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Texas’ decision to deregulate the electric industry creates new problems for consumers. Problems like negotiating for good rates, choosing when to procure contracts, determining the term of the contract, and dealing with a newly restructured industry on billing and service issues. Like most markets, customers will pay different rates based on how much time, energy, and expertise they bring to procuring electric contracts.
Local governments have paved the way into the new world of deregulation by joining together to act as one, in a process called aggregation, to negotiate for favorable rates and contracts usually reserved only for large industrial customers. Texas Public Utility Commission reports call these aggregations the “big winners” in electric deregulation. Aggregation gives a group of smaller customers the increased size and clout needed to effectively negotiate with retail electric providers. Further, members of an aggregation share the cost of consultants, gaining access to expertise that would be too costly to obtain on their own.
The largest aggregation in Texas is Public Power Pool, or P3, which purchases power for over 70 local governments with over 6500 electric meters that spent a rather significant amount more on electricity before deregulation, prior to joining P3. P3 successfully handles these governments’ power procurements resulting in contracts that allowed over $38 million in savings for its members. More importantly, P3 has consistently procured rates over 10% lower than power suppliers’ rates and procured lower rates than competing aggregations.
Previously limited only to local governments, now private facilities can join together and gain the same power to save as Public Power Pool members. The team behind P3 has created an aggregation for private electric customers. The same consultants and personnel run Association Power, LLC, as P3, employing the same systems and processes. By joining Association Power, you join with many other electric customers in the most sophisticated group-purchasing program of its kind.
As a member of Association Power, you receive the following benefits
• A proven, effective competitive procurement program
• Industrial strength analysis behind all decision-making, transparent to members
• No cross-subsidization between members
• Professional staff to manage your electric power needs & customer support provided to you every step of the way
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