How to choose a good electricity provider: seven checks, in order

Two companies serve your home. One is your utility. It owns the wires and the meter, fixes outages and sends the bill in most states. You cannot change it. The other is the supplier, also called a retail electric provider in Texas. It sells the power, and you can change it if your state allows. A good electricity provider is a supplier choice, not a utility choice.

Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Illinois let most homes choose. A city-owned utility or a co-op often does not. The U.S. Energy Information Administration counted 13 states plus Washington, D.C. with statewide home choice, not counting Texas (article dated March 15, 2023). Our plan finder shows plans only in TX, PA, OH, NJ and IL. Not sure who your utility is? Texas readers can use our utility finder, and Pennsylvania readers our utility lookup.

Your utility posts a default supply price, the price to compare. It is on your bill. A supplier's plan is worth a look only if its price, with the monthly fee spread over your kWh, comes out lower. Texas has no price to compare, so compare with what you pay now.

A monthly fee counts more when you use less power. Divide the fee by your kWh and multiply by 100 to get cents per kWh.

Not every listed offer wins. Here is how many sit under the price to compare on each regulator's list.

Test one offer, or two side by side. The comparer counts the fee and any exit fee for the months you will stay.

The answer is for supply only. It leaves out delivery, taxes, credits and the price after the term ends. Use it to sort offers, then read the contract.

Want the numbers for your utility? See our guides for Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Illinois. For the lock itself, read fixed rate plans.

Every state makes a seller put the main terms in writing. Know which paper to ask for, and what to find on it.

Two checks fit on one line. Is the price fixed or variable? What does the contract do at the end? Our fixed rate guide walks through both.

A good provider is licensed and has a record you can see. Look up the name on your state's list, then read the complaint record. Do both before you give anyone your account number.

We score sellers on public records in two states, so you need not read the raw files. See Texas companies, ranked by public records and Pennsylvania suppliers, scored. A score is a view of the past, not a promise.

This is the check most people skip. Most plans end in a new price unless you act. Ask three things before you sign.

1. 1
   When does it end, and when will you warn me?

   Each state sets notice days. Write them on your calendar the day you sign.

2. 2
   What price starts next?

   Ask whether it renews on its own, and at what price.

3. 3
   What does it cost to leave?

   Ask for the fee in dollars, in writing. In Illinois, a home customer may end a supplier contract at any time with no termination fee.

The cancel window is a different thing. It is a short free exit right after you sign. Our switching guide has the days for all five states.

You need to know three things about money before you sign. What deposit or credit check does the seller ask for? What happens if you pay late? Who do you call for a billing mistake?

Ohio's contract rule makes a seller write down its credit, deposit and collection terms (Rule 4901:1-21-12(B)(15)). In the other states, ask for the same in writing. If a seller will not put it on paper, treat that as an answer.

For a billing fight, call the seller first. Then call your regulator. The complaint pages in the table above are the place to start.

Some people pick a seller for renewable power or perks, such as gift cards. Those are fine as a tiebreaker, not as the reason. A green label can mean different things in different states, and a perk does not pay a bill. Read what the plan really buys: Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey.

Most bad outcomes start with a rush. Slow down if you see any of these.

You can do the whole job in one sitting. Have your last bill in front of you.

1. Minute 1Find your utility and your kWh on your bill.
2. Minute 3Find your price to compare, or your current price in Texas.
3. Minute 5Test one or two offers in the comparer, with the months you will stay.
4. Minute 8Look the seller up on your regulator's list and read its complaint record.
5. Minute 10Read the contract terms and the end-of-term notices before you sign.

Our plan finder shows plans in TX, PA, OH, NJ and IL. Each state page has the prices, the rules and the tools for that state.