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Category: Industry News

Selecting The Right Energy Plan Starts with Information

Wizard Energy puts the electricity market in context with real-time information

In Texas, Electricity rates don’t doesn’t exist in a vacuum outside of the whole energy market. To find the right electricity plan for your business (current and future needs), you need to know what is going on in the energy market now and how it will likely trend in the future.

Electricity Rates & energy Update September 2022

Winter weather is more weighted than normal this year because demand is outpacing growth in supply of natural gas and that is affecting power prices.

HISTORICAL

NEAR-TERM FORECAST

Natural gas production is up about 3.784% from 2021, but most of it was consumed by LNG (export) and electricity generation demand. Meanwhile, natural gas consumption is likely to be at its highest level on record and exceed 2019 levels, per the EIA. Consumption is projected to be up 4.337% from 2021 levels. As is often the case, the biggest factor affecting power energy and electricity prices will be winter weather.

U.S. natural gas consumption likely to increase in all sectors

We expect U.S. natural gas consumption in 2022 to increase by 3.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) from 2021 levels to average 86.6 Bcf/d for the year, the highest annual natural gas consumption on record. It looks like U.S. natural gas consumption will increase in all sectors, led by the electric power sector and the residential and commercial sectors.

In the electric power sector, which consumes the most natural gas, annual consumption has increased by 1.2 Bcf/d in 2022 to average 32.1 Bcf/d, which is 0.3 Bcf/d greater than the previous annual record high of 31.8 Bcf/d set in 2020.

When we get our electric bills, we all know this sector is sensitive to changes in natural gas prices relative to coal prices. Many power providers typically offset their use of natural gas with coal for electricity generation when natural gas prices are relatively high.

Impact on Electricity Prices

Despite a large increase in natural gas prices this year, U.S. consumption of natural gas in the electric power sector increased in the first eight months of 2022, averaging 33.2 Bcf/d, which is 2.0 Bcf/d higher than the same time in 2021 and 0.4 Bcf/d higher than in 2020. Over the same eight-month period, the natural gas price at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana averaged $6.56 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2022, compared with $3.43/MMBtu in 2021 and $1.86/MMBtu in 2020.

U.S. consumption of natural gas in the electric power sector has increased in 2022 due to limitations at coal-fired power plants and weather-driven demand. Coal-fired power plants have been limited in their ability to increase power generation due to historically low on-site inventories, constraints in fuel delivery to coal plants, and continued coal capacity retirements. During both a cold January and a hot summer, natural gas was key to meeting electricity demand peaks throughout the country. We expect natural gas consumption in the electric power sector to decline in the fourth quarter of 2022 and in 2023, in part, due to more renewable electricity generation capacity coming online.

Residential Consumption of Gas / Electricity

We forecast annual U.S. consumption of natural gas in 2022 to have increase by 0.9 Bcf/d in the residential sector and by 0.7 Bcf/d in the commercial sector, driven by high consumption in January. January 2022 was particularly cold, resulting in 9% more heating degree days (HDD) compared with the previous 10-year (2012–2021) average. Natural gas consumption in these two sectors averaged 8% higher than the five-year (2017–2021) average in January, averaging 31.0 Bcf/d in the residential sector and 17.8 Bcf/d in the commercial sector. We expect natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors in 2023 to be similar to 2022 levels.

October 4, 2022
Oncor Reports $229 Million in Profits While Texans Pay Higher Electric Rates

Oncor is supposed to be Texas’ largest regulated utility, and they are milking residents for an extra $60 million in profits during the scorching heat wave this summer.

As sweltering temperatures has driven electricity usage to new highs this summer (2022), Dallas-based Oncor’s quarterly profit soared an extra $60M in just one quarter to $229 million. The quarterly profits didn’t include July, which was one of the states hottest months on record.

Oncor CEO Allen Nye thinks is has been a great quarter… for the company. For residents fighting economic slowdowns and inflation, not so much.

The second quarter brought on record heat, beginning one of the hottest summers on record. That heat has led to several new peak demand records, with ERCOT peak demand of nearly 80,000 megawatts for the first time in July. The market continues to grow and will require new generation, transmission and distribution resources. Oncor’s service area, the largest in the state, covers all of North Texas and parts of West Texas, Central Texas and East Texas. Oncor will need to be ready to make the investments necessary to support the needs of the growing state. The Texas company added 19,000 additional premises and saw a 73% increase in new transmission point-of-interconnection requests in the second quarter, which is an all-time record for new transmission interconnection requests.

There is also an increase in major manufacturing expected to arrive in Oncor’s service territory over the next several years.

A $5 billion silicon wafer manufacturing facility being built by GlobiTech has been approved, on top of another $30 billion semiconductor wafer manufacturing plant project being undertaken by Texas Instruments, both in Sherman. A Samsung chip manufacturing facility, estimated at $17 billion, is also coming to Taylor in central Texas.

Oncor does not charge customers; instead, customers buy electricity through providers, known as Retail Electric Providers, and Oncor charges the providers for delivering their electricity. The company charges REPs a fixed amount monthly for each customer, plus a charge for how much electricity is used by the customer. Yet, they continue to increase their fees, which end of forcing Retail Electricity Providers to increase the electric rate they charge customers.

Profits Over Residential Electricity Customers

Oncor is justifying the profit grab because it believes the territory has become a powerhouse for manufacturing critical to the future economic and national security of the United States. The profits were driven by increases in revenues from higher customer consumption attributable primarily to significantly warmer weather in the second quarter of 2022 and other factors, including increases in electric rates, the company said in a news release.

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August 4, 2022
Texas Electric Companies Remotely Change Thermostats

When Texas went into energy conservation mode last week, energy companies say they adjust some customers’ thermostats due to grid conditions. Residents noticed their thermostat changing on its own. TXU Energy confirmed to media that its Demand Response Program can remotely change thermostats by a few degrees when the power grid is being maxed out. Though tens of thousands of customers participate in the type of plans where electric companies can remotely change a thermostat, it was unclear how many homes had thermostats changed.

Some consumers say they weren’t aware they had opted into programs granting their energy provider control of their thermostats.

Electricity Companies in Houston Change Thermostats

In June, CenterPoint Energy in Houston also has certain remotely-controlled thermostat programs through EnergyHub… it is disguised as a “rewards program” known as Smart Savers Texas. Customers can opt into the program by allowing EnergyHub and their energy provider to remotely access your thermostat to make adjustments at times of peak electricity demand in the summer. While customers agree to this as a conservation tool, they can usually override the demand response event depending on their plan. Though, not always!

Shady Electricity Companies

To lure customers, EnergyHub advertises that when a customer opts in to the program, they are entered into a $5,000 sweepstakes. Customers have to have a so-called smart thermostat, such as Nest, that is connected to the internet. EnergyHub says temperature adjustments typically happen on weekdays from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, but may extend outside of that time window for system testing or rare emergency conditions. Customers are supposed to be able to opt out of the program at any time, but some customers say they weren’t aware they were signed up.

Again, Energy Companies?

Last summer, energy customers said they found out about their enrollment in a remote access program when they woke up to warm temperatures at home. TikTok users posted videos showing smart thermostats registering an “Energy Rush Hour” alert. The temperatures went up to 83 degrees inside homes and would not revert to user-operated settings for hours after the provider-mandated intervention.

The customers weren’t aware they were enrolled in a remotely-controlled program, and many unenrolled as soon as they found out.

High temps have strained the Texas power grid and electricity supply all summer

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued a conservation appeal to all Texans last week asking homes and businesses to reduce their energy usage in the afternoon and early evening. ERCOT also asked Texans to conserve energy this week too. Demand was on the same level as the supply, but no rolling blackouts were reported.

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July 28, 2022
ERCOT is Tempting Fate by Electricity Plants Constantly

As the Texas heat pushes up power demand to record highs, ERCOT is ordering plants to run constantly. This is called “reliability unit commitments” to ensure supply. Texas is using the rule more than ever before. It forces power plants to delay maintenance in order to keep producing electricity. That’s helped keep the AC for now, but the stress on the system is maxed out. Though officials have asked residents to try to reduce energy usage, there is a concern about how long power plants can maintain their maxed-out capacity.

Things are Going to Break

Deferring repairs will come back as big trouble for power plants. It’s like any other machine (cars, appliance, air conditioners). To put off preventative maintenance increases the chances for a more comprehensive outage as plants start to malfunction. The state is aware they are tempting fate. A key concern is boiler-tube leaks at older plants. These leaks don’t always mean a plant must shut down, but they can lead to bigger, more costly repairs. ERCOT is in constant contact with power plants generators and works to give them time to make needed repairs when conditions allow. Right now conditions simply do not allow plants to go offline.

It’s a Chick or Egg Conundrum for Electricity Companies

Most companies schedule maintenance during the spring and fall, when the weather is mild and power use is typically lower. But climate change means these windows of temperate weather are getting shorter. In 2022, an early May heat wave forced many electricity generators to skip tune-ups. And periods of high heat are also lasting longer, putting more stress on power plants that are running all-out for weeks at a time.

Maintenance for older power plants is time consuming and complicated. They have to dismantle the plant, which it not something accomplished in a couple of hours. For Texas, this is exacerbated by the state’s aging collection or electricity generators. The average age of coal-powered plants in Texas is about 50 years, and natural-gas plants average about 30 years.

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July 19, 2022
Why Utility Bills are More Expensive Right Now

Everyone in Texas is being confronted with the reality of high and escalating energy bills (gas and electricity). Many commercial and residential customers are paying at least 50% more than they did for electric bills at this time last year.

Meanwhile, the state is exporting more natural gas than it has ever before. And since the cost of electricity in Texas is tightly tied directly to the price of natural gas, many business owner’s electricity bills are through the roof with no end to the escalation in site. The concern is that many people are going to be shocked when their bills start coming in 30-60 days from now.

So what is spushing gas and electric bills up so high? Texas power plants run on natural gas.

It’s mainly the price of natural gas… it has rocketed up more than 200% since late February when Russia, a top gas-producing country, invaded Ukraine and upended the world’s energy market. Since then, Texas, the leading natural gas-producing state in the U.S., has not been able to ramp up production enough to keep offering residents cheap electricity.

Since the war in Ukraine began, Texas has been sending most of the natural gas or LNG (liquified natural gas) to Europe as many countries boycott Russian gas, oil, and energy. Europe is fortunate that the U.S. Congress lifted the ban on oil and gas exports back in 2015. Now countries are qeueing up purchase Texas’ gas. At the same time, demand for natural gas has also been growing within the state because
business in Texas hsa been booming attracting more residents. Furthermore, a super-hot spring and early summer also have driven power-usage to record-high levels.

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How long will Texans see higher utility bills?

With the war in Ukraine dragging on and upending the world energy market, Texas electricity providers are cautioning customers that the high rates will likely linger for months. Like the rest of the country, the hike in utility bills comes during difficult financial times for people facing high prices at grocery stores and the fuel pump due to inflation.

On the other side of the coin, the high prices will benefit Texas’ gas producer, and the state benefits from high oil and gas prices in the form of jobs and state taxes on oil and gas production. Cities located in the state’s oil fields usually benefit even more.

No Growth in Energy Production

Even though demand is going up, the oil and gas industry isn’t seeing major production growth because of a backlog of equipment needed. That supply chain issue stems from the pandemic. Though companies are trying to hire, there’s also a shortage of labor across most of the oilfield services. It has been a struggle to get qualified people into the positions that big oil and gas need right now.

Is the price of natural gas the only cause of high electricity prices?

The state’s main power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has been managing the grid more cautiously and is no longer prioritizing providing Texans cheap power. ERCOT’s prmary focus these days is the grid’s reliability, especially during extreme weather. That means power plants that produce electcity are being asked to stay online and available just in case. Consequently, the state is paying generators a pre-set price to operate no matter what happens. This is quite wasteful… the need for “security” or continuity of power is driving up electricity rates. Before the power grid calamity in 2021, electrciity producers ramped up or went offline based on market demand.

Due to poor administration, Texans are paying for last year’s grid disaster… and will for years.

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July 5, 2022
The Real Power To Choose

In 1999, Texas passed a law that changed the marketplace so residents and businesses could choose their electricity provider with various types of customer service levels, plans, rates, etc. The free market was supposed to encourage competition and lower prices.

In conjunction with the new law, the Power to Choose (www.powertochoose.org) was intended to be the fact-based, unbiased website of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to compare electricity rates for your home (residential), but big electricity companies are sneaky!

The Best Electricity Rate is The Lowest Electricity Rate, Right?

