Does this sound familiar? You want the cheapest (or greenest) energy provider, so you go to The Power to Choose website to find a new plan.  You have a medium-size house, so you can assume the first plan that comes up with the “lowest” price in big letters is the best choice, right? You sign up and feel great about the savings, but…you’ve just played right into the power companies’ hand and are still paying too much for energy.

Surprise! EnergySimp.ly’s research team has discovered that the companies are gaming the system.  Energy companies have figured out that Power To Choose and every other power plan comparison site uses the same benchmark (1000 kWh per month usage) as the key plan ranking point, and they take advantage of that by artificially lowering their prices at that exact benchmark. Use more or less than 1000 kWh? You’re going to pay more than the advertised price.

For example,  Gexa Energy, the company featured in the Power To Choose screenshot above.  While it appears they are $0.6¢/kWh (~$70/year) cheaper than the third listed company, Discount Power, what isn’t obvious is they are using Hocus Pocus to make it seem that way.  Hocus Pocus here means higher per kWh energy charges and a $30 credit that you receive when you hit the “magical” 1000 kWh threshold.  The result is their average kWh cost is at it’s absolute lowest point at the 1000 kWh threshold, and that is what Power to Choose displays.

Our electricity usage varies significantly throughout the year.  We use more power in the winter and summer, when our heat and A/C is running, and we use less power in the spring and fall when we don’t need to use to heat or cool our homes. So- your average power usage doesn’t matter.  What matters is what your actual usage will be over the term of the contract you are signing up for. Here’s what a typical usage pattern would look like using the two plans shown in the screenshot above:

Gexa Energy appears cheaper in the first graph using just what you’d see as the headline kWh cost on Power To Choose.  But typical month-by-month household usage tells a different story.  Discount Power is cheaper than Gexa in 5 of the 9 months.  And ridiculously Gexa is 1.5¢/kWh (~$15/month) more expensive in the 2 months when a typical household would not be projected to hit the magical 1000 kWh and therefore would not receive the Gexa Energy $30 credit. Over the 9-month contract term, a typical household would spend ~$40 more with Gexa Energy’s plan.  That’s $40 that should be staying in your pocket.

The example above compared 2 of the “Top” plans and the difference was $40.  If you are not in a top plan, like the majority of Texans, you are overpaying by far more.

So what can you do?

Well, you could spend hours every 6 month figuring your actual usage and then search painstakingly for the best price that matches your actual usage.

Or… let Energy Simply find you the best plan using your actual usage profile.

Our Power Plan Ranking page can be used to find best pricing for homes similar to those in your area. Check it out and then email or call us.

We don’t work for the big power companies that are gaming the system to charge you more. We work for you – call us today!