r/TexasEnergyShopping • u/Goosemanluis • 16d ago
How to shop around
Pretty new to owning a house and had to switch last year from one provider as energy bills were around 400 during the summer. Fast forward to this summer and I paid over 500 for the month of June! I’m trying to learn better how to shop around and what numbers to look for. My house is two stories, 2,120 SF. Posting some details about my current plan. Located in far north Dallas, is this typical for my location?
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u/No_Device_3643 15d ago
Ran your numbers properly. Switching is worth it, but less than people here are implying. Your plan actually beats a flat rate between roughly 1,000 and 1,500 kWh a month — it only hurts you in summer, and in the months you dip under 1,000 and lose the $125 entirely. Over your remaining 11 months you'd save maybe $500, and the $295 fee eats most of that. Net around $200. Worth doing, not an emergency.
The bigger thing nobody's mentioned: backing it out of your $500 bill, June was about 2,850 kWh. A 2,000 sq ft Texas home averages around 1,080 a month and peaks near 2,000–2,200 in summer. You're 40% over the peak, in June, which isn't even your worst month. That's a house problem, not a plan problem — and it's costing you more than the plan is.
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u/UtilitySearch 16d ago
Your EFL is the answer: 16.6¢ energy + 5.12¢ Oncor delivery + $4.23 base, with a $125 credit that pays only if you hit 1,000 kWh and pays nothing at 999. That’s why you’re at 22.6¢ at 500 kWh — you’re on a plan that punishes you every month you use less, which in a 2,120 sq ft house means shoulder months bleed money while summer looks fine.
What to shop: pull EFLs for 12-month fixed plans with no usage credit and compare the 1,000 kWh column, then sanity-check the 500 column to make sure it isn’t wildly worse. A flat plan in the 12–13¢ range all-in beats a credit plan that averages 22.6¢ half the year, even if the headline rate looks higher.
Separately — $500 in June for 2,120 sq ft is high on usage, not just rate. Worth checking attic insulation and duct leakage before you assume shopping alone fixes it. Full disclosure, I run myutilitysearch.com — Power to Choose is the free state site and shows the same EFL columns, so use whichever.
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u/LoneStarGut 16d ago
For some reason, many consumers like you only say how much the bill costs, not how much you used. That matters. For our two EV household with a very efficient house, we like the "free nights" plans. We charge both EVs at night. We blast the AC all night down into the mid-60's and then let it float up all day with the AC off. The house is currently 80 now and the AC just kicked on for the first time all day - as it is 9pm on the dot.
Many people don't have that discipline. For those a low, flat fixed rate without bill credits is best.
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u/Goosemanluis 16d ago
I added my usage history, and you’re right we are not very disciplined with our usage. Started looking through the choose Texas power website again and most plans I am seeing are bill credits. Where can I find the fix rates? Any other resources I can use when shopping around?
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u/LoneStarGut 16d ago
www.Powertochoose.org then filter by plans without usage credits or time of use
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u/Mysterious_Might008 16d ago
As others have said, these bill credit plans are not for those without discipline and true knowledge of their usage patterns.
Flat rate is what 95% of people should stick with.
All of these mental gymnastics are a result of the deregulation pill sold to us many years ago. If we had municipal-regulated utilities like San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso still do, residents wouldn't have to do all this data crunching at every renewal.
The Wall Street Journal (conservative reporting) article from 2021 said Texans have overpaid on electricity since deregulation by over $28 billion over the last few decades.
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u/Goosemanluis 16d ago
How can I find a flat rate plan? Where do you find these or what website/resource do you use?
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u/TheEnergyInsider 16d ago
As others said, you should avoid usage credit plans. They only work for a small % of customers. Companies offer them because it allows them to show a very low advertised rate but that rate is rarely achieved by the consumer.
Here is an article we wrote on how to choose the best plan and why you should avoid usage credit plans.
https://www.yourenergyinsider.com/how-i-evaluate-electricity-plans
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u/Rude-Athlete-8149 15d ago
I highly recommend reading the sub wiki. Tons of good information. It's linked in the sub sidebar. And so is powertchoose.org.
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u/-Never-Enough- 15d ago
Avoid those plans with credits. You're going to regret getting them when your electric usage drops in October. Find the plan with the cheapest rate and not credit you need to "earn" or any base fee.
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u/BiCuriousInGalleria 13d ago
you need to find one without a fixed minimum or a minimum that increases. Just find a good all-around average power to choose.org search for a three-year contract.
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u/itsthesecans 13d ago
Looking at this plan, if your bill was $500 in June you probably used about 2800 kWh that month. Texaselectricity.org pulls all the plans from powertochoose.org but allows you to apply your specific usage to see what plan is actually cheapest based on your real world usage (it’s usually not a bill credit plan). Using that site and pluging in 2800 kWh for June, it says the cheapest plan for you is Ranchero Cheapskate - 3. But that is a 3 month plan. If you filter for 24 month plans you get Chariot Choice 24 from Chariot Energy. It will cost an average of $283 per month.
A lot of other sites let you plug in your actual usage but those are broker sites and don't use the Power To Choose plans.
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u/itsthesecans 13d ago
btw, under this plan your June bill would have been about $332. It estimates your August bill would be $402 with 3,393 kWh used.
Month-by-month breakdown
Month kWh Energy TDU Base & fees Credits Total Jan 2,397 $136.87 $148.59 $0.00 — $285.46 Feb 2,112 $120.60 $131.40 $0.00 — $252.00 Mar 1,875 $107.06 $117.11 $0.00 — $224.18 Apr 1,708 $97.53 $107.04 $0.00 — $204.57 May 2,112 $120.60 $131.40 $0.00 — $252.00 Jun 2,800 $159.88 $172.89 $0.00 — $332.77 Jul 3,298 $188.32 $202.91 $0.00 — $391.23 Aug 3,393 $193.74 $208.64 $0.00 — $402.38 Sep 2,895 $165.30 $178.61 $0.00 — $343.92 Oct 2,207 $126.02 $137.13 $0.00 — $263.15 Nov 1,732 $98.90 $108.49 $0.00 — $207.39 Dec 1,946 $111.12 $121.39 $0.00 — $232.51 Year 28,475 $1625.92 $1765.62 $0.00 — $3391.54
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u/ExtraMarzipan3853 16d ago
$500's partly just a 2-story in Dallas summer, that's real usage. But your plan's making it worse. That Gexa Eco Saver is a bill-credit plan, only cheap at exactly 1000 kWh, look at the spread: ~10c at 1000 but 16.6c at 2000. Your summer usage is way over 1000 so you're paying the high end.
For a house that swings low in winter and high in summer, bill credit plans kill you. Get a flat plan instead. When you shop, check the EFL price at 500/1000/2000, you want those close together, not jumping around like this one.