Sure you have the power to choose and shop around to hunt down the lowest electricity rate but electric companies have the power to deceive too. They have learned how to skirt the system and present devious terms into their offers/contracts to dup residential electricity customers into paying a high rate.

Fight Back With The Real Power To Choose & Uncover The Real Lowest Electricity Rate

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Everything Wizard Energy does is rooted in honesty and Impartiality in dealing with big electricity companies. Today, we partner with Chariot Energy because they offer a clear and low fixed-rate.

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Here’s what to look for and how to get the lowest electric rate in Houston and throughout Texas in 2022.

Minimum Usage

This is a sneaky tactic that is a bunch of smoke and mirrors. The electricity provider adds a “minimum usage” term in the agreement like 2000 kWh. If you use that much energy you get a rebate. If not, no rebate. This allows them to advertise a really low rate when a residential customer uses exactly 2000 kilowatt hours.

If you are conservative with your energy usage at home and don’t reach the minimum usage, then you do not receive the rebate, and your effective price on electricity essentially doubles going from $.14/kWh to $.28/kWh or higher. And once you go above 2000 kWh, the rate steadily goes up to a very high rate steadily trending up from $.14/kWh up $.05 every few hundred kilowatt hours you use over 2000. It is a awful tactic and unfortunately the PUCT allows it.

Avoid “minimum usage” at all costs!

Market Rate (Indexed) Electricity Price

The rate you pay in an indexed rate plan (also called market rate plan) can go up or down each month. The difference is that the rate is tied to a pricing formula connected to a publicly available index. If the index rises, your monthly rate will also, but if the index falls, your rates will be lower. With an indexed plan, the price per kWh can change substantially each month, which is a HUGE RISK.

Any rate tied to a formula for residential electricity should be avoided. It’s an unnecessary complication. Why can’t they just present a simple price? Avoid “Market Rate” electricity plans!

Changing Rate (Variable) Electricity Price

Variable rate plans have no monthly contract or cancellation fee, but the rate you pay per kilowatt hour can vary from month to month. The rate can go up or down based on the discretion of a big electricity company.

You can gamble on free market prices falling in the future, but you increase the risk of it going up due to natural disasters, cold winters, or adverse market conditions.

This is not worth the risk. The electricity company has zero risk and you take it all. Avoid “Variable Rate” electricity plans!

THE BEST: Fixed Rate Electricity Price

A fixed-rate plan has a set rate that doesn’t change throughout the contract. It is as simple as that! It gives you peace of mind and allows you to budget your household.

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June 27, 2022
The Texas Heat & Electricity Prices Go Up! ERCOT Notice
Texas expects record-high electricity demand this week, so the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued an operating condition notice ahead of forecasted triple-digit temperatures across the state.

The spike in demand is likely to raise electricity prices.

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The notice is the first tier of ERCOT’s alerts says it has enough resources available to meet forecast demand. The Texas grid has yet to see mass blackouts this year.

ERCOT is issuing an OCN [Operating Conditions Notice] for the extreme hot weather with forecasted temperatures to be above 103°F in the North Central and South Central weather zones, from Friday, June 10 2022 until Monday, June 13, 2022. The normal high in those areas are 91 F this time of year.

Back in May, Texas experienced back-to-back weekends of record-breaking heat and corresponding electricity demand. Regulators forecasted in May that the grid will have ample generation to meet the increased level of power usage brought on by this summer’s heat. In May the regulatory body issued its first power consumption notice, asking Texas residents to meter their energy usage and avoid using large machinery such as washing machines during prime windows over the course of a particularly hot weekend. Now in June, Texas broke the record on Monday and Tuesday and will keep rising this week until it tops the all-time high as economic growth boosts usage and hot weather causes homes and businesses to crank up their air conditioners.
- Monday Demand: 72,386 MW
- Tuesady Demand 72,785 MW
- Wednesday Forecast: 75,305 MW
- Thursday Forecast: 77,166 MW
(previous record for June just last year was 70,257 MW)
(all time high is 74,820 MW set in August 2019)

One megawatt (1 MW) normally powers 1000 homes. On a summer day in Texas is only services 200 homes. ERCOT expects new wind and solar power plants added over the past year would increase resources available this summer to 91,392 MW. Even with tht extra supply, demand is spiking and will drive up electricity prices.

