Dawood Mirza's Blog

The recent Global Financial Crisis has made people in various states and probably across the globe to rethink the way they use electricity and other energy resources. Even if energy deregulation in certain states such as Texas have given consumers the power to select Retail Electric Providers that will supply their electricity, it doesn’t mean that they are given free reign of their use of electricity.

Prudence and practicality is now the adapted norm that many homeowners and business establishments practice with respect to their use of electricity. Unless a very viable and inexhaustible source of very cheap electricity is discovered, all other homeowners and business owners should have the same mindset and practice all means to conserve energy.

The following are 10 of the simplest and easily implementable means of saving energy no matter what state, city or location you are in. Whether you are from Dallas or Houston, it would be wise for you and your household or business to practice these ways to save on your electricity.

Ever since the deregulation of electricity in various states such as Texas, people are given the power to select their Retail Electric Providers. This also paved the way for more competition in an otherwise monopolized industry, giving consumers the option to choose companies that can provide comparatively cheap electricity or be environmentally helpful by choosing companies that make use of alternative forms of energy resources.

However, with the myriad REPs that provide electricity to the millions of consumers in the state, it would be difficult to choose among these companies without a standard or a common basis that everyone would comply with. In this regard, the Public Utility Commission of Texas or the PUC have implemented the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) that each of these electric companies should provide consumers. The EFLs provide consumers with an apples-to-apples comparison between companies helping them choose which REPs they will work with. Once they’ve chosen a company, the EFL would then serve as a contract between the REPs and the consumers, with the REPs disclosing everything the consumers need to know about their electrical service.

Getting to Know the Electricity Facts Label

Energy deregulation have made it possible for the people of several states such as Texas to choose an electric company that will provide the electricity to power their homes or businesses. This power to select provided a competitive element to an otherwise monopolized industry. However consumers should continue to implement ways how they can conserve electricity.

Studies have shown that a typical household would spend 44% of their power bills on heating and cooling, another 33% on lighting and other general appliances, 14% on heating water and the last 9% for the refrigerator. Knowing this info would give homeowners an insight as to what areas they should focus on to conserve energy. The following are the top ways for homeowners to conserve electricity.

* Insulate Your Home

Unless there is a new and more efficient way of generating really cheap electricity, the consumers should be more vigilant and efficient in their use of electricity or where ever they may be — including implementing ways to save energy and cut costs as well as reducing the carbon footprint to help protect the environment. One such innovation that is slowly being implemented is the use of smart meters.

What are Smart Meters and How Do they Work?

Smart meters or what is more technically known as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI is a technical advancement evolving from the electromechanical meters or the more updated automated meter reading (AMR) technologies used by electricity companies today. It is expected that within 3 to 5 years, AMI meters shall replace all installed electromechanical meters.

During the past few years, several states have methodically deregulated energy, ending the regulated monopolies that citizens in these various states have known for decades past. In the past, a single company provided the generation, transmission, delivery, sales, billing and customer support to consumers. With energy deregulation, the people now have the power to select their energy retail providers.

The promulgation of energy regulation differs from state to state in details and components but one thing is common to all and that is providing consumers an option to choose providers, resulting in unlimited competition between different companies. The state of Texas has been at the forefront of energy deregulation, providing consumers the ability to decide which Texas electric company can provide their utilities. The promulgation was aimed at creating a competitive environment among utility providers, thus providing better services or even cheap electricity and renewable energy options to the public.

A Little Bit of History