FIND THE BEST ELECTRIC PROVIDERS IN FLINT

We want you to find the best electric providers in Flint Texas so we created the ultimate guide just for that purpose.

Flint is one of many Texas cities where you can choose a competitive electric provider. Not all cities in America offer a choice in a rate plan to choose from but in Flint you have multiple companies and rate plans available.

Picking a Flint electric rate plan can be confusing so this guide was created to make life simple for picking a trusted plan.

What to Expect With Flint Electric Rates

Rates are basically divided into two categories. You have fixed and variable electric rates.

• Fixed Rates – Main thing is to make sure it is fixed.
• Variable Rates – 73 % of people in Flint forget to renew their electric rate plan before expiration and their variable rate goes up anywhere from 23% – 253% in price.
• Solar Buyback electric rate plans – If you have solar power your excess energy is not rolled over to the next month. It is important to have backup batteries to store excess energy rather than giving it to your Flint electric provider.

There are also prepaid pay as you go Flint electric providers but these are a hassle and only for those in desperate need to get electric service turned on and avoid a deposit. You can think of a prepaid electric provider in Flint like a secured credit card you would get to help build your credit.

These are the basics to help you begin finding the best Flint electric provider and order electric service online. Check availability below to get started.

What to do When You Have a Power Outage

In Flint Texas your pole and wires company is called Oncor and they handle all power outages in Flint. Oncor does not sell electric service but do call them at this number for any power outages you have: 888-313-4747. Oncor has an automated phone system that is exceptionally efficient at allowing you to report an outage and giving you feedback when power is restored. Oncor will text and call as soon as power is restored.

For those moving to Flint Texas from places like California it may seem unusual to have to pick among several choices for electric service. The government broke up the monopoly electric utility in Flint Texas and allowed retail electric provider competition. Several rate plans and electric providers are available and we have some vetted choices among the best in our electric rate plan comparison tool for Flint Texas (75762).

I live close to Flint and so I am familiar with the the climate and what electric service costs for a typical family. Summers is where you will spend a lot on electric service as you cool your home. It is important to have your attic well insulated and be sure to lock in to only fixed electric rate plans for your Flint home or business.

A large percentage of people that fail to renew their fixed plan see the price jump anywhere from 23% – 200% and higher as electric providers will creep the price up on you when you least expect it to make their profit margin.

It is important to renew before your contract expires so your Flint electric rate is always stable in price.

My Experience Finding Flint TX Electric Providers

I was not always knowledgeable about electric rates and the differing plans providers offered. Prior to being an energy consultant I was in IT and needed electric service for my home.

I chose a cheap electric plan in East Texas that I thought would be beneficial because the plan sounded stable but it wasn’t exactly fixed. The electric rate followed an index part of the time.

What I failed to realize is that in Texas electric providers can indiscriminately follow an index or formula based on their business discretion. Electric providers in Flint sell residential electric rate plans that “follow an index” to make up for bad execution in their energy trading.

Your Flint electric provider can make their profit margin by raising electric rates on all customers who choose the variable indexed plan. This very thing happened to me. The electric company took their risk mitigation and past it to me so I had to pay more money when the energy market spiked in price while the provider still hit their profit margin targets.

Choose a fixed electric rate for your Flint residence or business’s electricity to keep your price stable by letting the electric provider handle the risk of energy volatility instead of you.

Be Careful With Variable Electric Rate Plans

As I described earlier variable prices often are called indexed prices which sounds like you get to take advantage of dips in the energy market. The issue here is that Texas has not established a law that prevents the provider from changing your indexed price based on indiscriminate measures.

The Flint electric provider is under no legal obligation to follow the index strictly. The energy company can lower and raise your rate as they see fit with no repercussions while you take the hit.

The opposite of the variable electric rate plan is the fixed plan. Flint electric providers use the futures market to hedge their fixed electricity plans. This hedged energy is like insurance on your price and so it costs to do this but gives you price stability.

To keep your rate from spiking 20% to as much as 200 % and more the fixed rate is the way to insure that never happens. There are several years in Texas deregulated electricity history where prices took off and homes and businesses were left paying enormous bills.

Many people don’t notice too much when their rate starts to go up. If you get a high electric bill in the summer you may just as likely attribute the large bill amount to running your air conditioner to cold in the summer.

You turn up your thermostat the next month so you don’t use as much electricity and get the next months bill only to see that the bill amount is even higher. This is where a Flint electric provider gets you.

Two consecutive electric bills on a variable rate that went up in price and you didn’t even notice. You are now into the third month of usage and haven’t called to move to a fixed rate or go with a different electric provider on a fixed plan.

Many people have spent $1,500 or more over the amount they should be paying in this exact scenario. Don’t be another number in this statistic. Be sure to choose a fixed electric rate and always renew your electricity plan before your contract expires.

Fixed electric rate plans was the norm under the monopoly electric provider in Flint Texas prior to 2002. After Texas deregulated the electricity market there wasn’t just TXU Energy to choose from but a host of other providers.

Now Flint electric providers have to hedge and shuffle energy commodities to offer their rate plans and guestimate how many customers they will sign up. Variable plans help keep the electric company solvent and able to execute the business based on unpredictable things like customer sign ups.

With no law in place to force Flint electric providers to strictly follow their supposed “variable price formula” they can play fast and loose and pass on any rate hikes to you. Variable prices are great if you need to not be on a contract because of temporary circumstances but other than that choose a fixed electric rate.

