Energy deregulation seems like a really confusing and complicated thing to most people, but it is actually very simple. It doesn’t really have that much to do with the actual energy supply itself, rather just how you pay and choose for that energy supply.
What is Energy Deregulation?
Energy deregulation is the process of legalizing and opening up the energy market to more competition. This allows for different providers to enter the market and offer their services, which in turn drives down prices and creates more choices for consumers. It gives you the power to choose your energy plans and save on electricity rates for your home.
5 Consumer Benefits of the Deregulated Texas Energy Market
1) A competitive market means homeowners have the power to choose their utility companies
In the past, when you wanted to purchase electricity from a utility company it meant that you were stuck with them for an indefinite amount of time. This is because purchasing electricity from a utility was a bundled service—meaning that if you didn’t like your provider or their rates then tough luck because there wasn’t any competition in the marketplace.
In a competitive market, customers have more options when it comes to picking their power supplier, meaning that they can switch whenever they feel like it without any problems. In fact, some energy deregulation states don’t even allow utilities to lock up contracts on customers which means that you never have to worry about being stuck with your current provider.
2) More energy companies in the marketplace means lower rates
In a competitive market, there are multiple providers who have to compete with each other for your business. In order to get it, these providers have to be able to offer you great deals and lower prices so that they can tempt you away from their competitors. This has a direct benefit on how much you end up paying for your energy which means that you’re going to be able to save a lot of money.
3) Energy deregulation has made shopping around easier and more accessible
When did you last shop around for a better power supplier? If you can’t remember then chances are that you never did, but that’s all about to change with energy deregulation. Thanks to the fact that there are now multiple providers in the marketplace, shopping around have become a lot easier and more accessible which means you don’t have to waste your time looking through documents to find a better deal anymore.
4) Energy deregulation allows consumers to choose their electricity supplier by comparing rates
Before energy deregulation, if you wanted to shop around for a better energy supplier then the only option you had was to call individual companies and ask for their rates.
However, thanks to Texas energy deregulation this isn’t necessary anymore since your local utility company is required to provide you with data on the rates of each provider every day. This information is made available online so that you can access it whenever you want and compare rates with ease.
5) Energy deregulation helps consumers to avoid rate increases imposed by utility companies
In the past, if utility companies wanted to increase their rates then they would just do it without warning which meant that most customers had no idea what was going on until their bills arrived in the mail. With energy deregulation, this is no longer the case which means that customers are now able to keep more of their money.
What energy deregulation has done is basically divided up the service providers into competitive companies and utility companies. This then makes it easier for consumers to choose who they want their provider to be, meaning that they can pick someone more suited to them instead of being limited to whatever their utility company provides. In fact, in a competitive market customers are actually able to pick between multiple providers based on which one they think is going to be most beneficial for them.
This means that there’s no need to worry about your provider suddenly increasing their rates anymore since you’ll be able to keep more of your money with another energy company!