I have read that electricity is deregulated in Texas. I am interested
in buying electricity wholesale and selling it retail. The most
important factor is the average margin. What are the current actual
prices to buy at wholesale and to sell at retail and what quantities
are needed to be purchased?

A list of wholesalers to buy from would be nice too.

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 02 Nov 2003 02:45 PST

Hi!

It seems that the information for average margins and actual prices
for wholesale purchases are quite hard to find.

I was able to find though a list of wholesalers in Texas and their
contact information. Plus I was able to find a website wherein you can
compare the price offerings of your prospective competitor retailers
in specific areas. You can search via zip code.

With this information I think you will be able to have a fairly good
idea of the margins after inquiring for price specifics among the
wholesalers I will provide.

Will this answer (without the specific wholesale prices and margins)
be enough as a legitimate answer.

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by clb108-ga on 02 Nov 2003 16:13 PST

If you can get a comprehensive list of wholesalers, including ones
outside Texas, this will work.

Hi! Thanks for accepting my proposal for answering your question.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has a comprehensive list
of electricity wholesalers in Texas and from other states. There are
different types of entities wherein you can buy electricity at
wholesale prices.

One of them is what we call a Power Marketer. The PUCT has a
definition of the capabilities of each.

Power Marketer – “A power marketer buys and sells electric energy at
wholesale but does not own generation facilities in the state and does
not have a certificated service area.”

Another entity will be Power Generation Companies.

Power Generation Companies – “A power generation company produces
electricity for sale in the competitive electric market in Texas.”

You can also find application forms if you want to become an
Electricity Retailer in Texas in the link below.

Source: PUCT Website
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/business/index.cfm#6 


Our next links takes you directly to lists of Power Marketers and
Power Generation and Self Generation Companies.

Power Marketers
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/directories/pm/pm_list.htm 

Power Generation Companies
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/directories/pgc/pgc_list.htm

Self Generation Companies
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/directories/pgc/self-gen_list.htm


You can also find a comprehensive list of your possible competitors in
our next link.

Retail Electric Providers
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/directories/rep/rep_list.htm 


Finally our last resource provides a way for you to find the price
offerings of your competitors by typing in a particular zip code and
find their prices for those areas.

Power to Choose: Compare Offers
http://www.powertochoose.org/yourchoice/compareoffers.asp 

A sample table of offers can be found in our next link.

Sample Offers for Zip Code = 75605
http://www.powertochoose.org/electricchoice/compareresults.asp?zip=75065


Search terms used:                           
"public utility commission" Texas 
Texas electricity sellers  
 
                  
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
                          
Thanks for visiting us again.                          
                          
Regards,                          
Easterangel-ga                          
Google Answers Researcher