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We've provided answers to commonly asked questions regarding electricity service. If you don't find the answers you are looking for, start a live chat with one of our Frontier Customer Care Representatives, email us at care@frontierutilities.com or you can contact us directly at 1-877-636-3450.
Deregulation is the opening of a market to competition in a previously regulated industry. Texas Senate Bill 7, on January 1, 2002, created a deregulated electricity industry in Texas, allowing many consumers the opportunity to buy electricity from any Retail Electricy Provider (REP) they choose. Many consumers no longer have only one option for electricity. They can shop around for the best plan and, in many cases, lower their electric bill. Not all of Texas was deregulated. Certain municipalities still have an entity that continues to provide their electric service, but approximately 75% of Texas is deregulated.
The main change occurred when the large companies that previously had a monopoly on the electricity business were forced to split divisions into their specialties. They divided into three parts — Generation (making the electricity), Transmission and Distribution "TDSP" (transporting the electricity from the generator to the home or business) and Retail (buying wholesale electricity and selling and billing individual customers). Other companies were created at this time to also compete in the Retail portion of the electricity business as Retail Electric Providers (REPs). You now get to choose a REP who buys bulk electricity and sells to you — while the electricity is still delivered to you as reliably as ever, over the same wires you have always had.
No. Your electricity will always be delivered via the same wires and meter you have now.
If you have a meter which has spinning visible discs (dial meter), you must read the dials. Write down the number that the pointer has just passed. This can be tricky as the dial pointers do not all travel in the same direction. The first, third and fifth dials are numbered clockwise, while the second and fourth dials are numbered counterclockwise. If a hand is directly on a number, look at the dial to its immediate right. If that dial's hand has just passed zero, write down the number that the left dial is pointing to. If the dial to the right has not passed zero yet, write down the last number that the dial on the left has passed. If you have a new "Smart Meter" with digital numbers, you simply read them as displayed.
The current reading can be used to determine how much electricity you have used since your last bill. Simply subtract last month's reading from the reading you took from your meter. The result is the number of kilowatt-hours you have used since your last reading.
When shopping for electricity, you will run across quite a few acronyms and terms. Here are a few more common ones. If you need more info, please feel free to call Frontier Customer Care at 1-866-926-8192.
You can quickly and easily sign up online by clicking here.
If you are just moving into a new property and the power is due to be newly in your name at this address, you should select Move-In. If the power is currently in your name at this address, with another provider, your options are Self Selected Switch or Standard Switch.
A Standard Switch is your choice if you are not on a contract or if your current contract is about to expire in the next 10 days. This type of switch will typically occur within 24 hours and does not incur a fee.
An Out of Cycle Switch is what you need if you are in a contract with your current provider and would like to schedule a specific business day to schedule your switch. Please note that an Out of Cycle Switch date may not be scheduled for more than 30 calendar days in advance from date of enrollment request. Switch and Move-in fees for AMS meters are as follows. Non AMS meters may incur a different charge.
When enrolling, we do check your payment history with other utility providers and may check your credit score. These will only determine if a deposit amount, if any, is necessary.
If this happens, you should double check to make sure all your information was entered correctly. If it is all correct and we still require a deposit, perhaps your last utility did not report payment histories. You can easily correct this by requesting a Letter of Credit from your previous utility. They can usually mail, fax or email this to you. Once we receive this, we can use it for your history to determine any deposits necessary.
You will receive a copy of the Terms of Service in your new customer Welcome Pack. If you'd like to read them before you sign up, there is a link beside each product on the product selection page. Current customers can also call a Frontier Customer Care Representative to have one mailed or emailed to you.
It depends on the product you choose. Month-to-month products do not have a cancellation fee. A fixed term product most likely has a cancellation fee if you cancel your agreement before the term expires. Everything is included in your EFL and TOS.
Some of our online products required that your account be set up on auto pay and e-billing in order for you to continue to enjoy your low rate since both of these options offer time and monetary savings to both you and Frontier. Choosing to opt out of either requirement may cause you to see an additional fee of $5.00 for each.
Some of our online products required that your account be set up on auto pay and e-billing in order for you to continue to enjoy your low rate since both of these options offer time and monetary savings to both you and Frontier. Choosing to opt out of either requirement may cause your rate to increase .05 per KWH.
When you request a new move in, we process that order and send it out for completion the same day (possibly the following business morning if your order was submitted late in the afternoon or out of hours). However, in order to physically come out and read/connect your meter, we have to make an appointment with your local metering company (your TDSP) and they require at least 3 business days’ notice to perform this task. Since the TDSP that services you is decided by where in Texas your meter is located, this timescale does not shorten regardless of which provider you choose (some other providers add their processing time to this 3 day window so they may quote a longer turn-around time).
As mentioned at the beginning of this section, we use it to review your payment history with other providers and/or check your credit score. We use your SSN# as a unique reference to identify you in these records. Please be assured that once this is provided on our secure website, it is not visible to any Customer Service operator or visibly stored in your account information.
The Pass-Through charges you may see, typically on a first invoice are normally the connection fees from the local metering company. If you select a new move in when you enroll (where you are allowed to select your own service start date), you are requesting that the local metering company send out a representative on that day to read the meter and switch it on if needed. The Pass Through Charge is the fee that the metering company charges you for sending out that representative outside of the normal monthly schedule.
Click the "My Account" link. It will pull up a window that will allow you to either login or sign up. If you provided login details during enrollment, you can simply login. If not, you will be asked to create a login with your customer number and then you will have access.
You can do several things, including: Check your balance; pay your bill; pull up PDF images of your past invoices and setup and edit recurring payments.
You should contact your local TSDP. The contact phone numbers are listed on your invoice. They are also here for your reference:
