Texans switching electricity providers faster than ever, report finds

More than half of all Texas retail electricity customers have switched energy providers currently in the competitive energy market, according to the Texas Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) Report Card on Retail Competition.

According to the report card, 57 percent of customers have switched, and numbers from the PUC also indicate more lower-cost electricity providers will likely appear in the near future. With varying degrees of deregulation throughout the state, each is broken down and analyzed in the report.

The area with the largest percentage of customers who have switched to a competitive retail electric provider is covered by the Texas-New Mexico Power Company, which includes the growing city of Louisville.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, served by Oncor, 52.61 percent have switched, while in the Houston area, where Centerpoint operates, 57.22 percent have switched retail energy providers.

“Texans are finding that by shopping for lower priced electric providers, they are being rewarded with the lowest prices in years. In a separate report, the PUC attributed the current cheap electric rates to three major factors: [Lower natural gas prices, more wind generated power displacing more expensive generation and Increased completion],” the PUC said.

The PUC publishes the report on occasion, to keep tabs on the deregulated markets.