) |
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MLOK5
My Reality Check Bounced
Premium,MVM
join:2000-08-17
Plano, TX
1 edit | reply to SteelersFan
Yes, from what I've heard, rates have really jumped up from last year. |
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JMartin
Premium
join:2001-03-20
Dallas, TX
clubs: | reply to SteelersFan
Oh yes, they went up! $550 here. |
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SteelersFan
join:2001-02-12
Rockwall, TX
| reply to SteelersFan
Well, I just switched to First Choice Power (www.firstchoicepower.com). At .12 for the 550 kWh and .129 for every kWh thereafter it beat my Reliant Energy by at least two cents. Even with the initiation fees it would have been cheaper than Reliant this month. Required to sign a one year commitment. |
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T1 Rocky
join:2002-11-15
Dallas, TX
 ·Time Warner Cable
| As I recall, the rates were increased by 30% around October last year. We're just now hitting the super hot months so now we really see the orice increase.
On another note, 6 years ago I went to Octoberfest in Addison and Green Mountain Energy was there with a booth and I signed up. I never recieved anything about it and around 6 months later I moved out of that apartment and cancelled my electric with TXU. A few month later, I get a bill from Green Mountain for the power in that apartment that I haven't lived in for 2 months and which the current tenant is paying TXU for. So I wrote a letter to the PUC and that was the last I heard of it. Yesterday, (6 years later) I get a note from Green Mountain that they are sending me to collections for $77.  This is the first I've heard about it in 5 years. |
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WellDoYaPunk
join:2004-10-22
Lewisville, TX
| reply to SteelersFan
and the thing that gets me, is I pay the company's gas bill for them!! I get charged up to 80$/month for the gas that they use to make energy. Is that really MY responsibility?? Should that really come outta MY pocket??
Makes the light bulb over my head click on... |
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dropshadow
join:2000-12-17
Plano, TX
clubs: 
 ·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | reply to SteelersFan
said by SteelersFan  :Well, I just switched to First Choice Power (www.firstchoicepower.com). At .12 for the 550 kWh and .129 for every kWh thereafter it beat my Reliant Energy by at least two cents. Even with the initiation fees it would have been cheaper than Reliant this month. Required to sign a one year commitment. would you mind terribly reporting back in a few weeks/a month to give your opinion on how things are going with first choice? |
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SteelersFan
join:2001-02-12
Rockwall, TX
| Of course not. The only other time I switched a utility like this is when I went from TXU Gas to Atmos Energy. My gas bill in the summer months runs about $17 and Atmos' customer service has been excellent.
I hope this switch yields the same results. First Choice does make you pay $7 extra to have the switch made within two weeks as compared to free for 30 - 45 days. They also charge $10 which they say is standard for using TXU's line. Those are one-tinme charges. The only other charge is a $4.95 monthly service charge which added to even the .129 per kWh usage comes up a lot cheaper than Reliant. They even said I would contact TXU Electric Delivery or something similar in the event of an outage. I'll report back. |
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tazman69
Safety Guy
join:2000-12-22
Charles Town, WV
| reply to JeffB
JeffB - What size of house do you have and what do you set your thermostat at? Do you have older AC units (Compressors) that are not very efficient? At $440 a month, it may make sense to upgrade with that money and realize savings off into the future. |
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JeffB
Premium
join:2001-12-20
Somewhere
| said by tazman69 :JeffB - What size of house do you have and what do you set your thermostat at? Do you have older AC units (Compressors) that are not very efficient? At $440 a month, it may make sense to upgrade with that money and realize savings off into the future. 2200 sq feet and I believe I have a 10 or 11 seer unit (whatever is least expensive while meeting minimum builder requirements). I have the thermostat set on 77 or 78 during the daytime and 79-80 at night. My guess is that I'm losing conditioned air through poorly insulated/weatherstripped doors/windows. I have thought of upgrading to a more efficient unit but suffer from sticker-shock when I see the price  |
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Hugh Janus
The Internet O.G.
Premium
join:2002-07-10
back nine
clubs: | reply to SteelersFan
I'm stuck with Coserv. We are currently in a 1000 sq ft apartment while our house is completed. The first three months our electric bills were $100-$120. We just got this months and it's $255 for 1900 KW. We keep the thermostat between 75-80. |
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Rangerw
Just A Simple Man
Premium,MVM
join:2002-10-20
Orange, TX
clubs:
| reply to SteelersFan
TXU
Kilowatt-hours Used 1996
Energy Charge (1996 kwh) $296.19
Base Customer Charge $5.34
Sales Tax $6.03
Current Bill $307.56
The average price you paid for electric service this
month was 15.10 cents per kWh.
I may have to shop around. I like to keep the house cool at night (72)
--
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ ClawHammer - Asus MoBo- 2GB PC3200 CAS 2 RAM - Dual Serial ATA133 7200RPM Drives in a RAID-0 config - Audigy II ZS - ATI X800 Pro 256MB |
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cauchy
@uta.edu | Usage:1706 kW
3400 sqf
$190.95 (for July)
Reliant Energy
Temp. setting:
77 daytime
79 night |
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MLOK5
My Reality Check Bounced
Premium,MVM
join:2000-08-17
Plano, TX
| reply to SteelersFan
When I lived at my last apartment, the meter was broken. (This was a Coserv apt). Anyway, for about the first 6 months I was there, my bill was about $11 each month. I'm sure that will now bite me in the arse in my new apartment. That karma train's a beeeyotch!  |
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WhyZeeGuy
Premium
join:2004-06-06
Addison, TX
| reply to Hugh Janus
Ahhh, the pleasing sound of deregulated electricity, consumers screaming in agony. Aren't we all enjoying the tremendous savings promised by this?
I worked for a short stint selling commercial electricity at Cirro and learned a little something about this farce called "Deregulated Electricity"
You see the big electric companies in Texas, TXU, Reliant, CPL and other corporate gangsters spun off their electricity delivery divisions and created this magical "Price To Beat" scam that was supposed stimulate competition be allowing smaller aggregators to sell below the incumbent power providers fixed "Price to Beat" In other words, if your electricity was .10 per kilowatt hour from the incumbent then the new start up providers could sell at .8 kwh and all would be right as rain in paradise.
One slight problem here, Texas uses natural gas to produce most of its electricity. Guess who produces the natural gas? TXU, Reliant and Atmos (formally TXU Gas). SO what do these guys do, raise the price of natural gas to compensate for the loss of customers to the smaller electricity aggregators. So to wrap it all up, your electricity does cost less than it used to, you just pay 100% more to have it produced. |
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undertow
join:2004-08-21
Plano, TX
1 edit | reply to SteelersFan
There doesn't seem to be much in the way of savings when switching. It would be interesting to see the actual numbers from other companies though. I switched to Gexa Energy a couple of years ago and this is my June bill summary:
Residential Energy Charge (2175kWh): $294.16 (13.52 cents/kWh)
Customer Base Charge: $4.79
TXU Customer and Metering Charges: $4.95
adjusted price with extra BS charges: 13.97 cents/kWh
1800sf/80 deg day/72 deg night/11 seer Trane unit |
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