Innovative Plan Offers Security and Potential Savings
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reliant Energy customers are enjoying the benefits of lower energy charges and security thanks to the company’s innovative Cap-and-Save SM plan. The plan is the first in Texas to cap customers’ rates when they sign up and automatically reduce their rates no matter how low energy prices go. Reliant customers who chose the plan will have saved more than $1 million compared to their capped rate by the end of the year.
Cap-and-Save was developed based on consumer research that indicated customers prefer a plan like Cap-and-Save, which offers the security of a term plan combined with the ability to save when natural gas prices decline, by more than 2-to-1 over a standard fixed-price plan.
“Reliant Cap-and-Save customers have seen their rates drop,” said Jason Few, President, Reliant Energy. “Our customers asked for price protection and the benefit of rates that can go down with energy prices. We listened and delivered, adding Cap-and-Save to the range of competitively priced plans that Reliant offers to fit our customers’ lifestyles and needs.”
The plan is available to all new customers who choose Reliant, and to existing customers on month-to-month plans and those whose term contracts will end soon.
Reliant piloted the plan in June and customers who were on the plan saw automatic rate reductions within the first billing cycle.
“I think it’s great because I can see the rate decrease on my bill,” said Reliant customer Jennifer Fox of Round Rock, Texas.
The automatic rate decreases in the plan are based on the market price of natural gas. When the market price of natural gas declines, customers’ rates are lowered automatically based on the formula in the Reliant Cap-and-Save Electricity Facts Label.
The customer’s energy charge will never go above the cap in their contract. Charges from the transmission and distribution companies included in the average price per kilowatt hour are passed through to the customer without markup.
“It’s been working for me,” said Reliant customer Elizabeth Nava of Houston, about the Cap-and-Save plan. “I recently moved and have been surprised at my bill amount. It’s been working great.”
In describing this new plan, the term rate refers to the energy charge on the bill. Current pricing for Reliant Cap-and-Save is available on www.reliant.com or by calling 1-866-RELIANT.
Reliant Energy offers customers a range of plans and options including:
- Secure Plans that offer price security and include 20 percent pure Texas wind at no additional charge.
- ePlans that offer lower prices when customers sign up for online account management, paperless billing and auto bank draft or auto credit card pay.
- Monthly Flex Plans that give customers the flexibility to choose a new plan at any time with no cancellation fee.
- Reliant Power Tracker, another indexed plan with a price that changes monthly based on the market price of natural gas.
- Average billing to make budgeting easier.
For customers with smart meters, Reliant Energy offers its Weekly Summary email and Time-of-Use pricing.
- The Reliant Energy Weekly Summary email shows how much energy the customer used during the week, compares that to the previous week and projects how much the bill will be at the end of the month.
- Reliant’s Time-Of-Use pricing is for customers who have the ability to shift their usage to lower-priced, off-peak times to save money. By shifting high-usage activities – like doing laundry or running the dishwasher – to lower-priced times, customers may be able to reduce their overall cost.
About Reliant Energy:
Reliant Energy provides electricity and energy services to more than 1.5 million retail customers—including homes, small and large businesses, manufacturing facilities, government entities and institutions across Texas. As part of NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), Reliant Energy is backed by one of the nation’s largest power producers. NRG owns and operates more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, including more than 11,000 megawatts of capacity in Texas. For more information about Reliant Energy products and services, visit www.reliant.com.