Great comment and information. I was kind of suspect of these new smart meters, and definitely do not see the benefits for us yet.

A 3 year plan would be great–our neighbors used to have one (we moved away from them), and it was for a great rate at the time; we were paying like an outrageous 16 cents per kilowatt, and they were paying 9 cents for three years!

The time of use plans are a joke… my company does have them and will not have them… The best thing to do is lock in a fixed price for a longer term. It will cost you a little more at first, but you will have peace of mind knowing that no matter when you use the energy or how much you use or how many hurricanes or wars that occur… your price will remain the same for the entire term. Shorter term agreements cost less because YOU TAKE THE RISK of having to renew every year at whatever the market dictates. Prices have not been this low in over 5 years, so now is the time to ask your provider if they will lock in a price for longer than 3 years. Very few do… Think of it this way: why are people refinancing their homes right now?? The rates are lower than they ever have been. So why not refi for one year and try your luck each year after that?? Would you do that?? Doubtful… so why do it with your second highest cost of owning a home, your electric bill?

Providers that only offer 1 and 2 year deals are not financially able to offer longer terms. Keep in mind that Reliant was FORCED to sell its company in March 2009 and now all the offer are 12 month plans. Little companies like MEGA, YEP and the like are not in it for the long haul and can only offer a short term deal… that is why 5 of those smaller companies went under in 2009. Amigo and TARA were bought out in 2010 before having to “restructure” their companies.

To sum it up: take the coming of this new technology with a grain of salt and due some real research into how you can lock in and manage your costs effectively and over the long term. Then when you have a little extra time, ask yourself this…. why are WE having to PAY for something that will make CENTERPOINT’s life easier and reduce their expenses (they are reducing their meter-reading force because of the new meters have no need for them)?