Consumer complaints to the Texas Public Utility Commission about electric service have skyrocketed since deregulation in 2002, the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power said Monday.
In the four years before retail electric deregulation, there were fewer than 2,100 complaints a year, the coalition said. But for 2002-10, complaints averaged more than 12,000 annually, it said.The coalition, which includes about 150 cities that buy electricity via the deregulated market, announced its findings at www.rechargetexas.com. The coalition said "the most common complaint relates to billing," but many complaints are service-related."We may have dozens of companies competing for customers under the state's electric deregulation law, but unfortunately that has not translated into better service," Jay Doegey, coalition president and city attorney for Arlington, said in a statement. "Contract confusion, high prices and other problems unfortunately are all too commonplace."A previous report by Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy complained that deregulated retail electric providers increasingly tacked on fees that make rate plans more complex and expensive. Examples cited were minimum-usage fees that result in higher rates for customers using small amounts of electricity, and fees for processing disconnection and reconnection orders.More than 13,000 electric complaints were filed with the PUC in fiscal 2010, the coalition said. That included not only complaints against providers in deregulated markets but also against regulated providers such as municipally owned power companies and rural electric cooperatives.John Fainter, president of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, said the volume has increased in part because the PUC has greatly eased the process for filing complaints since deregulation began. It is "a whole lot easier and faster" to file a complaint by e-mail, he said.Fainter added that numerous complaints filed in recent years were triggered by installation of advanced "smart" meters by electric transmission and distribution companies, which are still regulated, rather than dissatisfaction with electric providers.Andy Prince, an Austin-based consultant to electric providers, said consumers who educate themselves about deregulated rate plans can often reap substantial savings by shopping for a lower rate. The www.powertochoose.com website overseen by the PUC "is one of the best places to go" in search of lower rates, Prince said.Online: www.rechargetexas.com; www.powertochoose.comJack Z. Smith, 817-390-7724Filing a complaint
The Texas Public Utility Commission takes complaints regarding electric service through its Office of Customer Protection: 888-782-8477, customer@puc.state.tx.us or puc.state.tx.us/consumer/complaint/Complaint.aspx.
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