Frequently Asked Questions

ERCOT, REP's - I'm confused

Here’s a summary of who manages what when it comes to electricity in Texas:

 

The PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) is the state government entity who regulates and manages everybody else below.

ERCOT is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. They are a non-profit corporation that manages the flow of electric power for most of the Texas grid, ensuring supply meets demand in real-time for over 27 million customers. They balance generation and consumption across the state’s unique system. They manage 90% of the electric grid in Texas. Your school district is in an ERCOT-managed area of the state.

Texas has five main regional electric Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) companies that manage the power lines and infrastructure, including Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas (North & Central), Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), and LP&L (Lubbock). Oncor serves the largest area (DFW Metroplex) and CenterPoint covers Houston. You contact these TDUs (like Oncor or CenterPoint) for outages and meter issues.

You pay your bill to REP’s (Retail Electric Providers). These are the companies that have a wide variety of rates and various schemes to make it even more confusing. We cut through all their BS for you!

How will parents sign up?

Each school will have a dedicated energy website. Parents can go there to learn about the process, and sign up to get on the waiting list.

About a month before their current contract expires we will contact them and provide info on how much money we will save them. If they give the OK we will sign them up for the new provider, and they will get an email with links to set up their account.

They should NOT contact their existing provider to coordinate anything – that is all taken care of for them behind the scenes. If they contact their current provider they run the risk of having power cut off (should not happen but it could). They will get a final bill from their previous provider, and then going forward will be billed at a lower rate by their new provider.   

How long have you been in business?

While this creative and lucrative fundraising approach is new, our partner has served thousands of electric customers in Texas and Ohio for the last 18 years. This ain’t our first rodeo.

What about Power to Choose?

First, most of the lower priced offerings are misleading schemes. See our How page for info on some of those. With our 18+ years of experience here in Texas we help you avoid these traps!

Second, while we are still less expensive than 90% of the providers there may be some that are fractionally less expensive than our rate. However, they do not allow your school to make any money! Who would you rather profit, a coporation or your school?  

Third and maybe most important – while we may think that we’ll just go for a short term rate that is a tiny bit less expensive, out here in the real world it is very easy to lose track of your contract expiration date. That’s what the providers count on, so they can renew your contract at a much higher rate! Part of our valuable service is that we keep track of everybody’s renewal date, and contact you in plenty of time to switch over to a low rate (if a switch is needed).  

Where do parents go to get help?

If it’s a question about this fundraiser program or switching over they can utilize the Contact page on this site, or email support @ lowpricepower.school. If it’s a question about their new provider or existing provider they should call that provider’s customer service. If they are having an electric problem they should call ERCOT at the number their provider gave them.  

How and when is the school paid?

We will send out commissions via ACH each month by the 7th, or the first banking day following the 7th. We will maintain a database with all your active signups, and for each active client we’ll share with you how much electricity they used the previous month, in kWh. We are committed to total transparency! 

What if a parent or relative/friend has a business?

We service both residential and commercial accounts in Texas! If you have a business and would like a competitive no-obligation quote (that would also help your school) then please contact us