Signed me up with mid American. 9.5 pre kwh, 2 cents cheaper than who I am with now. They tried to sign me up with breeze energy, but couldn't get past the "verification" process with breeze. Not sure what the rate was but happy with process and not having to work on finding a provider.

Can you message me and let me know who you are using? Everything I'm seeing is much higher!

Aggie andrea 00 at yahoodotcom. No spaces.

I've had pretty good success with this so far, but they just renewed me for something that appears to be a terrible choice.. I've pretty much let this run its course until now. I just emailed asking for what justification they used to do this. I am tempted to cancel this all together.

What'd they sign you up with?

They signed me up for 12 months at 9.5. They used to put me in short plans but now for the past two years they just sign me up for 12 months at a time. I feel like I could be saving more.

TheAgg said:

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Seven,
Thanks for choosing Breeze Energy.

I'm John Spicer '83, one of the owners of Breeze. Let me know if you all have any questions.

---

Uh oh...

https://www.click2houston.com/news/breeze-energy-shutdown-leaves-nearly-10k-customers-in-limbo

Quote:

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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."

"The provider of last resort picks those customers up to maintain continuity of electricity supply," says Jesson Bradshaw, CEO of Energy Ogre -- a company that assists customers in purchasing energy plans.

---

That's why I cancelled last year. It used to be short 3-6 month contracts, then twice in a row they signed me up for a 12 month contract. I ended up finding a much better deal on Awesome Power Texas, cancelled what EO set me up with and then cancelled EO. Just wasn't at all worth what they were charging.

plan with Infinite energy is up so I'm going to try Griddy

for under 1Kw I was paying 6cents per all in...looks like rates are WAY up.

I used 1100 - 2000 per month 5 months ($100-$175) and
430 - 900 for 6 months (~$40/month)

So if Energy Ogre signs you up for a 12 month contract, what is the point of paying them $10/month for the next 11 months?

pasquale said:

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So if Energy Ogre signs you up for a 12 month contract, what is the point of paying them $10/month for the next 11 months?

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Because they don't quit searching for a better deal.

They signed me up for a 12-month contract, then a few months into it, found a better plan, that even when factoring in the early termination fee, saved me money.

Anyone heard of Griddy?

See my post a few up I got the name from a post on the previous page.

I'm a bit worried already. I got an alert on Thursday that the instantaneous rate just spiked to like 45 cents. WTF??

Projected max price today is at 3 and 4pm at 7.4. Most of the other times at 2.1-2.6.

This doesn't include any of the transmission fees or the $10/month

so far Griddy is pretty terrible. With all in fees:

5 days $32.66 (not including the $10/month fee which is waived first month) for 286.9 kWh =

11.38 c/kWh

The $10/month fee would make this go up to 12 c/kWh

BTW - there were two spikes yesterday, one at 85c/kWh and one at 152c/kWh!

this caused by daily rate yesterday to be over 18c/kWh....

Luckily they got me out of breeze. This is my first month on my new one. Not sure who it is. Rates are going up though

FWIW, spot prices yesterday got up to 2000/MWh for a 15 min interval or two hence why you saw the spike.

Tuesday average prices
11am: 3.1
noon: 9.2
1pm: 17.4
2pm: 48.2
3pm: 193.2
4pm: 80.4
5pm: 21.0
6pm: 3.6

cost me over $10 for the day

Wednesday didn't have anything over 6.0

Spike today @ 3:30 to 42.6


Now, if I had a smarter thermostat that would connect to the data and automatically turn off during spikes - and pre-cool when rates were really low - it would actually be super useful.

cclearman said:

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Now, if I had a smarter thermostat that would connect to the data and automatically turn off during spikes - and pre-cool when rates were really low - it would actually be super useful.

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Pretty sure that smart of a thermostat doesn't exist. You'd have to have a stat with an open platform that integrated with some sort of API for time of use rate. And IMHO, the concept of pre-cooling isn't as effective as what you would think, especially if your home's envelope/windows aren't up to par.

Pretty sure Nest has the capacity with some companies

You're correct. Looks like the hardware technology is there, just dependent upon if your provider is in partnership or has the capability.

https://nest.com/press/nest-introduces-time-of-savings-through-energy-partners/

After ten days I'm now at 4.7 c/kWh. That's with the one day at 19.6.

