Electric bill seems too high? You’re not crazy. Experts say energy rates have doubled

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — With extreme temperatures forecasted this week, ERCOT, the organization that operates the state’s electrical grid, is expecting record demand for power in the upcoming days. But staff claim they will be able to handle the need.

Meanwhile, if you feel like your electricity bill is higher now than it was this time last year, you’re not wrong. Experts say rates have doubled.

David Kinchen, the chief operating officer of Energy Ogre, says Texans are feeling the pinch, not just at the gas pump or the grocery store, but now on their electric bill. Of course, prices will go up with more energy consumption during the summer, but we wanted to know what’s causing this surge.

“The direct correlation is natural gas setting that marginal price unit and causing prices to double,” Kinchen said.

He explains that the cold winter from two years ago brought storage levels of natural gas from a five-year high to mid-level. Then, the freeze in February 2021 caused the storage to go from the mid-level to a five-year low. When we asked whether the surge in prices is related to last year’s winter freeze, Kinchen says there is an impact.
“Say we get to an event and we need large amounts of natural gas. We can only pull so much out of production. A lot of that has to come out of storage. As you can imagine, when you get to these very brief periods of high demand, having that sitting there in storage ready to go has a lot of value. When that number’s not sitting there in storage, it has to come out of production,” he said.

We also wanted to know when we could expect some relief on our wallets. Kinchen says based on future prices for natural gas and ERCOT replenishing its power storage, things should get better in the next eight to 10 months. It can also vary depending on geopolitical affairs around the world.

But what are some things you can do in the meantime to help alleviate that financial burden? Experts say you could either shop around for the cheapest energy plan or you can try to lower your electricity use.

“You can unplug devices you’re not using. Maybe run your dryer on an energy saver mode or take off ‘heated dry’ on your dryer or your dishwasher,” Kinchen said.