Residents of Lubbock, Texas, were originally slated to move to a competitive electricity market in the Fall of 2023. We’ve been preparing for deregulated electricity 2022… some of us even further back. Now a new challenge to the legacy operator’s plan (Lubbock Power & Light) to exit the current grid (Southwest Power Pool) will likely delay the transition to a competitive electric market until 2024. Consequently, federal regulators have requested more time to review the application to open up the market to competition.
The upside?
Residents have more time to choose a new electricity provider and comapre electricity plans
When Lubbock’s city council unanimously voted to move the city to a competitive energy market in February 2022, the local power supply was to be rerouted from the Southwest Power Pool to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
ERCOT oversees most of Texas including urban load centers in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. And 70% of Lubbock is already on the newgrid. The original timeline called for residents to select a provider in August 2023, with the technical switch occurring in October 2023.
As with most change, there is still push back even after all the votes, meetings, notices, etc. A group of energy cooperatives from Texas and New Mexico are not happy with the $77.5 million settlement LP&L agreed to pay to exit Southwest Power Pool’s electrical grid. They argued that the deal doesn’t do enough to protect them from possible financial fallout. The reality is that it sounds like executives, board members, and others are holding the transition hostage wanting a bigger payoff like a cartel.
Lower Electricity Prices Delayed
The transition hasn’t been blocked… jus delayed. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must approve the plan, and the federal agency has asked for more time to review it. A deadline or even a new general timeline was not been set at an Electricity Utility Board meeting in May 2023.
Based on the speed of transition, the period to compare electricity providers (and select a new electric company) will now start in the first quarter of 2024, maybe even as early as January. Residents would then start receiving electricity from the new electric companies by March 2024.
Lubbock Power & Light executives and city officials have implied that the “move” will get the green light at the May 16 meeting. Once the last LP&L customer is migrated over, the official transition to electricity competition and lower electric rates begins.
GET THE LOWEST ELECTRICITY PRICE FOR YOUR HOME
FIND THE BEST ELECTRIC PLAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Force electricity companies to compete! Electricity providers will offer a lower price because they know they are competing for the business. This drives your price down…
When Electricity Competition Begins
There will be a few months when LP&L will continue to physically transmit the electricity and even maintain the region’s physical grid, but it will no longer be an energy “provider” for the Lubbock metro-area. This gives customers time to choose their electric provider. If a new electricity provider is not selected by the cut off, residents will be randomly assigned to either Octopus, Reliant Energy, or TXU Energy. This “fall-back” ensures people and families are not without power.
Deregulation ensures that consumers can pick and choose from multiple companies and benefit from competitive pricing, more innovative services and the freedom to select a supplier based on factors that matter to them, such as renewable energy options or customer service.