We help you find and objectively pick the best electric providers in Wichita Falls Texas.
What to Expect With Wichita Falls Electric Rates
The way retail electric provider sales work in Texas surprises a lot of shoppers. Most people order electric service and pay a huge markup on the end of the contract. The energy contract changes to a variable price that is subject to huge fluctuations in most cases. Sometimes the initial variable price just spikes beyond the expectations of the customer. Wichita Falls electric service buyers pick an introductory electric price or a short term rate that looks good but it’s what happens after this short contract period where many providers make their money.
Reviews and star rating systems are in place to help energy consumers make a good decision based on what other people in Wichita Falls have done and been satisfied with. The review websites can compile reviews based on all kinds of ancillary services to make their rating seem higher than it should be. The reviews come from all over so you must read the good ones and bad ones to arrive at a general impression of the Wichita Falls electric company and how they operate.
Most all electric companies in Wichita Falls offer various short term and introductory electric rate plans. These energy companies stay in business by competing with each other with teaser introductory offers, so this is what it has devolved too. To stay above this distraction we encourage you as an energy consumer to pick from fixed Wichita Falls electric rates.
Variable Rate Plans Are The Main Culprit
There are entire nightly news stories devoted to how variable and introductory electric rate plans have hurt the consumer. We encourage you to not be another statistic. The horror story of 2021 was Griddy Energy sending $18,000 electric bills to a residential user for 1 month of electric usage.
Wichita Falls Texas has some very hot summers and this is a concern because you want to keep your house cool without being charged a ton for your electricity usage. A fixed electric rate gives you something like insurance, if you will, so your rate will not change but provide the same low electric bill that you can count on.
When you know what your rate is you simply adjust how much electric usage or air conditioning you will use and you have a good guess what your bill will be. When you are on an introductory rate you thought you knew what the rate was but it will go up on you. When the electric rate goes up you will not know about it until you get your bill. The bill is 45 days out and this amount of days and sometimes more have you spending double or triple the charge for your electricity. We encourage you to choose a fixed Wichita Falls electricity plan to avoid this common problem and confusion.
Wichita Falls Texas poles and wires company is Oncor. Oncor supplies and maintains the poles and wires that send electricity to your home and business. If you have an electric outage you call them to fix it.
The best electric provider in Wichita Falls will direct you to order a fixed electric rate. The fixed rate gives you price assurance that you will get what you thought you signed up for. Many people have been lured into what looked like the best rate but was an introductory offer that changed on them and got them at the end of their contract.
What I Experienced When Choosing an Electric Rate Plan
I almost always choose a fixed electric rate plan but there was this one time I chose a variable plan. The plan was written as if it followed certain indices. I was led to believe the rate had a formula to keep it affordable and to take advantage of dips in the market. This electric rate plan ended up being just like all the other variable and introductory offers. The plan spiked in price and took out any savings I thought I was getting and left me paying two ridiculously high energy bills in the end.
The winter storm of 2021 left many in Wichita Falls without electricity. If these people at the time were on a variable price that was off contract they likely had their price go triple. An electric bill that is triple the price is like adding another mortgage payment to your budget. Most of us cannot afford these high electricity spikes but that is what happened to millions of Texans.
Transmission and Distribution Service Provider
In the Wichita Falls and Vernon area you call Oncor if your transformer blows up or a limb takes a wire down. Oncor sends a truck out almost immediately in most cases to your home or business and the repair is done faster than you would think. I have had to call Oncor multiple times to report a power outage and it is always surprising how quickly they get the problem fixed and power back on.
I hate phone systems with voice prompts except for the Oncor outage number. When you call you will listen to the voice prompt and tell them your service address. Oncor will usually tell you robotically that they are aware of the outage and even give you an ETA when it will be resolved. Their voice prompt system is the most useful efficient system I have ever used. I usually hate going through voice prompts but not this one.
If you believe your electric meter is reading your electric usage incorrectly you call Oncor and they come out and check your meter. If Oncor cannot find anything wrong with your meter you will be charged a small one time fee for having them come out.
Oncor passes through electricity charges that are a separate component of your electric rate. The pass through charges are not something you as a Wichita Falls home owner or business can negotiate.
ONCOR Residental TDSP TAX breakdown:
- TDU Delivery Charge: 4 cents per kWh
- TDU Delivery Charge: $3.42 per billing cycle
Proposed future charges Oncor may be approved to charge Wichita Falls homes
If you use 1000 kilowatt hours a 4 cent fee is multiplied against it which would equal = $40
Oncor wants to raise their fixed fee from $3.42 to $4.32 and raise the multiplier fee from 4 cents per kWh to 4.4 cents per kWh.
What the fee is now:
1,000 kWh of usage would be $40 plus $3.42 to equal $43.42
Proposed Oncor Fee Increase:
1,000 kWh of usage would be $44 plus $4.32 to equal $48.32
Types of Plans You Can Choose
There are some basic electricity service plans that all providers offer and each of these plans will have offshoots but these are the basics.
We encourage you to choose a fixed electric rate when going shopping to avoid the large price increases consumers were hit with both in 2021 and 2022 while being on variable plans. The electricity price jumps are happening too frequently not to lock into a stable electric rate plan in order to prevent this.
Fixed
The fixed electric rate plans are the plans I encourage all my friends and family to get their Wichita Falls business or home on. I grew up for many years living in Wichita Falls Texas and I know how hot it gets there. I tell my neighbors on Geronimo street that a fixed electric rate will prevent a massive electric bill but those other plans can’t do that. It’s tempting to pick an introductory offer that looks cheaper at first but fixed is always the way to go.