Electricity Prices Are Going Up – Here Are Other Ways to Save
June 8, 2022
Gas Prices Reach Yearly High in 2022

In another blow to the US economy facing high energy prices and soaring electricity rates, prices at the pump have escalated to fresh record highs for the year. The national average price for regular gasoline climbed more than four cents on Tuesday to $4.37 a gallon, according to AAA. That takes out the prior record of $4.33 set on March 11. Prices are up 17 cents in the past week alone! Pump prices are up around 25% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiling global energy markets.

The national average dipped to as low as $4.07 a gallon back in April after the release of oil from emergency reserves. That relief was short-lived and minor.

Energy Prices Could Get Worse

Real gas prices, adjusted for inflation, would need to climb above $5.30 a gallon to break the records set in 2008, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The latest spike in gas prices will only make today’s inflation problems worse, and for the most part won’t be captured in Wednesday’s closely watched inflation report.

Many are concerned higher prices are coming. They expect retail prices to jump to $4.50 a gallon in the next week to 10 days.

The Energy Spike

The gas spike will add to inflationary pressures that have raised fears of incredibly high electricity rates, potential economic recession, and soured Americans’ views on the economy.

Beyond concerns about China’s Covid lockdowns, oil dropped because it was swept up in the gloom-and-doom on Wall Street as stocks dropped. Crude prices were just slightly lower Tuesday morning.

Gas prices move with a lag to oil, and the good news is that oil prices fell sharply Monday, perhaps taking some pressure off pump prices. US oil tumbled 6% to $103.09 a barrel on Monday, its worst day since late March.

May 10, 2022
Batteries, Solar, Wind and Hydropower Can Lower Electric Rates & Curb Rising Temps

The need to transition to renewable energy is becoming more urgent for many reasons.

The pace in which the world needs to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy needs to urgently accelerate as the threat from rising global temperatures increases each day increasing climate disasters and driving up electricity prices.

There is a more than 50% chance that temperatures will exceed 2C unless the climate pledges made leading up to the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference are not strictly adhered to. This increase would push global temperatures past the worst-case scenario and past the point that any human civilization in history has experienced.

Renewable to The Rescue of Climate and Electricity Rates

Renewable energy will be instrumental in reducing the global reliance of fossil fuels, the leading cause of the greenhouse emissions that are accelerating the warming. Even so, fossil fuels are deeply embedded in the foundation of the world economy. Making clothes, producing crops, and electricity for homes all involve processes that utilize crude oil, natural gas and coal. Most of the energy services, including electricity generation, are derived from fossil fuels. Global energy consumption has grown tenfold since the turn of the 20th century. Industrial manufacturing is the largest consumer of electricity/energy (33%), followed by transportation, and then residential. But the current energy model is not sustainable. It will need to change quickly to mitigate the dangerous warming that could plague generations to come.

“When you turn on your lights in 30 to 40 years, if everything goes well, the energy to power your home to get your electricity on is going to be powered by renewables.”
Molly Taft, Science Reporter – Gizmodo

The key to this lofty but attainable goal will be the decisions that the private sector and government make in the near future to prevent weather-climate disasters that drive of the cost of electricity and energy.

Fossil fuels, which contain carbon, release carbon dioxide when burned and interact with the oxygen in the atmosphere. Those greenhouse gases are the culprit for the “thermal instability” that is leading to an increase of severe weather events including drought, wildfires and rising sea levels. Scientists have found that since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased nearly 49%, which is more than the increase of the previous 20,000 years.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius, considered the conservative warming figure, will lead to further increases in those deadly extreme natural disasters. The world will see more intense storms, more intense wildfires, and intense rains. The renewable energy transition is about making sure it doesn’t get that much worse. And saving on electricity costs will allow the world to focus resources on other matters.

Cost competitive and renewable energy drawn from solar and wind power have the ability to become the primary energy source. The doubts that people had about whether the world could transition to another energy foundation have been disproven. Nevertheless, it will take a significant societal shift to change the course of the warming on the planet. The U.S.A. is far from reaching a net-zero carbon emissions economy, but over the last twenty years innovation has driven renewable prices down and demand is up… a factor impacting elevated electric costs. The majority of the responsibility lies on the industrial sector, but even something as simple as switching from gas-powered stoves to electric in homes will make a difference.

