Electricity Company Prices among the deregulated states?

Electricity Company deregulation has been 5 years now in Texas and we are beginning to see the residential electricity rates experience a moderate change for the better. The way in which this has happened is in the form of a "follow the market" rate for residential electricity. Previously this was forbidden by the Texas state government to protect the customer in case Natural Gas prices were to spike as they did two years ago, almost tripling the the natural gas commodity price from previous historical levels.

The "follow me" electric rate now being offered by several Retail Energy Providers in Texas allows a customer to ride the Natural Gas daily spot price. If the Natural gas prices go up your rate goes up with it by a corresponding percentage. If the Natural Gas NYMEX spot price goes down, well then so does your electric rate. Pretty simple really but not so simple understanding some of the providers energy plans.

What to look out for: You need to ask the Provider what the rate will be the next month when you lock in on a "no term" rate. The "no term" rates as of February are usually a market rate the first month and then often times a much higher premium "follow me" rate the next month and then after.

Of course, not all providers trick you in this way. There are some legitimate "follow the market" plans out there that will continue to follow natural gas without stiffing it to you later on. From what I have seen Startex power offers a follow-me market rate that has no base charge and a bare-bones retail adder so you hold the risk but are rewarded for it. The reason I say, hold the risk, is simply because your alternative is a fixed rate which is basically insurance. You pay a higher rate or premium in order to continue to pay the same rate regardless of gas fuel factor conditions in the open market.

For residential customers who just want a no nonsense electricity plan I would go with a fixed rate plan.. You will see some very low rates with the follow the market rates but watch out as they will get you after the first month with few exceptions (Startex power). There are some very good fixed price rates for residential customers and as of February 2007 they are as low as 11 cents per KWh. Anything below this is usually a variable rate after the 1st month. Pay close attention to the term. If the term says 3 months, don't expect to pay the quoted rate after that term ends. You will immediately be placed on a premium market or fixed price rate, again with few exceptions. Startex Power is considered to be an exception as their follow-me electric rate is straight forward and rewards those willing to take the risk. There are probably other residential energy providers out their that compare well with Startex but as of right now I only know the details on Startex. When you go out to powertochoose.org you can see corresponding data on which residential provider has the best in terms of price, terms, and agreements.

If you know of a residential electricity supplier that has comparable rates, terms and conditions, please email me so I can update the site. If your here and need to sign up with a residential electric provider you can click on "Home" and then click on "Startex" under Residential. They have provided us with their promotional code for their discounted electricity rate for all terms and it is built into the link. To take advantage of the promo, just click on the link. The online sign-up process takes less then 5 minutes and if you have any questions you can give me a call at: 817-929-7095.

More online How much does electricity cost? Texas is ranked the 13th highest priced state for electricity rates..

Please remember electricity and natural gas deregulation is very effective for commercial and industrial first and lastly for residential customers. It takes a few years if not many years for deregulation of electricity and natural gas to show the same positive results for the residential market.