I'll take that over a month...

Quote:

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Now, if I had a smarter thermostat that would connect to the data and automatically turn off during spikes - and pre-cool when rates were really low - it would actually be super useful.

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I'm actually working on this for my ecobee system. Not sure I'll ever get it done the way I would like but it sure seems like Griddy should offer this kind of demand response.

how are you getting access to the real-time data?

it's actually a really good idea. and I think the people who haven't purchased an ecobee/nest (like me) would immediately go install one.

Can get 5 and 15 minute interval data from ercot.

http://www.ercot.com/content/cdr/html/rtd_ind_lmp_lz_hb_LZ_HOUSTON.html

after 19 days my usage is at $0.04 c/kwh average, but once you add in the delivery the total is at $0.093 (952 kWh $89.14)

looks like my 12 month contract has me locked in at fixed rate of $0.076, including delivery, taxes and fees.

when did you lock that in?

didn't see rates like that in the last 2 months.

plus it depends on if you are below or above 1000 kwh

cclearman said:

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when did you lock that in?

didn't see rates like that in the last 2 months.

plus it depends on if you are below or above 1000 kwh

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I signed the contract in December.

Don't ever enter into a power contract going into or during the summer, that's when rates are the highest.

Looks like i've been between 805 kwh (January) and 3,040 kwh (last bill).

It's been $0.076 every time.

They have me on a 12 mth cotract with Reliant...

Last bill was $131.86 for 1,565 KWH which equates to $0.0843/KWH total (Energy Charge/ONCOR and taxes)
Energy charge only is $54.17 which equates to $0.041/KWH

So if we are kind of trapped in the summer renewal cycle (especially right now since short term contracts are scarce) would you recommend going on the current providers month to month plan (at a higher cost) or going on something like Griddy until we get into October?

Seems like a short term cost hit in order to break out of that cycle and get better contract offers, just wonder if that is a good strategy or if the cost benefit is negligible.

One month at the month-to- month rate can mess you over so bad. I pay EO 120/yr to manage it for me because I know if I slip up, I could lose that $120 in one summer month (over and above a normal rate).

I know the above doesn't help your current situation, but it's worth noting for future consideration.

As for your current situation, it's tough because no one knows what rates are going to do in this energy shortage situation. Theoretically rates would go down in the fall, so if you signed up for say a 3 month plan to get you through September and then reevaluate, that might be best. But who knows if the rates will really go down like they have in the past.

I did Griddy for this reason.
No contract end anytime. Paying market rate.

I just checked and looks like there are some 6 month plans that aren't too much higher than the 12 month plans. My current contract runs out in 10 days.

Can't see any 3 month plans. Still trying to find info on what happens with my current provide when my current plan runs out.

I understand the unknown of future pricing, but if contracts offers are generally better in the fall/winter then maybe it is worth it to jump off the July-July cycle.

Right now I am staring down AT LEAST a 5 cent/kwh hike either way, so looking more for a long term strategy switch.

agchino said:

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I just checked and looks like there are some 6 month plans that aren't too much higher than the 12 month plans. My current contract runs out in 10 days.

Can't see any 3 month plans. Still trying to find info on what happens with my current provide when my current plan runs out.

I understand the unknown of future pricing, but if contracts offers are generally better in the fall/winter then maybe it is worth it to jump off the July-July cycle.

Right now I am staring down AT LEAST a 5 cent/kwh hike either way, so looking more for a long term strategy switch.

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You need to break the cycle, somehow, or your always going to be paying more for electricity than you neighbor with a winter renewal cycle.

Your options are month-to-month, finding a 6-month contract, or signing a 12-month and buying it out sometime this fall/winter.

Think of the energy market like the stock market. If you look at a long-term chart, you'll always see spikes in the summer. Renewing every year, forever, during the summer season equates to alot of money in higher contract prices.

Further to the energy market being like the stock market, for my business (we consume ALOT of energy), if I wait to renew at only contract end, I leave lots of money on the table, so to speak. We watch the market, and when we see a good "buying opportunity", I renew at that point in time. It's a "blend and extend" strategy that most folks don't think to do.

That being said, I'm not sure the same can be done on the residential side. I'm paying in the high 3's/low 4's on my business contract and they're 3/4+ year contracts.