The Californication of Texas with higher taxes, home values, home insurance, and now electricity

Many years ago we were in line to get a hot dog at a summer event when someone told a dad that his son had forgotten to get the hot dog to go with his bun. The dad looked at his son and said "What are you? Stupid?". It was a pretty shitty thing to say to your own son or to anyone for that matter but it is a question I have since asked many times. Today might be an appropriate time.

Back in 1996 California was the first state to deregulate their electricity grid supported by the lobbying efforts of Ken Lay and Enron. A few years later under the republican controlled Legislature with the same guidance from Kenny, Texas followed California's stupidity and deregulated most of Texas. East Texas stopped deregulation in their area after years of promises of deregulation to lower rates. East Texas did not lose power in the Feb 2021 freeze but everyone else did.

Besides letting the free market create complicated plans that resulted in costing more money instead of less, the Legislature has now allowed companies to tax us in order to pay for the electricity grid upgrades that should have been paid for as part of deregulation. Looking at the PowerToChoose website the results of deregulation and republican rule is pretty clear. The lowest price is 14.5 cents/kWh. Prior to deregulation Houstonians were paying just under 8 cents. They had long term contracts. They had the option to average billing, paying one price every month. They had reliable energy. Texas was #4 in electricity deregulation. We are now #32.

So look at us now. Rates now range from 14.5 cents to 26.4 cents/kWh. Couple that with exploding home prices, home insurance out the roof, and higher property taxes, and Greg Abbott has accomplished the Californication of Texas. So I need to ask the question:

What are you?

WTH is wrong with Texans?

You're freezing your butt off. You're paying a tax for the electrical grid upgrade that was supposed to have happened in 2003. You're paying high electricity prices due to deregulation in 2003. You're paying outrageous home insurance prices due to the failure of insurance deregulation in 2003. You're paying some of the highest property taxes in the country. You're paying high college and trade school prices ever since Abbot and company deregulated college tuition in 2003. 

And over 75,000 of friends, family, and fellow Texans have died from COVID partially due to Abbott's politicizing of COVID.

Yet you're still voting for him? WTH is wrong with you?

Just how stupid are Texans?

#NoPlaceButTexas. Literally.

According to the Texas Tribune:

Lawmakers are close to passing bills that would allow companies to seek billions of dollars in state-approved bonds backed by charges on customers’ bills to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market.

So, let's recap. In 1999 Texas deregulated our electricity market with the promise of lower rates for consumers. 20 years later Texans froze for 3 days without electricity and water. Over 200 Texans died because the free market wanted to save money and refused to pay to upgrade and protect the grid and production.

And now the Texas legislature is about to pass a bill that would require this free market to fix their mistake and....wait for it....the very same Texans who lost loved ones in the freeze and those who had no drinking water or electricity for days are going to pay for it. Yep. We are paying for it!

I'm not sure who are the bigger idiots. Is it the elected officials who passed this bill, or is it the Texans who froze for three days and will continue to vote for these elected officials who passed the buck?

Well, Texas is right about one thing. We do things bigger in Texas. Bigger mosquitos. Bigger guns. And bigger idiots.

#NoPlaceButTexas is no longer a slogan. It's a joke.

Texas has a history of cute sayings such as "Come and Take it", "We do things bigger in Texas", "Don't Mess with Texas", "Thank god for Mississippi", and my favorite "No Place But Texas". 

No Place but Texas was once a slogan celebrating the unique qualities of living in Texas, although I question if we are really unique. Much like every other state in the country we band together to help each other during times of need. We help neighbors rebuild fences after a hurricane. We provide supplies to those in need. We donate money. None of that is unique to Texas. 

Now No Place but Texas is nothing but a joke. Looney Louie Gohmert, #CancunCruz, Trump Wannabe Greg Abbott, indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton, leadership failures, science deniers, guns on demand, no place but Texas. Literally. 

Recently the "Energy Capitol of the World" was plunged into darkness during the winter storm of 2021. While the rest of the country was hunkered down enjoying their power and water, most of Texans were freezing their asses off unable to flush the toilet. Over 50 died. Republican elected officials were silent before and after the freeze leaving the Democrats to help those in need while #CancunCruz fled the state to weather the storm in Mexico with his hot wife and loving 10 year old whining brats. Yep. No Place But Texas. 

From Reuters

In 2003 besides deregulation electricity, which brought the freeze higher electricity rates for consumers, Texas deregulated college tuition and home insurance. Like electricity rates the cost of college skyrocketed and home insurance is out the roof. No Place But Texas.

