Is this a good time to switch electricity providers?

In energy deregulated market such as that in Texas, switching providers can give you the best electricity rates that will keep your monthly bills low. Not only will you have the potential to get cheap electricity rates when you take advantage of your electricity choices, you can even get lots of perks and rewards just for paying bills that you meant to pay regularly anyway.
The question that would pop out of anyone who has not yet shopped for electricity rates would be: when is the good time to switch electricity providers? There are several considerations to make first before making the switch so you can get the best deals and get the most benefits from exercising your power to select. It should start however in understanding why you need to switch electricity providers.
Why Switch Electricity Providers?
In a competitive electricity market like Texas, several different retail electric providers compete for consumers’ attention and patronage. These suppliers compete by offering different kinds of electric rates, payment schemes, and consumer incentive programs. Shopping for electricity rates and providers enables you to compare what each one has to offer, and if you find one that offers a better deal than your existing supplier, then there should be no reason why you should not switch electricity providers.
Consumers should also understand that electricity rates are determined and influenced by several other factors such as the area you live in, the overall consumption of electricity in that particular area, the electrical reserve level that can compensate for peak hours, and the time of the year. Understanding how these factors influence electricity rates can tell you when the right time to switch electricity providers is.
The Right Time to Switch
While you can switch electricity providers anytime of the year and still get big savings from shopping electricity rates and making the switch, studying when the right to switch providers should also be an important consideration you should make to get the biggest benefits. The first thing that you should know are the months that electricity rates are at their peak, and in the case of Texas, the hot days of summer and the cool nights of winter would fall under the highest rates.
Historically, electricity rates are greatly affected with extremes in weather. Texas residents experienced firsthand how the unnaturally hot summer of last year caused breakdowns in several power plants, prompting the Texas electricity grid operator to call out electricity emergency warnings. During extreme weather conditions, people tend to use more electricity than what they used to and this will put a great drain on existing reserves and a great strain on power plants struggling to keep up with the demand. With this understanding in mind, making the switch to a new electricity provider before the onset of these extreme-weather months would be the right time for doing so.
Other Considerations to Make
You should also consider other factors that would make the switch to a new electricity provider much more beneficial and one of this is choosing the right payment plan for you. If you are a permanent resident and have no plans of moving out in the near future, then choosing a fixed, long-term plan would be the best choice to make as this would lock down electricity rates to what you will agree to in your contract.
Locking in your electrical rates when you switch electricity providers would be the best choice now as forecast tells that Texas will be in for another rough and hot summer with all the promptings of electrical emergencies in the horizon. Demand for Texas electricity continues to grow and there’s no sign that this will slow down, but grid capacity continues to be a question mark in everyone’s mind – and this would surely affect electricity rates in the very near future.
About Shop Texas Electricity- Shop Texas Electricity helps consumers and businesses compare and shop for their electricity plans in Texas. Learn more about Shop Texas Electricity by visiting us at www.ShopTexasElectricity.com