Best electricity provider in Houston area?

[rtjh]

We are moving to Kingwood and are looking for the best company to use. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

[captainsling]

powertochoose.org

You can compare every provider in your zip code based on several criteria. Read the fine print. More than likely Centerpoint will ultimately be your provider of power, with the electric "provider" you chose to be the middle man.

[bbqfan5909]

Another vote for powertochoose.org . Be prepared for ridiculous water bills, parents live in king wood.

[Chew]

Which part of Kingwood?

[zidnaut]

There is no “best company” --- it’s much more important to pick a plan with a pricing profile that matches your home’s usage. Since you’re moving and don’t yet know your usage, start with a shorter-term and/or flat-rate plan with a fair price. Anything under $9.5 ¢/kWh (including Centerpoint’s delivery charges) today is great. Be wary of PowerToChoose and its infamously deceptive search results. Read the fine print and make a spreadsheet, or leverage the one posted at TexasPowerGuide.

[Starman]

Agree on read the fine print, disagree on picking a plan that matches your home usage.

I want to know what I'm paying for each kWh, regardless of usage.

All those plans that are giving you bill credits for using a certain range of kWhs are going to screw you, compared to a truly fixed rate plan.

I've got to find a new plan in the next month, I'll update when I do.

FYI, I'm with Gexa, but every plan they've offered to re-up is a smoke and mirrors shell game.

I can't believe that the State of Texas doesn't regulate it better.

You darn near need to be a mathematician to figure out the best deal for yourself. It shouldn't be that difficult.

[rtjh]

Which part of Kingwood?

Woodland Hills

[Sackett]

There's only One "Electricity Provider"

Use Power to choose and then look at the details for each plan, factor in the size of your home, the efficiency (if not new, you can get prior usage), and pick the plan that fits you. Like mentioned previously, you might want to start a short term plan. I usually change and choose terms when rates are lowest.

[zidnaut]

Agree on read the fine print, disagree on picking a plan that matches your home usage.

I want to know what I'm paying for each kWh, regardless of usage.

All those plans that are giving you bill credits for using a certain range of kWhs are going to screw you, compared to a truly fixed rate plan.

....

Indeed… usage-based credits, rate tiers, Free Nights, BOGO, etc are the games that deregulation lets Retailers play. Knowing your usage profile and doing the math is the way to win (and more importantly, not lose) the game. It’s way more work than millions of Texans should have to do to not overpay for electricity, which is why I built and maintain the RateGrinder tool at TexasPowerGuide to level the playing field for consumers. Check it out.

And if you’d rather not patronize companies with tricky rates than work them to your advantage (or if you're new to a house and don't have a usage history yet), you can set RateGrinder’s “Complexity” filter to “low” and it will show you only the plans from PowerToChoose and elsewhere that charge a fixed energy rate. (Wonder why PTC doesn’t offer that simple option…)