Equipment costs, sweltering heat among several reasons why consumers are seeing high electric bills

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Houston residents hit with sticker shock over high electric prices

Experts said the reason why consumers are seeing high electric prices is due to the increased average consumption.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you've looked at your electric bill recently, you've likely noticed your bill has increased. Experts say there's a variety of reasons it's gone up, ranging from the sweltering summer heat to maintaining equipment costs.

At the beginning of September, power companies increased TCRF and TDU fees. The TCRF fees pay for the cost of changes to the power system. The TDU fees pay for maintaining and fixing the operating systems like power lines.

This is likely labeled as a delivery fee on your bill and a pass-through charge. The changes to these charges are unavoidable.

In a statement from CenterPoint Energy, a spokesperson told ABC13 that the TCRF fees generally increase in September and decrease in March. Experts say the average amount of consumption based on the previous six-month period helps determine if the fee will increase for the following six months.

Experts say because of the hot summer, the fees were increased because the average amount of consumption went up over the past six-month period.

Now, consumers are seeing sticker shock.

ABC13 spoke with several people whose delivery fees nearly doubled over the past month.

"It's like a mortgage payment, I don't have one, it's like renting another place or something," Montrose resident Ron Lozoff said.

Lozoff showed ABC13 his recent electric bills. On average, he said before this summer, he was paying roughly $230 a month for power. His most recent statement from August to the start of September nearly tripled, topping $700.

"I'm semi-retired; I'm living on a fixed income. I'm living on $5 chickens at Costco now, so it's just crazy," Lozoff said.

Using less power will likely decrease your TDU fees.

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