KCBD Investigates Powering Lubbock: Nearly half of LP&L customers have not picked a new electric provider ahead of Thursday’s deadline - KCBD
KCBD Investigates Powering Lubbock: Nearly half of LP&L customers have not picked a new electric provider ahead of Thursday’s deadline
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The retail electric shopping window for Lubbock Power & Light customers closes on February 15, 2024.
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On Wednesday, LP&L said 48 percent of its customers still had not chosen a new electric provider.
Those who do not choose a company before the deadline will be randomly assigned to a default provider.
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Those providers are TXU Energy, Reliant Energy, and Octopus Energy.
Cosme Ojeda II is the Director of Operations at the Better Business Bureau.
“You still have time to do your homework,” Ojeda said.
Ojeda encourages customers to start here at the Power to Choose website, which is sponsored by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Ojeda said customers should compare rates and make sure to look at companies’ fact sheets.
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Then, Ojeda said to look those companies up on the BBB’s website.
Ojeda said that the BBB maintains reports on all businesses regardless of their status with the BBB so customers will be able to see complaints and companies’ responses to those complaints.
“If you see a business that is always responding with policy, then that policy can be very important and you need to know that before you sign that contract,” Ojeda said. “If you see a business that is very retaliatory, or they are not customer service-friendly, then you want to take that into account that if you have an issue and more than likely you will, then how is that going to be addressed? How are you going to be treated?”
The Public Utility Commission bases each company’s rating on consumer complaints per 1,000 customers based on a 6-month rolling average.
The PUC is legally prohibited from releasing the number of customers that each retail electric provider serves.
The star rating according to the PUC is different than the ratings some companies have received from the BBB.
“Our rating is based on our complaints, everything brought to the BBB’s attention, and then additionally any government action or advertising that we would have on the business,” Ojeda said.
“Every business is going to have complaints, especially with electric providers, so what you want to do is see their character so you can remove the surprises after you have signed that contract,” Ojeda said.
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: electricity
Electricity is a secondary energy source: it is generated through the conversion of primary energy sources such as natural gas, coal, solar, hydropower, and wind. Electricity’s versatility is not cost-free: a substantial amount of energy is lost in its generation and the cost of storage is high, compared with fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. The economics of battery technology hold the key to expanded use of renewable sources to generate electricity.