Corpus Christi Electricity Market Deregulation

Founded in 1839 by Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney, Corpus Christi has evolved from a small trading outpost to major metropolitan city, with a population of 307,953 as of the 2011 census, making it the eight most populous city in the state. Nicknamed the "sparkling city by the sea," the city is home to the Port of Corpus Christi and boasts many demographic groups and ethnicities. Before deregulation, the only company to offer electric service in Corpus Christi and the rest of South Texas was the local electric utility, American Electric Power.

With the advent of deregulation, residents of Corpus Christi are now able to choose their electricity providers from a fairly long list of companies. After a resident switches to a new provider, AEP will still continue to deliver electricity to the residence through the same wires, poles and equipment, however the consumer's billing and customer service will be provided by the new electricity provider.

A Host of New Providers

Since the Texas legislature deregulated the electricity industry in the State of Texas, a number of competitive retail electricity suppliers have set up shop in the Corpus Christi area, in order to bid for Corpus Christi business and residential customers. Some of these companies are Texas owned and operated, while still others have arrived from out of state. These companies include well known electricity providers such as Acacia Energy, Amigo Energy, Bounce Energy, Champion Energy Services, Cirro Energy, CPL Retail Energy, Gexa Energy, Green Mountain Energy, Frontier Utilities, Reliant, Spark Energy, StarTex Power and TriEagle.

The cost of Corpus Christi electricity varies by provider, and is measured in price per kilowatt hour. It can also vary by area and by time of day the electricity is used. When shopping for the lowest price, it is important to note whether the price quoted is a fixed rate price, which does not change during the term of the contract, or a variable or indexed rate, which can change on a monthly basis.

Also important to note is whether the price provided is bundled, which includes all recurring monthly costs, or non-bundled, which is usually a lower rate but may be misleading, as it does not include a number of costs which will be charged on top of the kilowatt hourly charge.

A Great Number of Options

The deregulation of the electricity market in Texas provides Corpus Christi residents a tremendous number of options when it comes to choosing an electric provider. In order to be competitive, providers are offering a wide variety of plans, contract terms, payment options, incentives, bonuses and more. It makes it difficult to compare one plan to the next, so consumers must exercise careful scrutiny when selecting the plan that is best for them.