A blog a day

Not understood - local Houston utility prices

I'm the biggest advocate of de-regulation, and yes, energy prices have gone up (although not extremely lately), but even I can't understand why the prices are so high.

This article from the Houston Business Journal in August tells us that we had the highest home utility bills in the nation. It compares Houston to Portland, which isn't a fair comparison at all in July. What it doesn't say is what the average price per kilowatt-hour is ... which is the real valid comparison.

What is true is that customer service can really suffer, as one of my co-workers now knows.

Even more amazing is that Texas electric provider deregulation doesn't seem to be uniform across the state. My in-laws in Austin and Huntsville didn't realize that they have to choose their electric providers ... do they not have a choice?

If you live in the Houston area, or in Texas (or for that matter, anywhere), what's been your experience? Let us know in the comments.

No Comment | Posted in » alt.energy, Houston, life