Recently Greg Abbott has ended the mask mandate and will fully open the State 2 months too son, just like he did last summer which resulted in over 45,000 Texans losing their lives. His failures reminds me of another saying "All hat and no cattle".

Luckily for the Republican Party, who ushered in this Texas sized stupidity, "We do things bigger in Texas". We have the biggest idiots in the country who will forget about how they froze their nuts off or how much they are paying for electricity or tuition or home insurance. They will forget about the 45,000 who died of COVID or the 50 who froze to death. In 2022 they will again vote for the very people who did this to them. Again, No Place But Texas.

Well as the saying goes in Mississippi, "Thank god for Texas".

The Power to Lose: Spark Energy 40 cents/kWh

Yeah. You read that right. 40 cents/kWh.

Ken Lay's great electricity deregulation in Texas has been a total flop. Before screwing his employees and stock holders Lay laid it to the consumers in Texas by lobbying for deregulation. It worked but the promises of lower rates or even stable rates was nothing but that. Promises.

In order to "help" the consumer the Public Utility Commission has created the Power to Choose website, also known as the Power to Lose. The site is complicated, deceiving, full of misleading information and extremely hard to understand. Don't believe me? Try it yourself. PowerToChoose.org. Try to find an affordable fixed rate plan for 12-60 months. Good luck. You will need it. Just for grins, I performed the search and looked for the highest priced plan available. Spark Energy was listed at 10-20-40 cents per kWh. You can try to figure out this rate by downloading the Electricity Facts Label.

Consumers are not a picky bunch. They want to know how much will they pay and how many features will be available. Before regulation consumers knew exactly how much they would pay. Here in Houston under Houston Light & Power (HL&P) it was just under 8 cents a kWh. You received a paper bill each month. You mailed a check or paid at the grocery store. No one seemed to care about monitoring their electricity use, or waiting for the weekend to turn on their AC unit to reap the benefits of their free weekends gimmick.

Texans are a gullible bunch of people. They actually think they are getting a good deal paying 12 cents/kWh.

If you have Breeze Energy....they have left Texas

My suggestion is to find a new electricity reseller immediately. From KPRC:

HOUSTON - After nearly 20 years in business in the state of Texas, it's lights out for Breeze Energy.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas pulled the plug on the power provider Wednesday after it learned the company was not meeting mandated financial requirements to remain feasible.But that also meant the process to immediately shift nearly 10,000 customers to other providers was initiated without the rates those customers had negotiated with Breeze. Those new providers are referred to as "providers of last resort" or "POLR."

For those Currently with Breeze you will be transferred to a POLR which according to Electric Choice is Reliant Energy. Their rates are anywhere from 14 cents to 23 cents/kWh depending just how you look at their Electricity Facts Sheet.

According to the PUC:

The Commission has designated Providers of Last Resort (POLR) as a back-up electric service provider in each area of Texas open to competition. POLR service is relatively high-priced, due to the costs associated with planning and the risk of serving an uncertain number of customers with uncertain electricity loads. POLR service is a safety net for customers whose chosen REP is unable to continue service. This service is intended to be temporary and used only under rare circumstances when a REP is unable to provide service, or when a customer requests POLR service.

So switch now and avoid the high priced POLD or else you will be SOL.

The Power to Lose. The failure of electricity deregulation

The Houston Chronicle summed up the Public Utility Commission's PowerToChoose website perfectly:

Darla Jackson of Coppell, north of Dallas, wanted to change to her retail electricity company, but couldn't face the prospect of using the state's comparison shopping site, Powertochoose.org. Like many Texans, she felt overwhelmed by the number of companies, variety of plans and mind-numbing terms and conditions which, even after hours of study, left her confused, overwhelmed and uncertain of the best deal.

Last year the Commissioner, Donna Nelson, realized how incredibly deceptive their website can be and took action to update and improve it so consumers could actually compare prices when selecting an electricity billing company. According to the Texas Tribune:

Donna Nelson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, said Thursday at a public meeting. “They’ve got all these tricky little things in their prices, and whatever the fact sheets are called – the nutrition label – that makes it really difficult for customers.”

Nelson started Project 45730 to receive comments from interested individuals on how to improve the website. After months of collecting information from 193 parties, the PUC responded with absolutely no changes to the website. In fact the gimmicks have become worse.

