Plano, Texas is located just 20 miles north of Dallas. Given its proximity to Dallas, the city shares the same service area and qualifies for the same electricity rates which is good news for Plano residents. With the deregulation of most Texas electricity markets in 2002, Texans can now shop for the lowest rate and choose their Retail Energy Provider (REP). The competition between energy providers trying to earn your business has the effect of pushing down energy prices.
Plano is considered one of Dallas’s largest suburbs with a population size above 285,000 as of 2018. The city is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and is home to several large corporations including Capital One Finance and Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
Plano is located in the Oncor Utility Service Area
If you recently moved to Plano, then you may be trying to figure out how energy deregulation works and what role Oncor plays in the service of your electricity. The job of the utility company (Oncor) is to maintain the infrastructure needed to safely deliver the electricity to the point of service. The charge on the electric bill for this service is known as the Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) delivery charge.
The TDU charge is the regulated charge on the electric bill. This means you will not be able to shop around for another utility company in your service area. Given the logistics involved, it will be impossible for another utility company to deliver your electricity.
Contact Oncor for Power Outages
Since Oncor is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver the electricity, the company is also in charge of fixing power outages or disruption of services in its service area. Even if you switch Retail Energy Providers, contact Oncor if you experience a power outage.
- Contact information: 1-888-313-4747
Choosing a Retail Energy Provider
A REP is responsible for generating or purchasing the electricity that a customer is estimated to use during the term of their contract. This section of the electric bill is known as the supply charge and represents the deregulated portion of the bill. Shopping for a competitive energy provider can significantly reduce the costs you pay for energy generation.
There may be a few questions you need to ask yourself before choosing a provider.
Long-term vs Short Term Energy Plans
Not everyone is alike, and based on your individual preferences and risk tolerance, term lengths can come with advantages and disadvantages. The length plans we will discuss here deal with fixed-rate energy plans.
| Term Length | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Long-term |
|
|
Short-term |
|
|
Green Energy Plans
One great advantage of energy choice is the customer’s power to choose how they want their electricity generated. More energy providers are offering 100% renewable energy plans. Renewable energy plans generate their power from renewable energy sources. A few examples of renewable energy sources include wind, solar, and hydropower. This option enables the customer to limit their carbon footprint while helping out the environment.
To promote green energy more states are implementing a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). This means states are requiring energy providers to generate a certain percentage of electricity that is sold within the state from renewable energy sources. This new regulation creates an artificial demand for renewable energy and creates more jobs in this sector of the economy.
Although government regulations are creating more options for consumers to go green, the costs of generating electricity from 100% renewables are still expensive. Green energy plans are often more expensive than conventional sources such as coal and natural gas. The customer can expect to pay a premium in price when choosing a 100% renewable energy plan from a provider.
View by City
Allen | Arlington | Corpus Christi | Dallas | Fort Worth | Frisco | Galveston | Grapevine | Houston | Katy | League City | McAllen | Midland | Odessa | Pflugerville | Abilene | Round Rock | Sugar Land | Waco