Selecting an energy provider in Texas can be tricky. There are tons to choose from, various energy plans, and many energy suppliers use gimmicks to get you in the door. It can all make finding your best energy option feel like an arduous task. This is where energy switching services come in.
Sign up with Rhythm Energy today!
What are Energy Switching Services?
Energy switching services offer to make finding an energy supplier more straightforward by managing your energy provider contract. You give them your information, and typically give them the legal right to sign contracts on your behalf, and they move you in and out of contracts with electricity providers to get you a reasonable rate for your electricity plan.
There are lots of companies that do this and they charge you a pretty penny for their switching service—normally about $120 a year. This fee is basically a price consumers agree to pay to make sure they don’t get fleeced by an energy provider.
Wait. Why would customers willingly pay a company to make sure other companies don’t take advantage of them?!
Because a lot of energy companies in Texas don’t do right by their customers.
The Texas energy market is dominated by two energy companies—TXU and Reliant. You’ve seen these energy suppliers on billboards and stadiums across the state. People know them, and because of that, they can jack up their energy rates and people will pay the sky-high costs.
On the flip side, there are a lot of small companies with few resources and money to spend on marketing and branding, so they race to the bottom in terms of price. Many of them offer rates Prices so low, in fact, that they lose money on many of their contracts! But they aren’t fools.
When the first contract is over with these energy suppliers, most of their customers will forget to renew or switch and will end up on new electricity rates that cost an arm and a leg. It is the core business model for most retail energy companies in Texas. And while some people might think they’re smart enough to avoid this fate, these companies continue to exist for a reason. Most people forget and end up paying through the roof after their first contract ends. So, switching services helps make sure that when your first contract is up, you end up on another decently priced contract.
What’s the downside of this model? Well, you might not know who your actual energy provider is. Do they charge crazy fees for basic customer care? Do they bill correctly and on time? Can you call them 7 days a week if you have questions about your energy bill or renewable energy? Do they support the advancement of clean energy that supports helps Texas’ economy and environment?
Ultimately, if you’re on a switching service, you probably won’t know the answer to any of these questions. And if you do know the underlying energy provider, you probably won’t like the answers to those questions. Many of the companies that work closely with switching services charge lots of fees, don’t have sophisticated billing systems, don’t have strong customer care, and so on. They receive customers directly from another service, based only on their price, so why should they invest in these other activities? A lot of these energy providers are the ones that went bankrupt in February because they didn’t have sophisticated risk management in place to deal with high wholesale energy prices during bad weather.
We know – this might all sound pretty rough. You might be thinking, “I have to pay one company $120 per year, just to help keep the other companies from tricking me into me a bad deal?!? This is crazy! Why isn’t there just an energy company who does right by me, charges a fair rate and doesn’t make me go through this ridiculous process to get the electricity I want?”
Well, that’s exactly what we asked as well! And it is why we created Rhythm.
Rhythm Renewable Electricity in Texas
At Rhythm, we offer fair electricity prices from day 1. We call it, and we offer Fair for All Pricing and it means – meaning our returning customers get access to the same energy plans as our new customers. No teaser rates. No fake ‘free’ offers for nights or weekends that make you pay more that jack up prices in other times of the day or days of the week. We also don't hide fees, hidden fees, offer 7-days a week customer care, have transparent billing, and give you technology tools to help you keep track of your energy bill and keep it in check. We do it while offering 100% renewable energy plans and supporting our Texas community.
Basically, we thought about the type of company we’d want to provide our electricity, and that’s what we created. See how we stack up against other Texas electricity providers.
So, save the $120 you’d spend on the switching service. When you add that to the price you’re paying for the actual electricity, you probably don’t have such a great deal after all.
With Rhythm, you can pocket the $120 and enjoy renewable energy plans from people who treat you right.