It is nearly impossible to make an informed decision based upon the information provided by the PowerToChoose.org. There are just too many gimmicks, fine print, and "gotchas" for the average consumer to wade through. The PUC knows this and yet have taken no action besides calling for suggestions and input from the community and then ignoring them. It was clearly a complete waste of time and resources. 

Especially mine. When it is time to select a new billing company, just remember who lobbied for deregulation on your behalf, Key Lay and Enron.

Enjoy.

Shocking. Volt Electricity Provider

A quick break from politics.

A few months ago the Public Utility Commission (PUC) requested comments from consumers on how to improve their website the PowerToChoose.com. The Chairman of the PUC stated in the Texas Tribune article:

Donna Nelson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, said Thursday at a public meeting. “They’ve [electricity resellers] got all these tricky little things in their prices, and whatever the fact sheets are called – the nutrition label – that makes it really difficult for customers.”

Today the tricky little things continue. For example, look at the rate for Volt Electricity Provider (Volt EP)

Volt EP advertises a plan that charges a fixed rate of 7.7 cents per kWh across the board but the details of the plan is something different. According to the Fact Sheet the rate is a type of "average" I have never seen before. For instance if a homeowner uses 500 kWh the bill is $38.50 (7.7 cents per kWh). But if that same homeowner uses only 250 kWh the bill is the same $38.50. (15.4 cents per kWh) Here is a pic from their fact sheet:

So the true cost of Volt EP really isn't as easy as kWh X 7.7 cents because it depends upon your real usage for the month. Based upon my usage over the last year my real average would be 9.9 cents per kWh about 30% higher than what is advertised.

Welcome to the Texas deregulation market.

The Power to Complain: Texas Electricity Website Is Rigged

Thanks to Dave Fehling of Houston Public Media for this story on the Texas Public Utility Commission Power to Choose website. After 13 years the promise of lower electricity rates due to deregulation has never materialized for Texas consumers. The Power to Choose website was designed to allow consumers the ability to "Shop, Compare, and Choose" but has failed to do so.

The PUC has been collecting comments on how to improve their deceptive Power to Choose website. As many of the 100 comments have stated, the website does not truly compare the hundreds of plans available that are complicated with fees, gimmicks, rebates, and hidden charges. Even the Chairman of the PUC stated in the Texas Tribune article:

Donna Nelson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, said Thursday at a public meeting. “They’ve [electricity resellers] got all these tricky little things in their prices, and whatever the fact sheets are called – the nutrition label – that makes it really difficult for customers.”

I was pleased to see that other individuals and organizations, including AARP Texas, has joined me in recommending true comparison of the plans available taking into consideration their historic kWh usage of their home coupled with the various plans, fees, and gimmicks. The PUC has access to consumer's historical usage. They can easily take this information and perform the calculations for every plan and show how much each plan would truly cost. This would be a true and fairly accurate comparison based upon your specific usage. Currently the website does nothing more than displays the cost per kWh and some of the gimmicks for each company. This is not comparing.

“Give real comparisons of how much you will be paying each company,” said Cobarruvius. A PUC spokesperson told us that the commission is continuing to take consumer comments and will consider changes by sometime late this summer.

With historic lows in natural gas and the magic of deregulation championed by Ken Lay and Enron, it is about time the Public Utility Commission make good on their promises of lower electricity rates for consumers.

If you are interested, comments can be viewed and submitted here.

Electricity Rate Recommendation

Before electricity deregulation consumers in the old HL&P area were paying just under 8 cents a kWh in a long term, no maintenance, contract. Now after 13 years of deregulation consumers have the ability to "Shop, Compare, Choose" according to the Public Utility Commission's website, the PowerToChoose.org. Unfortunately choosing using the tools provided by the PUC is complicated and deceiving. Don't take my word for it, even the Commissioner agrees. From Jim Malewitz of the Texas Tribune:

Donna Nelson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, said Thursday at a public meeting. “They’ve [electricity resellers] got all these tricky little things in their prices, and whatever the fact sheets are called – the nutrition label – that makes it really difficult for customers.”

I'm putting the final touches to a presentation titled "How to Select a Cost Effective Electricity Reseller" and in doing so stumbled upon a plan that is about as close to what we had pre-deregulation. Is it the cheapest? Maybe not for your specific usage and your home but if you are looking for a no gimmick, no extra fees, no hidden costs, with a relatively low rate, this is the one for you.

Recommendation:
Discount Power has a 12 or 24 month plan at 7,.7 cents per kWh no matter how much electricity you use during the month. Many plans have variable rates, discounts and extra fees depending upon your usage during a specific month. It can be very complicated to compute a real rate and sometimes it isn't as low as it seems, but knock yourself out if you want to try.

