JD Power and Associates, which releases an annual report on the Texas electricity market, has release its 2013 results. The study, which surveys Texas electricity consumers, shows that Texans are happier than ever with the state of the deregulated Texas electricity market. The primary factor responsible for this satisfaction is price, according to JD Power.
Despite a slight recent uptick, electricity rates in Texas have remained relatively cheap for a number of years. The cheap rates can be attributed to competition and the extended run of low natural gas prices. Not only did customers report their highest satisfaction level for retail Texas electricity providers in the six year history of the survey, but price satisfaction specifically went up over 2012’s results.
Another notable result within the survey is the large gap in price satisfaction levels between consumers within deregulated utility areas and consumers within regulated utility areas. Specifically, consumers who where customers of competitive electricity providers scored those providers at an average of 684 points (on a 1,000 point scale) in the price category. Regulated utilities, on the other hand, scored only 570 points.
Not surprisingly, those consumers who reported the greatest levels of satisfaction are more likely to recommend the electric provider to friends and family. The most important factor for selecting a provider, however, remains price. 61% of the survey respondents said that low rates was the main reason they selected their provider.
JD Power also ranked Texas electric providers individually. For the 4th consecutive year, Champion Energy ranked highest. Champion received a 5 out of 5 in Power Circle ratings. They were the only company to do so. Champion was followed in the rankings by Green Mountain Energy (4 out of 5), Bounce Energy (4 out of 5), and StarTex Power (4 out of 5).
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See Also: Congratulations To Champion Energy and Bounce Energy For Receiving The Highest Ratings In JD Power’s Survey Of Customer Satisfaction (2012)