Reliant Energy Sucks! Electric Bill just doubled. I am so angry

[texpatriot2004]

that I am shaking. I am on the phone with them now. Last month my husband had to have heart surgery and several sets of medical tests between that and the hurricanes I was late paying my bill. They took me off balanced billing and now they want to charge me over 500$ per month. I can't take it. I am looking for work and have been for quite some time. We are working on one income. Say a prayer for me that, by some miracle, they will put me back on balanced billing so that my bill will only be $350.00 per month.

[LiberalEsto]

1. That's an obscenely huge electric bill

You have my prayers.
Is there any temporary community assitance available to help pay this bill?

[texpatriot2004]

3. Thanks for the prayers and I don't know. They are on the phone

with me. Maybe by some miracle they will help me.

[texpatriot2004]

2. Is Marvin Zindler still out there? Is there a consumer attny out

there?

[ClintonTyree]

4. Even $350 a month is HUGE!!!

I pay on average $50 a month. Is you home electrically heated? That would be the only way it could be that much I guess, but that is STILL way too much! Isn't there an alternative electric company you can use? They've deregulated it, someone else must be available. Check on the net.

I feel SOOO sorry for you! You MUST be eligible for some economic energy aid. Check all f these things out my dear, you're being royally screwed!

[texpatriot2004]

5. It doesn't look like they are going to help me. nm

[texpatriot2004]

15. I am on hold. Maybe they will? Please I pray. n.t

[texpatriot2004]

6. No it's not the heat this is Houston. A/C set on 75 to 78 for last

two months.

[Horse with no Name]

7. I have Reliant too

I posted about my bill day before yesterday.
Did you get your notice that rates were going up December 4 too?

[texpatriot2004]

9. Go up again? n.t

[texpatriot2004]

11. I am so sick of their "usage" game. My usage hasn't changed in

the 3 years we have been here. There rates keep doubling though.

[ClintonTyree]

18. That's obscene!

How the hell can they justify prices like that? My Mom lives in Florida and her HIGHEST bill, even in the dead of summer was $120. Somethings wrong here, you people are getting royally reamed. There MUST be alternative electric companies available. They still use the same transmission lines and equipment but they can deal for discount electric. You MUST check this out!

My god, you poor folks. I hope you find some way out of this, that electric company should be ashamed of themselves. It's criminal what they're doing! :grr:

[texpatriot2004]

19. I think it's legalized crime courtesy of the criminals in DC. The

prices have doubled and doubled. They always try to say it's about my "usage" but that's a "hide the salami" game.

Thanks for your kind words of understanding.

[Laelth]

41. No, legalized theft courtesy of the TX legislature.

Energy regulation is a state matter. The TX leg. is terribly corrupt. When they want a price increase, they ask the leg., and it provides as requested.

My rates here in GA are pretty bad too. I pay about $140/mo. for electricity, but I paid about $200/mo. a few years ago when I lived in TX.

-Laelth

[texpatriot2004]

42. Good point. True. n.t

[Horse with no Name]

8. I have Reliant too

I posted about my bill day before yesterday.
Did you get your notice that rates were going up December 4 too?

[liveoaktx]

10. Isn't that the company that has those dumb commercials

where they show the prices going up as the guy has lunch or the family tries to pay for amusement park tickets?

[texpatriot2004]

12. I don't know. Probably.n.t

[elehhhhna]

13. I just switched. Reliant's doubled our rate over the last 2 years

and they can stuff their annual "Thanks for your business" ultra-expensive frigging Chistmas card up their azz, too.

[texpatriot2004]

14. Who did you switch to and how? nm

[elehhhhna]

36. TXu, I think. They guarantee a lower rate and 50 dollar credit on the

first bill.

They send info constantly...google Tx utilities--there's a website that gives you rates for competitors.

[RebelOne]

39. You're lucky you have a choice.

There is only one electric company that services my area, so I am stuck.

[sendero]

16. Whatever you are paying Reliant..

.... you would be paying TXU more.

[texpatriot2004]

17. What about Green Mountain? n.t

[sendero]

21. Sorry, I don't know...

... but since they claim environmental friendliness, I'd expect they support mostly natural gas generation also. Which is expensive.

Honestly, I don't really understand how NG can go up so quickly in price. I really don't understand the market dynamics of this situation, only that it is going to hurt a lot of people very much.

[Liberal In Texas]

38. GREEN MOUNTAIN IS COMPETITIVE! And we on the 100% wind power

program, which is a little more expensive, but not all that much that we had to change it during the sweltering months just over.

Check it out. They have programs that a mixture of wind and traditional fuel that are slightly lower. I think they're competitive with TXU. And I feel better about being on 100% wind generation.

[rbajai]

44. Not true..

spoken from experience (a bad one).

[Blue Diadem]

20. Here's a website for your state to compare electric company charges

Maybe this can help you decide if there is a less expensive company.

http://www.powertochoose.org/yourchoice/compareoffers.asp

[texpatriot2004]

24. Oh thanks for this link that's helpful nm

[HockeyMom]

22. My bill for August was $194

with 90 degree temps and the A/C running. September was cooler and hardly had a/c on at all. The bill for September was $394 (YES, I paid August in full), which included a $75 fuel surcharge.

