Electric deregulation continues to be a confusing, expensive mess for customers

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
by TXProgress

With a name like Amigo Energy, you would expect honest dealings from a company with friendly customer service. You’d be wrong.

Amigo Energy is another electric company taking advantage of its customers in the deregulated electric system in Texas. After yet another electric company went out of business in Texas, Amigo took over the defunct company’s accounts promising a rate of 16 cents a kilowatt hour in writing.

However, when these customers received their bill, they were charged 24 cents a kilowatt hour. In fact, Amigo didn’t even list the price of electricity of some of their plans on the www.powertochoose.org web site. Amigo proved to be an unfriendly company that wouldn’t speak on the phone or respond to e-mails from their customers to address their complaints. Customers who wouldn’t pay their bills were turned over to collection agencies.

More than 700 customers took their complaints to the Public Utility Commission, the state entity responsible for keeping watch on the deregulated electric market. The PUC said Amigo was wrong and that the customers would be charged for the lower rate in the future, but that they were still responsible for the bills racked up on false pretenses by Amigo.

Electric deregulation in Texas, you can cheat your customers and get away with it even if you’re caught.