Space Still Available in Electric

AUSTIN - May 31, 2001 - As Texas temperatures begin to rise, residential customers wanting to shop for a new Retail Electric Provider (REP) and potentially save money on their summer electric bills can still enroll in a Pilot Program being overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC).

While commercial and industrial customers have filled up many of the slots available in the Pilot for their customer classes, plenty of room remains for residential customers to enroll. The Pilot Program is a test run for next January, when the remaining customers of investor-owned electric utilities will be able to choose the company that provides electricity to their home or business. More than 50,000 Texans have enrolled in this summer's Pilot Program.

"We're encouraging people to ask questions and learn as much as they can, so that they're in a position to make an informed decision," said PUC Commissioner Brett Perlman.

"For some people, it's all about price. For others, it's about choosing a company that produces electricity from renewable resources - it's up to individual customers to decide what's best for them."

Under the Texas Electric Choice Pilot Program, up to 5 percent of the state's electric customers can shop from a list of Retail Electric Providers (REPs) - companies providing electricity to homes and businesses in a competitive electricity market.

State lawmakers gave electric cooperatives and cities that run their own electric systems the option of entering the competitive market, or keeping things the way they are today.

How to Enroll in the Pilot Program
When shopping for a REP, customers should:

Call/Click: Call the Texas Electric Choice Answer Center at 1-866-PWR-4-TEX (1-866-797-4839), or visit www.powertochoose.org for a list of REPs in your area and a worksheet of questions to ask REPs.
Compare: Contact one or more of the certified REPs to obtain information on electric rates and services offered in your area during the Pilot Program. You should have your latest electric bill available. Ask each REP for its Electricity Facts Label, which provides helpful information on prices, contract terms, generation sources and emissions in a standardized format.
Choose: After you have compared offers, make an informed decision based on your needs and what matters most to you. Contact the REP of your choice, and it will enroll you in the Pilot Program. You do not need to contact your current electric utility to inform them of your choice.

"The Electricity Facts Label enables customers to make an "apples-to-apples" comparison of offers from competing electric providers," Perlman said. "It's designed to make shopping easy."

Customers who enroll in the Pilot Program will be switched to their new REP beginning in July, based on their regularly scheduled meter-reading cycle. The change in service is being overseen by the PUC and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the entity responsible for managing the state's power grid.

For more information about Texas Electric Choice, visit www.powertochoose.org, or call our Answer Center toll-free at 1-866-PWR-4-TEX (866-797-4839). Educational materials will be available in English and Spanish, and alternative materials will be provided on the website for customers with visual impairments. Customers also can call our toll-free TDD number (877-864-4725).

The Power is Yours, Texas. Use it.