Texas Power Newsletter March
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TDSPs EXPLAINED
If you’ve ever called us to inquire about an outage in your area, or to claim your meter was misread, you’ve likely heard the letters “T D S P” emerge from our mouths. As often as we are saying this, we imagine there might be some confusion on what exactly a TDSP is and why it makes a difference in your electric service.
When the Texas Electric Market was deregulated back in 2002, it allowed entrants to start serving customers by buying, selling and billing electricity on their behalf. The whole purpose of electric deregulation in Texas was to create a healthy dose of competition amongst Retail Electric Providers (REPs) and to improve pricing, service and choice for Texans.
Prior to deregulation, electric companies owned the whole sha-bang: generation, transmission and the retail billing process. To keep the “legacy” companies from having an unfair advantage, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) required that these companies sell off their generation and transmission divisions.
Thus, Transmission Distribution Service Providers (TDSPs) were born. TDSPs own and/or operate the equipment and facilities to transmit/distribute electricity in Texas. TDSPs are certified and regulated by the PUCT and are required to provide non-discriminatory access to the electric grid. TDSPs control and operate the lines, poles and meters in their respective areas and they must provide service, for a fee, to all REPs operating in that area. Currently at Texas Power, residential customers do not see TDSP’s fees as we include them in our energy price.
Since TDSPs control and operate the poles, lines and meters in deregulated service areas, the reliability of the electric grid lies with your TDSP. If you hear other Retail Electric Providers state they are more reliable than their competitors, then they must be making a statement about their internal systems and processes, since they have nothing to do with the electrical grid. This means the next time your power goes out due to forces of nature, the most expedient way to report this outage is to call your TDSP. Their telephone numbers are listed on the back page of this newsletter and can be found on your invoice. If you are not sure who your TDSP is, you can always call Texas Power and we will be happy to help you with your request.
A SIMPLIFIED REFERRAL PROGRAM JUST FOR YOU!
Earn up to $50 for referring new customers.
Texas Power has simplified its referral program. At this time, existing residential and commercial customers can earn a $25 bill credit for referring new residential customers and a $50 bill credit for referring new commercial customers. We have also reduced the amount of information required to receive referral bonuses and have added an easy online application option.
Simply have your friends call or enroll online with Texas Power, get their new account number, the name the account was created under and either fill out the paper Texas Power Bill Credit Voucher and mail it in, or fill out the new online “Refer a Friend” form. Both can be found on our website at: www.texaspoweronline.com/promotions.
The newly referred customer has to remain active with Texas Power for 120 days and maintain satisfactory credit and payment status during that period. Please review the remaining Terms and Conditions on the form or our website. By referring new customers, Texas Power’s existing customers can earn up to $599 annually.
Now you can be rewarded for sharing a renowned Texas-based customer care experience, simple billing options and great low rates with your friends, family and colleagues. Please help us spread the word by letting everyone know what Texas Power has to offer!
PROVIDING A GREEN OPPORTUNITY
There are very few topics that are more important to our collective future than energy. With each passing minute, the need to produce and distribute clean, reliable and affordable sources of energy grows larger. And with the demand for electricity in Texas expected to grow by double digits, we need to not only look for new sources of power, but also find out how to conserve energy and improve our overall quality of living.
This is why we are proud to lay claim to being one of the first Retail Electric Providers in Texas to offer at least 10% renewable energy in all of our price plans. But even more so, we are pleased to see other providers hopping on board with this concept, not because it means we have solved or resolved anything, but because it represents a growing focus on creating and maintaining a clean, sustainable environment.
As human beings, it is in our nature to consume. However, by demanding more from the companies we choose to support and aligning ourselves with companies that genuinely hold similar interests to our own, each of us can make this land a better place to live.
A QUICK LOOK INTO CAP AND TRADE
It’s hard to watch the news and not hear the term Cap and Trade. But what does this mean?
Textbooks will tell you that it is a method for reducing overall emissions in a nation, region or industry. Under a cap and trade system, the government sets a cap, deciding how much total emission will be allowed. Next, organizations are issued credits, essentially licenses to emit, based on how large they are, what industries they work in, and so forth. If these organizations come in under their cap, they have extra credits, which they can trade with other organizations. They may then profit by selling their extra credits therby profiting by not emitting.
A cap and trade system penalizes organizations that do not come in under their cap for their excess emissions, as they must purchase additional credits. In a sense, the need to purchase credits acts like a fine, encouraging organizations to reduce their emissions.
This system has a history of success by controlling sulfur dioxide emissions. In the 1980s, industry was sending up vast amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere which would fall back to Earth in the form of acid rain. This was damaging lakes, forests and buildings across the Eastern U.S. and Canada. The Clean Air Act of 1990 was enacted using the then-called “Emissions Trading” approach to help end acid rain.
Almost 20 years since this law, the system now referred to as “cap and trade” continues to let emitters figure out the least expensive way to reduce their emissions that cause acid rain. As a result, acid rain has been cut in half at a fraction of the cost. It has also generated benefits from avoided death and illness, healthier lakes and forests, and improved visibility on the Eastern Seaboard.
The premise of cap and trade is that government doesn't tell emitters how to clean up their act. Instead, it simply imposes a cap on emissions. Each organization starts the year with a certain number of tons allowed, a so-called right to pollute. The organization decides how to use its allowance; it might restrict output, or switch to a cleaner fuel, etc... Each year, the cap ratchets down, and the shrinking pool of allowances gets costlier. It forces organizations to reduce emissions or match their allowances to emissions.
Why are we hearing so much about cap and trade in the news? Congress has been considering whether to expand this law/system/ideology to cover carbon dioxide in hopes of further reducing emissions. There are plenty of advocates and proponents lobbying to defend their respective positions.
CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS: YOUR TEXAS IMAGE COULD WIN YOU $25!
If you’re anything like us, you love being able to look back at your favorite moments cast in front of Texas, the best backdrop imaginable. When you received that record-breaking snowfall last month, or were stopped dead in your tracks by the awe inspiring beauty of a sunset burning up the night’s sky, you probably felt compelled to break out the camera and snap off a few hundred shots or so. If this is true, we invite you to submit your best original Texas image for a chance to win $25 off your next electric bill.
The photograph that is selected will be featured on our website as well as our upcoming customer newsletter. Simply submit your photo at www.texaspoweronline.com/photo, confirm that you are the authorized owner of that photograph and that you will allow Texas Power the right to use it for an extended period of time. For Terms and Conditions of the contest, please check the Texas Power website. After that, it’s a matter of sending it our way and letting the photo’s majesty resonate.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, we’ll happily grant you money instead.
Editor’s Note: Snow and sunsets are not exclusively accepted. Anything Texas themed will do.
COMMUNICATION
If there is anything you feel needs to be brought to the attention of Texas Power, please send your thoughts and concerns to the General Manager at David.Chase@TexasPowerOnline.com