With this plan you have a long, no maintenance contract, at 7.7 plus tax. If you appreciate a relatively low rate, a longer contract, and no gimmicks, this is the one for you. Discount Power Saver No Gimmicks 24 signup can be found here. The electricity fact sheet is here.

BTW I do not receive any referral fees from Discount Power and I have signed up myself.

Public Utility Commission shocked at deceptive pricing on their The Power To Choose website

I've been saying this for a while.

Electricity resellers provide rates to the PUC to be published on their website the PowerToChoose.org. The idea is to provide a single location where consumers could "compare" prices from various resellers. As I have said in the past, "It ain't easy". In fact it is at times deceptive and today the PUC agrees. From "Texas Regulators Eye Deceptive Electricity Pricing" by Jim Malewitz of the Texas Tribune:

Donna Nelson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, said Thursday at a public meeting. “They’ve got all these tricky little things in their prices, and whatever the fact sheets are called – the nutrition label – that makes it really difficult for customers.”

The rates that are published do not clearly show the "gotchas", gimmicks, or extra fees. Most prices are also based upon your particular usage. A great rate for one person could be a horrible rate for another. Gotchas and fees include a monthly usage fee, a discount for using more electricity, a penalty for using less, and penalties for not using automatic withdrawal from your checking account.

Because of these, sometimes hidden, charges the PowerToChoose.org fails to provide real rate comparison. Even if the charges are not hidden there is no way to really compare but there is a solution.

Consumers have access to their usage history through their reseller. The PUC could allow a user to input their monthly usage for a year and then perform the calculations to determine how much electricity would actually cost per reseller. This would not be perfect since your usage may vary but it would be very close and would serve as a basis for comparison.

As an example. A provider on the PUC website advertised a rate of 5 cents/kWh for using more than 1000 kWh a month and 11.5 for using less. My home is 2400 sq ft and I use over 1000 kWh just 4 months of the year. After performing these calculations the average rate I would pay is 9.9 cents well over the 8 cents I was paying pre-deregulation.

So...the PUC is finally getting it. Just remember who lobbied for deregulation, Ken Lay and Enron.

The Power to Choose. It ain't that easy.

If you listen to to those who support Ken Lay's electricity deregulation you might think choosing an electricity plan that's right for you might be as easy as visiting the Public Utility Commission of Texas website, the PowerToChoose.org. Well it ain't but go ahead and visit. Using the website, enter a zip code of 77062 and display the fixed rate, 12 month plans. Go ahead. I'll wait.

The lowest rate displayed is by Discount Power for 7.4 cents a kWh, lower than what we were paying before deregulation, but it isn't the rate you will pay if you select this plan. Open the Electricity Facts Label. I've written about this about a year ago. It wasn't easy then and it's harder now.

A year ago I created a spreadsheet to calculate the real rate based upon the kWh used, the penalties, and the monthly fees based upon my usage from last year. This year the tricks and gimmicks broke my spreadsheet. So I had to call Discount to understand their plan.

The rate for this plan is actually 11.64 cents multiplied by the kWh used, minus $45.00 if the usage is over 1000 for that month. Got that? And add the $3.05/month charge for electronic metering. This rate includes the TDSP delivery charges but not the taxes.

After many phone calls I gave in and extended by plan with PennyWise at a calculated rate of about 9.7 cents.  After all someone has to pay the middlemen with the complicated rates.

Evaluating TXU's Texas Choice 12 Plan

Electricity prices are not very easy to compare, almost impossible. Recently I evaluated the claims by Reliant Energy's "Sweet Deal" plan. Here is an evaluation of TXU's "Texas Choice 12". The bottom line is that Texans should choose a different provider.

First this plan is advertised at 12.90 a kWh, a 3% cash back, and a $150 cancellation fee. Unfortunately that rate is for usage of 2000+ kWh per month. Most individuals would never reach that threshold to qualify for this rates. The rate for using between 1000 and 2000 is 13.60, which is what I used for my calculations. They also have a $4.95 monthly fee for the "privilege" of being charged for electricity. And don't forget if you conserve energy and use less than 500 kWh per month, the charge is an outrageous 15 cents! From TXU's website:

Average Monthly Use	Average Price per kWh
500 kWh	15.00 ¢
1000 kWh	13.60 ¢
2000 kWh	12.90 ¢

Based upon all of the above and my usage over the last year the bottom line is $1541.60 for the entire year with an average of  13 cents a kWh. That includes the whopping $38 cash back for the entire year.