Call me if you have any questions about this at: 903-245-4989

Some Flint electric providers will advertise their electric rate without the TDSP charges which make up about 3 – 4 cents of your rate. Leaving off these non-negotiable fees makes their electric rates look much better than they are.

This removal of TDSP charges from advertised rate plans is simply an advertising tactic to compete with other providers on price. The price is likely higher than other Flint electric providers and so they do this to lure in unsuspecting shoppers.

Use our electric rates comparison tool to find a Flint electric provider that shows you clear transparent prices and avoid these traps.

My Personal Experience Choosing an Electric Rate Plan

It’s hard to believe it has only been 7 times but that is the number of times in my life I have changed electric providers. Crazy! Electric rate plans can vary from 3 months to 5 years and I am currently on a 5 year plan. Considering how long a rate plan can be for it’s no wonder it has only been 7 times.

Most of the time I would order a 1 year plan online. Most recently I chose a 5 year plan which was 3 years ago. There was one time I remember ordering a 6 month plan but it felt like a hassle to renew again so soon so I always tried ordering at least 1 year or longer.

The 5 year plan has definitely been my favorite so far as I missed a ridiculous price spike in the energy market in 2021. I could see the trajectory of prices was going up and the electric rate price I chose at the time was a bit higher than I was used to but it paid off and looks cheap now that we are in 2023.

46% of Texas energy generation comes from natural gas generation facilities. Looking at a natural gas price chart will show you what Texas electricity prices have done over the years. Flint Texas electricity prices have gone up and down just like this natural gas price graph shows.

If you know how to spot support levels you can see that prices over the long term may be in an uptrend. Short term for 2023 natural gas prices may have some more falling to do and if so you may see some cheaper electricity rates in Flint Texas as the year moves forward.

We have read what energy market experts are saying for 2023 and as of January they are predicting further price declines offering more confirmation that Flint electric rate plans are getting cheaper in 2023.

There will be support at some point on the way down which may see prices start to head back up so don’t wait on the sidelines too long. It’s best to stay away from the variable and short term rate plans and lock in while prices are still affordable.

Transmission and Distribution Service Provider

I was confounded back in 2002 when I was told the TDSP provider was a separate company from my electric provider. It kind of sounds like the same thing.

The Texas government created deregulated business structures to separate the company that owns and maintains the poles and wires from the company that buys and hedges energy and creates electric plans to sell to you.

What was once all one company then became two separate energy companies doing different things. The TDSP charges are pass-through charges that you cannot shop for or negotiate.

Your TDSP charges are included as a part of your residential electric rate usually although some electric providers remove them on their ads only to show back up when you get your electric bill. Make sure to check the Electricity Facts Label if your Flint electric rate you are being sold looks too good to be true.

A good question to ask a sales person is, “Are the TDSP charges included in this rate you are quoting me.” Check what they say with the Flint electric rate plans Electricity Facts Label to be certain they are telling the truth.

ONCOR Residential 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 Flint and East Texas 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.

Types of Plans You Can Choose

There are basically 3 types of electricity rate plans in Flint Texas. The absolute worst plans are the pay as you go plans where you pay in advance. The prepaid electricity plan is often used by people with bad credit to improve their credit and to avoid large deposits that are being asked for by post-paid electric companies. The prepaid electric rate is higher in price then most post-paid electric rates but it serves a niche and is useful if you don’t have the $500 deposit they ask bad credit customers. Fixed rate plans are stable in price and considered the best followed by variable rate plans that offer a no-contract temporary electric service option.

Fixed

A fixed electric rate plan is the best electric rate plan for Flint Texas residential and business customers. I have read enough customer complaints on the Public Utility Commission to know that I am not the only one that prefers their electric rate plan to stay the same over the course of a year. Your fixed plan will not change in price until your contract expires so always renew your contract prior to it expiring or switch providers and get on another fixed electric rate plan prior to your previous electric contract expiring.

Variable

A variable electricity plan can be indiscriminate in how it goes up and down even when the Flint electric provider tells you it follows a formula of some sort. If the variable plan says it follows an index don’t be assured by that as Texas law does not forbid the provider from indiscriminately raising your electric rate which often happens. There is no price stability or insurance to keep your electric rate fixed at a certain price you will be comfortable with.

Prepaid Guaranteed No Deposit

Prepaid electric plans are for those with no established credit, bad credit, and people just starting out on their own. The annoyance people typically have with their prepaid electric company is the weekly recharging of the account with more money. Rather than getting one bill at the end of the month for prior electric usage you have to continuously add more money to the account with the threat that electric service will be disconnected. This last resort option is usually used because the cheapest post-paid deposit requested was $500. People with low-income budgets don’t have $500 to throw into a bucket for a whole year for the privilege to use electricity.

Average Electric Rates in Flint

The EIA from the U.S. government has reported on the average rates for Flint Texas. The average residential electric rate in Flint was 13.53¢ as of July 2022. For 2021 and 2022 Texas electric rates have been much higher in price because of war and LNG exports. Texas electricity prices spiking in price in 2021 will likely show in future Texas energy price averages. Market analysts predict Flint electric rates will be lower in 2023 compared to 2021 – 2022.

Cheapest Price Electric Companies in Flint

Check to see who offers the cheapest rates in Flint and East Texas for your zip code.

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