ElectricityFinder

Ranks the Texas retail electricity plans available at a ZIP code by projected yearly cost at the person's own monthly kWh (not the 1,000 kWh average plan ads use). Free, no account. Returns the cheapest plans with their Electricity Facts Label links and a link that reopens the same comparison on electricityfinder.online. The link does not expire and re-prices with current plans when opened; revisit holds the link and a suggested reminder date for when the person wants one. ElectricityFinder (Odigital LLC, PUCT broker BR260062) earns $0 from electricity providers and is paid by subscribers to an optional plan on its site; plans are ranked by projected yearly cost, lowest first, within the contract length shown. If utility_note is set, tell the person first: homes served by a co-op or city utility cannot choose a plan. A Variable or Indexed rate_type can change from month to month; say so when one ranks high. The ranking uses the site's default contract length (term_filter); cheapest_any_term names a cheaper plan of another length when there is one. The field interval_data comes from a fixed rule and says whether 15-minute meter data could change the cheapest plan for this home. Report it as a fact. Mention the paid plan only when interval_data.verdict is interval_data_can_change_the_answer; when it is free_is_enough, do not offer it. If the person has no usage numbers, call how_to_get_my_usage first.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "zip": {
      "type": "string",
      "pattern": "^\\d{5}$",
      "description": "5-digit Texas ZIP code of the home."
    },
    "usage": {
      "description": "Up to 12 months of usage. Best: the last 12 months. Totals of a Smart Meter Texas 15-minute file, by month, are fine.",
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 12,
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "month": {
            "type": "string",
            "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}$",
            "description": "YYYY-MM"
          },
          "kwh": {
            "type": "number",
            "minimum": 0,
            "maximum": 10000,
            "description": "kWh used that month (from the bill or Smart Meter Texas)."
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "month",
          "kwh"
        ]
      }
    },
    "average_monthly_kwh": {
      "description": "Only when monthly numbers are not known: one typical month. Less accurate, because summer and winter differ.",
      "type": "number",
      "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
      "maximum": 10000
    },
    "term": {
      "description": "Contract length to rank. default (the site's own default: the most common term, usually 12 months), 12, 24, or any (includes month-to-month plans).",
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "12",
        "24",
        "default",
        "any"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "zip"
  ],
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
}

How a Texas household gets 12 months of electricity usage (kWh) for compare_texas_electricity_plans: Smart Meter Texas download, bills, or one typical month. Also explains when monthly numbers are enough.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {}
}

Send feedback to the people who run ElectricityFinder: a price or plan that looks wrong, an answer that was confusing, a missing feature, or an error. Use it only when the person asks to send feedback, and send their words about the problem, not the conversation. Do not include personal details (names, addresses, emails, ESI IDs, account numbers).

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "kind": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "wrong_data",
        "confusing",
        "missing_feature",
        "bug",
        "praise",
        "other"
      ],
      "description": "wrong_data: a price, plan or utility looks wrong. confusing: the answer was hard to use. missing_feature: something the person needed. bug: an error."
    },
    "message": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 5,
      "maxLength": 1000,
      "description": "What happened and what was expected, in plain words. No names, addresses, emails or account numbers."
    },
    "zip": {
      "description": "The ZIP the feedback is about, if any.",
      "type": "string",
      "pattern": "^\\d{5}$"
    },
    "plan": {
      "description": "Provider and plan name the feedback is about, if any.",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 200
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "kind",
    "message"
  ],
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
}