On top of paying high kilowatt rates, Bitcoin miners pay only 2.5 cents per kWh, on top of amazing spring and fall conservation demands, Texas power companies are charging you damages There are several new ways in which you may be able to
This is what happens in a loosely regulated, free market power system.
Consider the strange case of two different men who, despite not knowing each other, fell victim to incompetence and deception. In either case, what happened to them could easily happen to you. Learn these warning signs.
I'd like to start with Raymond McMains, who lives in the small East Texas town of Pollock. Before I say, see if you can understand why his problem happened.
McMains first realized something was wrong when he received a text alert saying he was unsubscribed from Oncor outage alerts. When he tried to re-register, he received a message telling him to call Oncor.
An Oncor representative confirmed his address and told him the name and phone number did not match. He has lived in that house for 26 years. A representative said he could no longer speak because the account was not in his name.
McMains called his company, Gexa Energy, which had a one-year contract. He always paid on time.
Gexa said the investigation would take a month.
The next day his power went out. He called Oncall, who promised to prioritize his situation. Six hours later, power was restored.
He called Gexa again. That didn't work. Gexa paid him a large deposit (about $200, I recall) and asked him to sign a new 12-month contract. he refused. (Gexa did not respond to his request for comment from The Watchdog.)
A few days later, the power went out again.
“I had no power and no hope of ever having it,” he says. “So, in desperation, I went to PowerToChoose.org.”
He contracted with Discount Power because they assured him they could quickly restore power within 1-7 days. But once he signed, they said it would be a month. (Discount Power did not respond to The Watchdog's request for comment.)
“I begged them to turn it up and they did. The power was restored that same day.”
PUC also participates
Did you understand what happened? The McMains were slammed.
The woman called two power companies owned by NRG, Reliant Energy and Direct Energy. She gave McMains her address and gave her personal information. Hours after signing her contract, she called both companies to cancel.
This is scary. Apparently anyone can do this to anyone else at any time. Then the power goes out and you have to beg to be put on the priority list.
McMains doesn't know why he was chosen.
Upset, he filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission against Reliant, Direct Energy, and Gexa.
No wonder the PUC ruled in favor of both companies. The PUC said it did nothing wrong. However, there is one sentence in the judgment that should make us pause for a moment.
“The Texas retail electricity market is currently designed to allow customers to begin service at a new address without proving ownership of a specific premises. There is no way to know if it was done in error or if it was approved by the REP.”
My simple advice is to sign up for Oncor outage alerts because they are the canary in the coal mine. State legislatures also need to tighten proof of residency rules.
McMains jokingly said the PUC leader's home address should be blamed.
“They said it was okay,” he told me.
Reliant and Direct Energy said in a joint statement that the companies require identity verification to combat fraud and fraud of this type.
“We're seeing an increase in electrical scams and are working to make consumers aware of what can be complex scams,” said company spokesperson Pat Hammond. The teacher opens an account to receive electricity service using a stolen identity.'' However, this service is either fake or short-lived.
“They may use addresses of unsuspecting consumers, which can result in accounts being transferred and unexpectedly closed or power disconnected.”
What is Mr. McMain's opinion? He calls Texas' power system “absolutely terrible.”
“I still don't understand how this can happen.”
smart shopper
This is the story of John Ferrell of Dallas. It's not as complex as McMain's, but it's more annoying. Plus, something happens at the end that never happens.
Ferrell describes himself as a smart consumer. That may be one of the reasons he signed a power contract with Smart Energy, he jokes.
Ferrell makes a smart purchase as he changes companies right before his contract expires.
Up until now, that's been the wisest advice I could give. If you switch to a new company, your referral fee will be lower.
But after signing the contract with Smart Energy, Ferrell was informed in a “We regret to inform you'' letter that the company had changed its mind and no longer wanted him as a customer. He called to ask why and was told it was caused by “multiple switches.”
This gets to the heart of smart power shopping. Could they do that? (SmartEnergy did not respond to his request for comment from The Watchdog.)
Ferrell filed a complaint with the PUC.
This has never happened before. In mid-April, the PUC notified Ferrell that SmartEnergy had not violated any state regulations.
The watchdog asked the PUC about the matter on April 29.
The next day, the PUC sent a letter to Ferrell. Sounding like a judgment, the PUC's memo states, “After further review…we have changed our original decision and concluded that Smart Energy did not comply with the state's rules regarding disclosure.” It has been.
“SmartEnergy may deny service to customers due to multiple switches; [SmartEnergy] Couldn't explain specific reason [rejection] Email. “
So it's a loophole, it's a technical problem, but we win. Such things rarely happen in this world.
Become a citizen of Watchdog Nation. Learn how to become a super consumer with Dave Lieber.
Watchdog Newsletter: To stay informed, sign up for The Watchdog's free weekly newsletter: Click here.
SUBSCRIBE: Support The Watchdog's brand of honest journalism designed to save you time, money and frustration. Visit and treat yourself to a digital subscription (and make him look great!) https://dallasnews.com/subscribe
Watchdog homepage: You won't want to miss The Watchdog's two weekly reports. Always follow the latest reports. watchdog A homepage that posts all recent columns.
Check out this free training video from Dave. https://youtu.be/uhUEUCNKGjc
Facebook: Connect with The Watchdog in our Facebook Group. Search for “DallasNews Watchdog Posse.”
dallas morning news The Watchdog column won the 2019 National Association of Newspaper Columnists' top award for column writing. The contest's judges called the winning entry “a model of suspenseful storytelling and public service.”
Read his award column.
* Helps the widow of Officer J.D. Tippit, the Dallas police officer killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, be buried next to her late husband.
*Helping a waitress who was victimized by an unscrupulous used car dealer