In addition, people who live in cities can add to the conservation effort by biking or taking public transportation. These adjustments will have additional benefits for all residents: cleaner air and less noise. Those who drive can switch to electric cars which will decrease the 337 million gallons of gasoline consumed by Americans per day.

However, the climate fight goes far beyond individual lifestyle changes. Even the shifting away from construction materials, such as steel and concrete that make up about 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions, will be necessary. There will also be an increased reliance on batteries in the future. Some will be used to store renewable energy sourced from wind and solar power. In addition, the cost of lithium ion has fallen 97% over the past three decades, making the use of batteries more affordable.

April 20, 2022
Power Wizard in The News

This story came out back in 2019, but we’re still mistaken for “Power Wizard.” Wizard Energy is NOT Power Wizard. Nonetheless, we do work hard to help people save big money on their electric bills! We’ve been at this for nearly 20 years and are proud of the reputation we’ve developed. Our work is based on honesty, integrity, and impartiality in dealing with electricity companies to get our customers the lowest electric rate to lower your electricity bills.

We’re an INDEPENDENT energy broker that forces large electricity companies to bid on YOUR BUSINESS in order to get you the BEST POSSIBLE ELECTRIC RATE no matter what!

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Here is the article that was in the Houston Chronicle…

Power Wizard, a new electricity shopping website in Houston, promotes itself as an independent voice on the side of consumers looking for low cost plans, providing unbiased advice to shoppers because Power Wizard has no ties with retail electric providers.

Except it does.

Power Wizard is owned by NextEra Energy, the nation’s biggest utility company, which also owns two retail electric providers in Houston, Frontier Utilities and Gexa Energy, according to registration records on file with the Texas Secretary of State and other public records. The chief executive officer of Power Wizard, Brian Landrum, is also president of Gexa, according to public records.

“It doesn’t sound very unbiased to me,” said Fred Anders, founder of Texas Power Guide in Houston, a website that helps consumers find the cheapest power plans.

Power Wizard, which was launched in February, is one of a growing number of concierge-like services in Texas that promise to find the best retail power deals for consumers. The growth in the industry reflects the confusion many Texas consumers face while shopping for power as they wade through gift card offers, free nights and weekend promotions, multi-tiered rates that change based on the number of kilowatt hours used and electricity brokers who promise they can find the best deals. Power Wizard also offers an on-going bill management service for $8 per month.

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Power Wizard says on its website that it will navigate electricity buying for its customers as a “totally unbiased” partner. “We don’t have any alliances, relationships, or partnerships with any REPs,” referring to retail electric providers, according to Power Wizard.

But the address Power Wizard uses with the Texas Secretary of State is the same address of Florida Power & Light, another electricity company owned by NextEra Energy, according to the registration statement Power Wizard filed in February with the Texas Secretary of State.

All eight executives of Power Wizard work for NextEra, including five who list Florida Power & Light’s address in Juno Beach, Fla. as their business address, according to Power Wizard’s broker application to the Texas Public Utility Commission. Three of the executives, including Power Wizard’s CEO, chief financial offer and assistant vice president of regulatory affairs list NextEra or Gexa addresses in Houston on the registration form Power Wizard filed in August.

Gexa spokeswoman Ashley DePaolo said that Power Wizard is an affiliate of NextEra, but operates independently of other NextEra business units, including the retail operations of Gexa and Frontier. Power Wizard is not influenced by any retail energy provider or energy broker, regardless of ownership, she said.

But after being contacted by the Houston Chronicle, Power Wizard removed the claims from its website that it has no ties with retail electric providers.

As to whether Power Wizard puts customers in Gexa or Frontier plans, DePaolo would not say. PowerWizard selects the best electricity plan on behalf of its members regardless of the retail energy provider, she said.

Electricity brokers have largely escaped scrutiny in Texas, but a law enacted during the most recent legislative session requires brokers to register with the commission and comply with consumer protection rules and marketing guidelines. The registration deadline was Sept. 1 and about 1,000 brokers have signed up, according to commission records.

The commission has proposed new regulations for brokers and asked for comments, which will be incorporated into a new rule that will oversee electricity brokers.

April 9, 2022