Tomball City Council members approved a three-year partnership with iChoosr on Feb. 18, which provides residents the opportunity to enroll in a group buying program at no charge and see potential savings on their electric bills, said Daniel Wilkinson, a government liason with iChoosr, during a Feb. 18 meeting. IChoosr, an organizer of group buying programs, groups of interested residents and bargains for the best deal from energy providers, offering the cheapest rate to registered participants. The program seeks to simplify the process of finding a low-cost energy provider and encourage cost savings, Wilkinson said. “Although Texas [electricity] has been deregulated since 2002, most [Texans] have never made the effort to switch providers and save,” he said. “[Eighty-five] percent of Texans have a choice in deciding who their energy provider is going to be, and yet 70 percent of those residents have not switched energy providers in the last three years.” With council’s 4-1 vote, Tomball is one of 11 cities in Texas to support the program. The partnership comes at no cost to the city and gives the city no financial benefit, according to a March 19 release from iChoosr. “We sponsor it and have vetted it and verified [the program],” Assistant City Manager David Esquivel said. The new program, the Tomball Power Switch, is a local campaign of the Texas Power Switch, which is open to all Texas residents. IChoosr began offering the  program in Texas in 2017, Wilkinson said. Previous campaigns by iChoosr in Texas have resulted in about $350 saved annually per household, he said. “Money saved is money that stays in the local economy,” Wilkinson said.

Pursuing energy savings

Interested residents—including those outside city limits—can register online to take part in the Tomball Power Switch at no cost and with no obligation, Wilkinson said. “This is an easy, no obligation and no cost program, so there is no harm in registering for the program,” he said. “We act as an intermediary organization between the consumers, the city and the [energy] providers.” IChoosr organizes a reverse auction for energy providers verified through the Public Utility Commission of Texas, awarding the bid to the provider offering the lowest rate, Wilkinson said. Registered residents receive a personal offer from the winning energy provider, detailing the cost savings of switching from a current provider. The offer features a one-year contract at a fixed rate, he said. Participants can choose to accept or decline the offer. If accepted, iChoosr then facilitates the switch to a new energy provider. “As far as the city itself, we have no involvement other than just vetting it,” Esquivel said. “There’s no obligation to sign up. When you sign up, you’re not signing [a contract] with the Tomball Power Switch, it’s just strictly with that [energy] provider.” Residents can register during one of three four-month campaigns for auctions to be held on select dates, Wilkinson said. However, residents must reregister for a Tomball Power Switch auction each time their contracts are up; iChoosr will not remind previous participants of upcoming auction dates, Wilkinson said. Residents who do not register to participate in an iChoosr auction at the end of their one-year contracts will remain with their energy providers. “Everything is so complicated these days. The pricing for power or for anything like that—it becomes so complicated that it’s very difficult for a layman to really understand how this all works,” Esquivel said. “We see a huge value in that [this program] helps your layman understand it and get the best deal.” To register, visit www.tomballpowerswitch.com.