Several thousand customers throughout Texas have been switched to the Provider of Last Resort by the Texas government because in May and April of 2008 some fly by night electric companies sold energy to residential electric customers without hedging the energy properly or executing their energy agreements appropriately. Because these Texas electric providers failed to operate their retail electric company professionally they broke their customers energy agreements that were fixed for the year. This is really bad news for many customers of PreBuy Electric and National Power because they are on a POLR rate that is 2 and 3 times higher then what they were on before. The POLR Texas electric rate is a back up plan until these customers can shop Texas electric prices and find a cheaper solution.

Pick a New Provider Soon, Don't Wait!

Right now for those needing to come off of a POLR back up rate I would recommend going to a quality compare and shop site for electricity service in Texas. Electricity Bid is a good place to start when finding an energy company at a low price. There are many shop and compare sites out there but the rates are usually marked up higher then usual. Electricity Bid is one of the only shop and compare sites that offers electric rates lower then what some of the providers advertise directly with their customers. Some of the reputable energy companies Electricity Bid has on the site are with Champion Energy, Startex Power, Commerce Energy, and many more.

Most Areas are Open to Pick a Competitive Electric Company

Regardless of where you live in the state of Texas you have the ability to choose an electric provider unless you live in a few regulated pockets of the state like El Paso, Austin, and San Antonio. If you live anywhere else you have a lot of options as there are over 150 different electric companies in Texas. No matter if you live in Wichita Falls, Tyler Texas, Dallas, or all the way over to Houston you have the ability to choose a competitive residential electric provider in Texas. An energy consultant is available on Electricity Bid to answer your questions and set you up with a low cost provider. Customers coming off of POLR usually have a ton of questions about how long it will take to get switched over and other similar questions. An Electricity Bid energy consultant in Texas is available to not only answer your questions but do a bill audit and call you back if necessary.

Is the Texas Government Responsible?

Many people believe the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas truly dropped the ball this time. With about 20,000 electric customers on a rate that is now 2 to 3 times higher then what they were paying when rates are already at a historical record has infuriated many people. Texas consumer sites like the PUCT, the Attorney General Gregg Abbot, and the Federal Trade Commission have all been contacted numerous times by frustrated electric customers asking for some type of recourse and assistance. This disaster could have been stopped by checking to see if the fixed electric rate offers were being honored by the electric companies early on. The Power to Choose website immediately took down the deceptive electric rates on their website that were listed by Riverway Power and National Power Co. A company by the name of PreBuy Electric went out of business because of bad execution of the purchase price of their energy. The Texas government needs to make sure those selling energy in Texas are smart enough to run an electric company by putting into place some training and criteria so that this does not happen again.