I heard they are tacking on another $50 fuel surcharge in November. So, if I shut the fridge and sit in the dark, it will be costing $125 a month.

OBSCENE.

[texpatriot2004]

25. With Reliant? n.t

[HockeyMom]

26. LIPA

[texpatriot2004]

27. What's that? nm

[Art_from_Ark]

33. LIPA= Long Island Power Authority

http://www.lipower.org/

[texpatriot2004]

23. Well they helped, it will now be $453 per month. That's the best

offer they have for me and since it was less than $550 per month...I guess that's it. They are giving me a "fresh start" on the "instant relief program." Oh boy.

I was so relieved to get this help that I feel like some kind of sell out. You know, where I get screwed but I have no choice.

Thanks to all of you who helped me through this phone call. I've been on the phone with them for an hour or more. Had to go up the food chain to get someone to help. She was nice and spent a lot of time to get me this great deal.

[faithnotgreed]

28. i am so sorry texpatriot

and glad you got a human being on the other end of that phone call
i know that has to help at least emotionally - which is a big issue as well

im not in texas but yes if you are out of work and your husband had heart surgery i would also encourage you to contact local agencies about this
i dont know your situation and am not asking for that but there may be a place that can help at least with certain bills or expenses if you dont have the income right now

best wishes and prayers for you and your husband (and so many others who are suffering right now)

[Trajan]

29. Reliant Energy .....

Good friends of the Bush Crime Family, and brethren of Enron, El Pase and their ilk ....

When the GOP wins: Relaint is given the keys to the city, and enough torches and swords to last til the party is over ....

The GOP HATE when we pay taxes, but they love the FUCK out of us getting reamed by their friends .....

I would rather pay the taxes, and keep the LOW utility rates ....

[texpatriot2004]

30. I don't think we will qualify for any assistance. We make too much

for help but not enough to live without worry and stress. It's middle class squeeze since this government is out to destroy it.

[texpatriot2004]

31. I sure miss HL & P. nm

[texpatriot2004]

32. Whose idea was it to deregulate the power companies? nm

[SammyWinstonJack]

40. I believe that was Pinhead's parting shot to us on his way to screw

over the rest of the Country. Nice huh? :grr:

[chat_noir]

45. The Electricity Deregulation Con Game

Electricity deregulation was supposed to bring cheaper electricity prices and more choice of suppliers to householders. Instead it has brought wildly volatile wholesale prices and undermined the reliability of the electricity supply. The rising electricity prices and blackouts in California and the northeastern states of the US are consequences of the changes engineered by vested interests; changes that were accomplished through a massive PR campaign to deceive politicians and opinion leaders about their benefits.

Despite efforts to manufacture an appearance of grassroots support, deregulation was primarily driven by large industrial users, who thought they could save money, and energy companies, who thought they could make money out of it. The case for deregulation could not be presented in self-interested terms to the public. It had to be presented as being in the interests of the wider public. Groups such as large industrial energy users used the language of free-market advocates to state their case in terms that disguised their self-interest.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, helped spread the rationale for deregulation. Texas Congressman Thomas DeLay set out his "free-market vision" for the electricity industry at a Heritage Foundation lecture: "Bringing electricity into the competitive world will unleash new products, greater efficiencies, business synergies, and entrepreneurial success stories," he said. "It will create new industries, new entrepreneurs, and new jobs." Delay, the majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, was closely connected to Enron and a beneficiary of Enron donations. Two influential members of his "kitchen cabinet" were used as lobbyists by Enron. In Texas, his efforts to promote deregulation earned him the nickname DeReg.

http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2003Q3/dereg.html

[alarimer]

34. And they said deregulation was supposed to lower bills

They lied about that of course. My bill last month was almost $200, for a one bedroom apartment. This month it is "only" $120. I think there were problems with the a/c (low freon or whatever) but still, we are getting ripped off.

[texpatriot2004]

35. Exactly. My bills were never this high with HL & P B4 dereg. nm

[Just Me]

37. I'm so sorry you're having to struggle like that. I myself dread winter.

As anal as I am about using only what I need (turning off the H2O heater from 8pm to 5am and from 8am to 5pm, only using lights necessary for me to work, hang-drying clothes when I'm able), and I STILL have a $240 electric bill. It's freakin' insane. I sincerely dread the expense of barely heating my home this winter. Will I be able to afford other basic necessities? :shrug: I just don't know.

:hug: I'm sorry you have to struggle so,...but you are not alone, m'dear. :hug:

[rbajai]

43. Type "reliant" into the search engine on

http://www.ripoffreport.com and see what you come up with. Also you can type in "reliant energy."

They are ripoffs, and they were nailed for their role in raising energy prices during the California blackouts. I had them for awhile and they charged me $230 one month during the winter here in Dallas - for a TWO BED APT. And that month, we hardly even USED our heat!!

They are a ripoff and are to be avoided at all costs.

[area51]

46. I'm so sorry this has happened to you.

We don't have capitalism in this country so much as outright greed. I'll keep you & your husband in my thoughts. BTW, Reliant used to be "Houston Lighting & Power", aka "Houston Looting & Plunder".