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6 April 2006 – Houston Mayor Bill White unveiled a Web site April 5 built to inform the citizens of Houston about options they have in purchasing power at a time when electricity rates have skyrocketed.
"We want people to know they have a choice and to give them useful information to make their decision," said Mayor White. "My wife and I recently switched to a local 'green power' provider who generates electricity in a way that pollutes less, but others may want to make their choices based on the best price. We're making that choice easier for them."
After the end of this year neither the City nor the Texas Public Utility Commission will have as much control over electricity rates. Tradition ceilings on rates will be done away with.
The City recently asked electricity providers to offer their "best price" for Houston consumers. The prices of some companies are much less than others. Others offer power sources with fewer emissions. The city of Houston required all responding electricity providers to meet some standard of financial strength, and to keep their offers open to Houstonians until April 30.
Seven power providers are participating in the program: Cirro Energy, Commerce Energy, First Choice Power, Gexa Energy, Green Mountain Energy and Reliant Energy. Some offer several different types of products, with both variable and fixed pricing; some also offer a choice in low emissions, renewable and conventional electricity. A customer's choice of providers will not affect the reliability of their service. A separate company, Center Point Energy is responsible for maintaining reliability.
A user-friendly calculator on www.houstonconsumerchoice.com will allow consumers to explore service options and rates from the participating providers.
The campaign aims to inform and educate consumers on electricity options based on multiple factors now before rates increase with higher demand due to hot summer weather.
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