Understanding what is new in the Texas electricity market as a direct result of deregulation and the introduction of competition can be a daunting task. Granted, not all Texans live in areas of the state where choosing an electricity provider is an option, but regardless, understanding the working pieces that drive Texas electricity will make all of us more informed energy consumers.
The following subjects will be addressed and clarified to help all Texans better understand the nature of the Texas electricity market:
* The Public Utility Commission of Texas and it s role in protecting your electricity rights, in addition to specific responsibilities and regulations therein.
* The role of the Retail Electric Provider (REP).
* Transmission and distribution of electricity and its relationship to the power generators, REPs and the consumer.
* Power generators and their role in producing electricity and placing it on the grid.
* The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas and it s role in the management of Texas electricity.
Each section will detail the important players, their responsibilities in the Texas electricity market and how each affects the energy bottom line for Texas businesses and consumers.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
What is the PUCT?
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) is a local state agency responsible for the regulation of electric and telecommunications services. Its primary mission is to ensure consumer protections are in place, foster healthy competition and promote high quality and safe energy and telecommunication infrastructures.
In addition to operating a consumer information hot line, The PUCT also regulates rates and services of all investor owned electric and local telephone companies, sets and maintains ongoing standards of service for regulated electric companies, and issues statewide franchises for cable TV and video services.
Here is a list of the consumer services that the PUCT does have authority to regulate:
* Long distance
* Wireless telecommunications service
* Gas
* Water
* Cable TV rates and content
* Rates established by municipal electric utilities
* Rates established by electric cooperatives
* Internet
* ISDN
What Role does the PUCT Play in Texas Electricity Service?
The PUCT is vitally important in the deregulated electricity market in Texas. Though it s swiftly becoming more common knowledge that Texas is a mostly deregulated state for electricity, the mere fact that Texans do have the power to choose their electric provider is often lost in the fray of misinformation.
The PUCT is quite simply a consumer advocate for choice in the Texas electricity market. The PUCT is primarily responsible for regulating rates and terms of service for both transmission and distribution in Texas deregulated areas, oversight of the ERCOT market, managing renewable energy resources, ensuring consumer protections for retail electric service and more.
What the PUCT does not do is endorse particular electricity providers over another, which helps to foster competition and protect consumer rights that would not survive otherwise.
The PUCT and ERCOT
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 22 million Texas customers, managing a grid that carries more than 85 percent of the state s electric load. ERCOT monitors and maintains nearly 40,000 miles of transmission line across 75 percent of Texas, amounting to a large portion of the state s deregulated electricity areas.
The PUCT specifically provides oversight of ERCOT, ensuring that all market rules are thoroughly reviewed at the behest of public interests. ERCOT actually monitors system reliability as well, so when you think of the vast majority of the deregulated market in Texas, think ERCOT and it s friendly PUCT neighbor.
The PUCT and Texas Electric Choice
The PUCT operates the Texas Electric Choice Web site that is devoted to providing information for consumers looking to switch electricity providers. The site details the benefits of switching, what Texas electric choice means to the consumer, PUCT regulated terms of service and consumer protections, general information about electricity deregulation in Texas and more.
The PUCT and Texas Electric Choice, or powertochoose.org, specifically provides electricity consumers with:
* Details about electric choice including the basics of the retail electric market in Texas, electricity generation, the transmission and delivery of electricity and how that is maintained, and the general safety and reliability of electricity service in Texas markets.
* General information about the PUCT and a link to their site.
* The process of switching electricity providers.
* Introduction to energy conservation, efficiency and general money saving tips.
* Questions to ask potential electricity providers.
* Understanding the choices consumers have when comparing providers.
* Offer information from Texas Retail Electric Providers (REPs)
Sources
PUCT :http://www.puc.state.tx.us/ocp/complaints/regulate.cfm
ERCOT :http://www.ercot.com/about/
Power to Choose :http://powertochoose.org/index.asp
The Role of the REP in Texas
There is a lot of confusion surrounding exactly how the electricity market works in the deregulated areas of Texas. Despite the fact that areas of the Texas electricity market have been deregulated for almost a decade, some people don’t really understand who the different players are in the Texas marketplace and the extent of their roles and responsibilities. However, the most forward facing and well known players in the Texas electricity market are without a doubt the Retail Electricity Providers (REPs).
What is an REP?
REPs are common and well recognized companies that provide you with the billing and customer service aspects of your electricity service. Reliant, TXU, Bounce Energy and Gexa are a few example of Texas electricity providers, or REPs. The biggest reason that these are the most known entities in the Texas energy market is the simple fact that the REP sends you a bill every month, in addition to handling turn on and turn off of service. First on their list of priorities and responsibilities is the customer relationship.
A Texas REP competes for your business by offering a a variety of rate plans, incentives and specials for new customers, renewable energy options and more.
What Exactly does an REP provide?
The life cycle of REP to customer goes something like this:
•Customers call up an REP like Bounce Energy or Reliant, and place an order for electricity service.
•The REP on the other end is then responsible for logging that order with the local TDSP (Transmission/Distribution Service Provider) and ensuring that electricity service will be turned on and ready at the specified date on the order.
•Once the service is turned on, it is the responsibility of the REP to monitor and bill a customer for their electricity usage and collect the outstanding debt.
•By the same token, when something goes wrong with a customer’s electricity service or there are any outstanding questions, it’s the REP’s role to field those calls and work with the customer to find the most satisfactory resolution possible.
So, to sum up, an REP is responsible for all of the customer facing responsibilities in the Texas electricity market, from making sure the lights get turned on (and stay on) to billing the customer and providing customer service.
What Makes a Texas REP Unique?
So now that we understand at a basic level what a Retail Electricity Provider does, we should next take a look at what separates one REP from another as far as the customer is concerned. What separates each company is an illustration of one of the reasons the Texas electricity market was deregulated to begin with: Service.
The creation of competition in Texas forces companies to work harder to bring value to their customers in order to retain and attract new business. The most obvious value to a customer is lower prices, and at the end of the day, it’s obviously the most important. Competition in the market place forces companies to try and be as efficient as possible to keep their electric rates as close as possible to the market basement.
At the same time, there are other things that a good REP can offer to their customers. Excellent customer service and having a knowledgeable staff that can answer questions is a highly valued asset to an REP. One of the most common customer complaints among customers is waiting too long on hold or getting the run around from customer service and billing departments. Differentiating or weeding through the good versus the bad when choosing an electricity provider is an advantage that Texans in deregulated areas have.
REP s in competitive areas usually offer versatile energy plans, such as low variable or fixed rates, or the chance for customers to order Green energy plans in order to entice new customers to sign up for service. Certain providers also offer incentives to their customers, like rebates, bill credits, airline miles and more.
The competition that is created by the deregulation of the Texas electricity market forces the different REPs to work as hard and as efficiently as possible to try and stay competitive with other companies in their marketplace. And since the REPs are responsible for the customer relationship in the Texas marketplace, that competition forces the REPs to offer the best rates, service, and overall value to the customers to make sure they keep their customer base as well as attract new. And at the end of the day, this benefits the customer, because not only do they have a number of options to find the best company for themselves, but the checks and balances created by the presence of competition helps keep the REPs honest.
Author Resource:
Bounce Energy is a based in Houston. Bounce Energy's goal is provide more than low Texas Electricity Rates to our customers. With innovative and flexible plans, excellent customer service, and superior customer rewards, Bounce Energy offers a unique approach to Texas electricity.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")