Variable
Variable plans give you a plan with no early termination penalty. These plans can drastically go up on you especially in the winter and summer. If you are in a temporary situation you can get on a plan like this and switch to another plan when you are sure where you will be staying. The variable plan is a temporary plan and not something I would encourage being on for several months. The Wichita Falls winter of 2021, hundreds of people received several thousand dollar electric bills in the mail from the variable plan they were on.
If Texas lets energy providers in Wichita Falls pass off their bad execution to their customers then it isn’t worth being on a variable price. Choose the fixed rate offers and make sure they are fixed by reading electricity facts label and the terms of service.
Prepaid Guaranteed No Deposit
Prepaid electric service plans in Wichita Falls Texas are perfect if you cannot afford a deposit. Many people have bad credit or no established credit and the electric company asks for $500 or more as an upfront deposit. If you are just starting out you may not have this kind of money in the bank. A prepaid provider has you fill up your account in advance like a secured credit card and then deducts from this account as you use electricity. When your account gets low you must fill it back up or face an electricity service disconnect similar to if you did not pay a post-paid electric provider for the bill.
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Average Electric Rates in Wichita Falls
The EIA from the U.S. government gives the average rates for Wichita Falls Texas. The average electricity rates in Wichita Falls are 13.53¢ as of July 2022. Over the course of 2021 and 2022 Wichita Falls electricity rates have had higher rates due to Texas sending LNG to Europe. Future electricity price averages will be higher because of these price hikes in Texas. Electric rates are expected to come back down some in 2023.
Cheapest Price Electric Companies in Wichita Falls
Check to see who offers the cheapest rates in Wichita Falls and Vernon Texas for your zip code.
Frequently Asked Questions in Regards to How to Compare Electric Rates in Wichita Falls Texas
How do I pick the best electricity company in Wichita Falls
The Texas Public utility Commission makes an extremely important rule that all Wichita Falls electric providers must provide an Electricity Facts Label and Terms of Service. The EFL and TOS are required reading to find the best Wichita Falls electric provider.
A good example involves a friend I helped switch to a new electric company. She needed the cheapest for her situation. I looked at her current bill and how much energy she used each month. She never went over 1,000 kilowatt hours of energy in a month. There are several electric rates plans out there that have really high monthly customer service fees. If I signed her up on a rate plan where the rate was low but the monthly fee was high it wouldn’t make sense. If you average the monthly fee into the rate the rate becomes higher in price than many of the plans it initially appeared to beat in price. I found a Wichita Falls electricity plan that was a decent rate and no monthly customer fee. She ended up locking into their fixed rate plan and came out better than the other rate plans that initially looked like a better deal. The TOS and EFL confirmed what the advertised details said.
How can I change electric providers in Wichita Falls?
It is easy to change electric companies in Wichita falls. You don’t even have to call your old provider. Are you worried about getting double billed? Double billing is impossible because ERCOT handles the switch and makes sure only one meter ID can be associated with an electric company. You can order online or over the phone with any of the electric companies in Wichita Falls Texas.
Why Are There So Many Wichita Falls Energy Companies?
When Texas deregulated back in 2002 many electric companies from outside the state and inside the state came in to compete. Several cities opted into the deregulation scenario because their citizens wanted to have an electric choice. The Brazos Electric Cooperative is an example of an electric Cooperative with only one choice going bankrupt fairly recently because of the 2021 winter storm. The electric prices offered to their customers became progressively high because of being forced to buy wholesale electricity hundreds of times higher in price. This area in Texas may bring in 20 plus electric companies in their area because one company was not able to execute their business well during a volatile time in the market. Multiple companies in the market means that competition will keep things healthy where there will be some really good companies in the mix with some companies that don’t make the cut. Oncor handles the poles and wires for all the retail electric providers but does not sell the electricity service as they do.
How to change electric providers in Wichita Falls?
Comparing Wichita Falls electric companies on a website is a great way to find electric service and order it. The state has their own comparison site called Power to Choose. Some people claim there are some manipulative practices being used by the energy providers on that site to come up first. I am not sure if that claim is true but that is the rumor.
Who do people trust to offer the best Wichita Falls electric rates?
The Analysis Group Economic – Financial, and Strategy Consultants, Economic Development Journal, and My Google Business feature ElectricRates.com electric rates comparison website as a trusted resource for consumers to use to shop for Wichita Falls electricity service in their zip code.
Is electricity expensive in Wichita Falls?
Wichita Falls electricity prices are about 60 % lower than America’s average. Fixed term energy contracts average around 8 cents per kilowatt hour with the average electric bill around $135 a month.
What company provides electric service in Wichita Falls?
ONCOR is the transmission and distribution service provider also known as the TDSP for Wichita Falls Texas. Oncor delivers the electricity over the electricity power lines buried or on poles throughout the city. For green energy please visit our voluntary sustainable energy offer.
Who has the cheapest electric rates in Wichita Falls?
We signed up a commercial business at 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour that manufactured products in a large facility that used a lot of energy. If you are a Wichita Falls business you can be in our reverse auction to see who can offer the best electric rates in Wichita Falls. The best energy provider for your home can be found by using our electric rates compare tool.
Donny Eisenbach
Donny has been writing about the deregulated energy markets since early 2007. His knowledge has helped consumers lower their electricity cost.
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