Finding an Affordable Electric Provider in Texas

Scary Times in the Energy Markets, Consumers Unsure Which Providers to go With

There are over 50 different electric companies and people are scared to go with an electric provider they have never heard of. The reason for this scare is the issue Texas had the summer of 2008. Over 5 different electric companies went bankrupt or out of business. Some of the energy companies that went out of business were Blu Power, Etricity, Pre Buy Electric, National Power Company, and Riverway Power. One of the largest providers in the market, First Choice Power, is trying to sell their electric company in Texas but will still operate in other states. Most of these providers caused severe increases in their customers electric rate, directly and sometimes indirectly. When these companies went out of business they had to let their customers go to the Provider of Last Resort as provided by the Texas government.

Summer 2008 Electric Rate Issues

When these consumers were switched off their current electric company to a new provider they were hit with rates in the range of 24 – 32 cents kWh when they had been paying around 11 – 15 cents kWh. The market was exceptionally high during this time which caused several of these energy companies talked about at the beginning of this article to go out of business. The reason some of these providers had gone out of business was because they failed to hedge their energy properly and did not have enough capital to meet ERCOT’s financial responsibilities.

Not all no Name Electric Companies are Bad

There are several providers that started at the beginning of Texas deregulating back in 2002 that have managed to weather the storms faced by other electric companies and are still around to talk about it. Many of these smaller electric companies have grown quite large and have been able to bill accurately and provide good customer service. You may have even heard of them before even though they haven’t been around as long as Reliant or TXU Energy.

What Electric Provider do you Recommend?

If you are looking for a cheap electric company because your current electric company is charging too much then we would like to recommend a few providers that offer cheap rates and are reputable electric companies you can trust. Startex Power started business around 2003 and are a well run ethical energy company. They have very competitive rates without any hidden fees and charges. Another electric provider to compare with Startex that we also find to be highly reputable with competitive electric rates is a company by the name of Champion Energy.

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