Today I was looking at Amigo Energy Services 12 month true commitment plan to see if their electricity rate of 12.1 cents\kwh is really true. This would be the lowest residential electricity rate yet. As long as you use more then 500 Kwh a month you pay no monthly customer charge of $6.95.
Well, everything looked great until I read the residential electricity facts label. If you look at the chart below you can see that the rate is composed of an on peak off peak rate. This means that if you are like most people and use your energy during peak hours you will end up averaging higher then 12.1 cents\kwh. This quoted rate just averages their on peak off peak rate together. This is not realistic to how you will use your energy. You can expect to pay about 12.8 cents per kwh or so.
| Average monthly use: | 500 kWh | 1,000 kWh | 1,500 kWh |
| Average price per kilowatt hour: | |||
| TXU (Oncor) Area: | 12.1 ¢ | 12.1 ¢ | 12.1 ¢ |
| Centerpoint (Houston) Area: | 12.6 ¢ | 12.6 ¢ | 12.6 ¢ |
| AEP Central (CP&L) Area: | 12 ¢ | 12 ¢ | 12 ¢ |
| TNMP Service Area: | 12.2 ¢ | 12.2 ¢ | 12.2 ¢ |
| AEP North (WTU) Area: | 12.9 ¢ | 12.9 ¢ | 12.9 ¢ |
This price consists of the price per kWh charge plus a $0 fixed monthly charge for meters using at least 500 kWh per billing period. At or above 500 kWh per billing period your average price per kWh for electric service will not vary regardless of usage.This price consists of the price per kWh charge plus a $6.95 fixed monthly charge for meters using less than 500 kWh per billing period. Your average price for electric service per kWh will vary according to how much electricity you use.
| 2 Average Months: JUN & SEP | Off-Peak Rate / On-Peak Rate | |
| Average Month kWh Charge: 12.1 ¢ | TXU (Oncor) Area: | 11.45 / 13.7 ¢ |
| 8 Off-Peak Months: OCT-MAY | Centerpoint (Houston) Area: | 11.95 / 14.2 ¢ |
| Off-Peak kWh Charge: 0.65 ¢ off-peak discount | AEP Central (CP&L) Area: | 11.36 / 13.6 ¢ |
| 2 On-Peak Months: JUL-AUG | TNMP Service Area: | 11.55 / 13.79 ¢ |
| On-Peak kWh Charge: 1.6 ¢ on-peak charge | AEP North (WTU) Area: | 12.26 / 14.5 ¢ |
So in the meantime I would continue to read the electricity facts label for each electric rate product before you sign up.
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2 users commented in " Amigo Energy Services Off Peak On Peak Electric Rates "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackInteresting perspective. While it does appear that the peak charges are high, they are only charged for the two peak summer months. There are 8 months that they are actually charging significantly below (more than .5 cents/kwh) the quoted rate. Granted these are off peaks. The remaining two months are charged at the “average” rate.
I ran my usage through this and I’d say it’s a pretty fair represenation of my cost. we have a 1400 sqft 3/1 bungalow. We have peak usage (avg’d over the last three years) of 1700kwh’s and min usage of 830. Applying the on peak, off peak and average rates, I calculated an average yearly rate on total of 11,250 kwh’s at 12.25cents/kwh.
You raise a good point that you should read the fine print, but I’d say it’s unfair to say this averages at 12.8 cents/kwh. An educated consumer should know what they average and pick a program that suits their consumption patterns.
A buyer value for me is the cancellation charges on these things. This program lists a cancellation charge of $69.95 anytime in the first 12 months. Other company’s have much higher cancellation charges ranging from $12x months left on the contract to $150 or higher. I typically shop around 1/year and pick programs on 12 month terms. I’m with another provider right now through the summer, but this would definitely be a program I would consider.
Just to let anyone know that I am a director for Ignite.
We market energy for STREAM ENERGY a licensed provider like reliant and txu.
We do not buy and resell from reliant or txu.
Right now you can lock in a rate of 12.8 cents for 1 year. No fees, taxes or change in rate for 12 months.
We market person to person, no radio, stadiums, or flyers! And we have over 600,000 customers in Texas in 2 years.
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