Texas Electricity Ratings

What Other Places Can You Seal and Insulate? Making your home more energy efficient can help you cut your winter Texas electricity bills. Learn more about where to seal and insulate your home. If you’ve read the Texas Electricity Ratings Blog for any length of time, you know we encourage you to make your home as energy efficient as possible. This makes your dollar go even further with your cheap electric plan . Of course, you have insulated exterior walls, and hopefully, you have thick windows with sealed edges. But which other places to seal and insulate does your home have?  Seal and Insulate Attic Knee Walls  Over the past 30 years, home builders have sought to wring out every square foot a home floor plan can offer. In many two story homes, some upper floor rooms have shorter walls. These knee walls are usually five feet tall. They’re especially common in bonus rooms built in attics and above garages.  The ceiling follows the roofline until it is five fe...

Is Texas Solar Tech Worth It? Does Texas solar tech make cents-per-watt for your home? Find out how much you could spend and save on your electricity bills! If you have a smartphone, you have received sales calls and seen online ads pitching solar panels. The calls to action make you raise an eyebrow. “Zero cost installation! Order now!” “Stop renting your power!” “Kick your power company to the curb!” Texas solar tech is too good to be true, right? As with any large home project, adding solar panels has its costs. Don’t let anyone fool you otherwise. Even those $0 up front deals have you paying on the back end. So it’s best to consider all the costs before you say yes to Texas solar tech.  Cost and Efficiency for Texas Solar Tech Solar panel prices have come down in recent years. According to a solar panel price survey completed this month, panels can cost as little as $150 for 370 watts of power. This comes to about 41 cents ...

How Will the TX Power Market Change? The Texas PUC has proposed a new PCM plan to overhaul the power market. Find out how these changes could increase your electricity rates! Back May 2021, the PUC contracted Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc (E3) to assess three long term market proposals (known as the "Blueprint"). On November 11, 2022, the PUC released the E3 assessment, entitled Assessment of Market Reform Options to Enhance Reliability . But instead one of the Blueprint proposals, E3 and the PUC chose their own "hybrid" model to overhaul the Texas power market . Replacing a Crisis Model The PUC voted unanimously to pursue this hybrid option called the "Performance Credit Mechanism" or PCM. Under the PCM plan, ERCOT would be a clearing house for power plants that remain on during peak demand. This is different from the current model where ERCOT pays generators more as demand sharply increases prices. PUC Chairman Peter Lake has called this way a ...

Will Texas Energy Bills Be High This Year? Check out these 9 great tips to lower your Texas energy bills. Weatherizing, insulating, and conserving energy always help reduce your energy usage. Texans often complain about their summer energy bills. Many consecutive days with 100-degree temperatures cause air conditioners to run nonstop. Though not as brutal, winter Texas energy bills are no picnic. Instead of air conditioners kicking on, furnaces heat and circulate warm air. On top of that, experts predict electricity rates will remain elevated this winter. So don’t expect rates to go down between now and the spring. Unfortunately, that means you can expect higher Texas energy bills. You can combat high Texas power bills by conserving energy with good habits and some minor home maintenance projects. It’s a lot easier than you think, and you’ll save money on utility bills each month.  9 Tips for Winter Texas Energy Bills  Follow these tips to keep the co...