Renewable Energy Rates in Texas

GreenChoice by Austin Energy may not be the best solution for your energy needs after all. This is clear since the energy rates in Texas have been going down and GreenChoice, which offers energy from renewable means of Sun and Wind, proves to just be more expensive. GreenChoice helps customers decide whether a lock in electricity contract period of 5 yrs would be more suitable or would a 10 yr contract do more good. As it turns out, in its most recent offering of renewable energy units, about 99 percent of the allotment has gone unsold.

Consider this - a 5-year subscription to GreenChoice costs 8.0 cents per kWh, while a 10-year subscription comes with a charge of 9.5 cents per kWh.

Now, the regular residential rate for conventional electricity is 3.75 cents per kWh for the first 500 kWh, and 6.02 or 7.82 cents thereafter, for winter and summer months respectively.

It is lesser for large commercial users - about 1.5 cents per kWh.

GreenChoice is the arm of Austin Energy for renewable energy resource. The basic problem is that while Austin Energy’s main business is selling power from coal and gas plants that they own, GreenChoice competes with that only.