EspañolHow do I know if I am getting a good energy rate for my home electricity?
Electricity rates fluctuate often. In fact, energy rates are affected by natural gas prices. So, how do I know if I am getting a good energy rate for my home electricity?
Notably, you have seen gas prices changing. You go to a gas station every 5 to 7 days. Maybe you do not see much change, this is because the gas prices change is not too dramatic. However, it changes every day.
Energy Prices Change
Home electricity rates are very similar, whereas the energy companies try to make things a little simpler, they study what will happen in the near future, add the inflation and then sell you the energy rate with all that included.
As mentioned, gas stations need to store the product, and buy new ones every time they run out. On the contrary, as for electricity, the energy companies do not store the electricity, they just buy credits in bulk, then the grid will DELIVER it to the final user.
When shopping for new electricity rates, indeed, we often see or hear incredibly low-rate quotes. This is because we are not getting the real price of what we are going to pay. Sales agents are instructed to give the Energy Rate ONLY.
How do I know if I am getting a good energy rate for my home electricity?
Electricity Bill Main Components
- Energy Rate
- Delivery Charges
- Tax
Energy Rate: this is the actual price for the electricity we are using. This is what the electricity company charges for the home electrical service.
Delivery Charges: this is what we pay for getting the electricity into our homes, the cables and wires, transformers, power lines, and towers.
All in all, there are 4 major delivery companies in Texas, they do not sell the electricity to us, they just deliver it. However, we need to pay to get electricity and we pay for all the infrastructure that occurs.
Utilities in Texas
- Dallas/Fort Worth area: Oncor – 888 313 6862
- Houston area: CenterPoint – 800 332 7143
- The Valley area: AEP – 877 373 4858
- Texas New Mexico Power – 888 866 7456
To resume, what we pay is; it depends on each case but, it’s almost about 45% delivery charges, 50% of the actual energy charge, and 5% tax.
My actual electricity bill
As you can see in the image, not 100% of the amount to pay is electricity.
This happened to me last week.
Last week I was contacted by a salesperson, she tried to sell me home electricity. As a salesperson myself, I kept the conversation going, just to see what she was offering and how she would try to sell me something that I sell. At the end of that, she never gave me an actual final rate, she stayed on the energy charge.
She tried and tried, however, giving the energy rate only as a final price for the kWh rate it’s wrong.
To conclude, I can say that, as a salesperson, even though we know we may lose the customer, we need to sell with the truth. Give the total price, all included, and explain the important things.
How do I know if I am getting a good energy rate for my home electricity, always ask for the total electricity rate? All included energy charges, delivery charges, and taxes.
Call us today, we will give you the truth.
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