I would rate this TXU Energy Texas Choice 12 Plan nothing more than a gimmick. Look elsewhere. There are much better deals. I went with PennyWise, but there are no guarantees the same plan exists today.

Now, how is that electricity deregulation ushered in by Enron doing for you?

Recapping the process of choosing an electricity provider

Who proposed to deregulate electricity? Ken Lay and Enron. How has that worked out fer ya?

After a week of attempting to find the best electricity provider I finally selected one, but it wasn't as easy as "shopping around" or visiting the Power To Choose website. Here is what I found:

1. PowerToChoose.org website lacks the PowertoCompare. It does not have the ability to truly compare prices which would include penalties for conserving energy, monthly fees, credit check fees, fees for auto deduction, or application fees.
2. Hidden fees. Many, if not all, providers will charge you a fee of $9 - $20.00 if you conserve energy and use less than 1000 kWh in a month. Last year I had only 4 months over 1000.
3. Not so hidden fees. Some providers simply charge a monthly fee ranging from $9 to $15. 
4. No PowertoCompare. The PowertoChoose There is no capability to truly compare rates. My poorly crafted spreadsheet accepted the cost per kWh, the monthly fee, and the penalty and calculated a cost per month based upon last years usage and the average cost per kWh. (I'll blog the results later)
5. Other plans. The Power to Choose does not have all the plans available. I was able to select a plan when I found the company had other lower cost plans available. 
6. Auto deductions. Some providers will also charge you a fee, about $12, if you are not enrolled in an auto deduction program.
7. Reversed hidden fees. I found a couple of providers out of the hundreds available, that actually charges less per kWh if you are below 1000 kWh. This blew my spreadsheet, so I need to research this a little more.

Centerpoint energy actually has a website (mytruecost.com) that can compare prices based upon your usage over the years if you have an electronic meter. Unfortunately not all the electricity providers participate. There's always a catch.

And yet one more surprise in my PowerToLose

OK this is my last update on my saga of selecting a new electricity reseller.

As I said last time:

I have finally settled on Penny Wise at an advertised rate of 8.7 cents per kWh. It's not without caveats.

Yep. The caveats got me. It turns out this great rate was based upon using 2000 kWh per month, a limit I have never achieved in my 2400 sq ft home. My usage has not ever topped 1500 and only 4 months out of the year have I been over 1000 kWh. The 8.7 cent rate was based upon using 2000 kWh a month, a detail buried in fine print. The real rate for those using less than 2000 is 9.2 which in my case, based upon my historical usage and factoring fees and penalties, comes out to 9.8.

So, 9.8 is only .2 over my last rate but I had to scrap to find it. I do remember the 7 cent rate I had for many years prior to deregulation, but someone has to pay the salaries of the middlemen resellers.

The Power to Lose at the PowertoChoose.org

Shopping around for an electricity provider isn't as simple as comparing rates at the PowertoChoose.org. It's easy if you mindlessly accept the lowest cost per kilo watt hour without reviewing the hidden fees or penalties.There are hundreds of plans available with enough options to make you think electricity deregulation has been a complete failure. (it is)

After a few hours of research, which included creating a spreadsheet to compare plans based upon last years usage, I found the following about the plans available:

1. Hidden fees. Many, if not all, providers will charge you a fee of $9 - $20.00 if you conserve energy and use less than 1000 kWh in a month. Last year I had only 4 months over 1000.
2. Not so hidden fees. Some providers simply charge a monthly fee ranging from $9 to $15. 
3. No PowertoCompare. The PowertoChoose website lacks the PowertoCompare. There is no capability to truly compare rates. My poorly crafted spreadsheet accepted the cost per kWh, the monthly fee, and the penalty and calculated a cost per month based upon last years usage and the average cost per kWh. (I'll blog the results later)
4. Other plans. The Power to Choose does not have all the plans available. I was able to select a plan when I found the company had other lower cost plans available. 
5. Auto deductions. Some providers will also charge you a fee, about $12, if you are not enrolled in an auto deduction program.
6. Reversed hidden fees. I found a couple of providers out of the hundreds available, that actually charges less per kWh if you are below 1000 kWh. This blew my spreadsheet, so I need to research this a little more.

So, if you think it is easy to shop around, well it is, if you are willing to accept higher rates with hidden fees. KHOU has more on the hidden fees: