As The Watchdog, for more than a decade, I’ve tried to teach Texans how to shop for the cheapest electricity. It’s a gamble.

I’ve handed out thousands of “cheat sheets,” and I’ve tried to publish an online shopping guide every other year.

But I got stuck. I’m bound to an electricity co-op, so I can’t shop around like most people.

That’s where Paul Hart of Plano comes in. Hart, 74, is retired after a long career in information technology. A citizen of my Watchdog Nation consumer rights movement, he offered to help me compile a new guide, and I want to share its highlights.

He told me, “I wanted to make it so simple that anybody could do it within 15 minutes without giving it a thought.”

Here, for the first time, we unveil the newest guide, It’s aimed at customers of Oncor. You still have to select a retailer.

Guide intro

All electricity is the same, right? So why pay more than your neighbors? And why pay a broker $100 a year when you can decide – and do it under 15 minutes, too?

Expiration date

Failure to pick a new plan before your current plan expires can be costly. Usually, the new customer plan offers the cheapest rates. But upon your contract expiration the rates jump high.

It’s best to shop around and change to a lower-priced plan about two weeks before the expiration date.

The basics

On the state-run powertochoose.org shopping site, flawed but still useful, a company can offer various kilowatt per hour (kWh) rates. They offer pricing for 500 kwh a month, 1,000 or 2,000. Those numbers are not part of your bill. They are examples of the average rate for a specific amount of electricity used. They confuse almost everybody.

If you sign up for 12.1 cents and use exactly 1,000 kWh, the price would be $0.121 x 1000 = $121 for that month. Each additional 1 cent added may bring your billing up $10.

Full details

Those numbers are not helpful, but the “Electricity Facts Label” or EFL for each plan is required and offers a plan’s details. The EFL contains the nitty gritty – like monthly base rates, cancellation fees, rebate information and other charges (what critics call gimmicks).

You may also see a “Terms of Service.” Ignore these fact sheets at your peril. Understand the details before you sign up for a plan, which is actually a contract.

You also pay an Oncor charge for delivery, but don’t worry about that. Everybody pays the same.

Base rates

Base rates may range from $5 a month to $20. Some companies don’t charge one.

Average rates shown only roughly compare plans. That’s the basis for a lot of confusion, especially because there might be hidden costs you have to dig out.

Seasonal rates

Like airline ticket prices, electricity rates for almost all companies may change every day, even sometimes every hour. Locking in rates when they’re low is smart. The opposite is that sometimes you don’t have a choice.

Pay attention to the seasons. Usually, the lowest rates are in the spring, and the highest are in the summer. Avoid long-term contracts that start in the summer. If your current plan expires in the summer, a safe bet would be a short three-month plan to get you into the fall buying season.

Long-term plans

Long-term plans range from 12 months to 36 months. Without a reliable multi-year forecast, it’s a guess based on your gut. If you get a low rate, go for it.

Variable-rate plans

Yuck. In these plans the rates can change every month. At best, you pay a little less. At worse, rates spike so high it’s a budget buster.

Cancellation fees

You’ve signed up with a company at a rate and then something better comes along. Cancellation fees can go deep into hundreds of dollars. It may not be worth it. If you switch up to two weeks before your expiration date you shouldn’t be charged a cancellation fee.

Final notes

These retail electricity providers you’re dealing with don’t generate the electricity. These are the middlemen between Oncor, which delivers power, the companies and you. These retailers negotiate pricing with generation companies and then set their price offerings.

Many websites offer to help find the best contracts for you. Some charge you a minimal fee; others get paid by the retailers for providing leads. Some sites pretend to be consumer oriented but they are actually fronts for a retailer.

Still, when it comes to signing a contract it’s preferable to do it online rather than with a sales agent on the phone. Why? Sales people may mislead and switch you, but there may be nothing in writing. If you sign up on a company’s website you should get exactly what you selected.

If a plan is not listed on PowerToChoose.org, that’s a potential red flag. For vendors to post their offerings on the state’s website, they must be transparent and follow the rules.

Don’t fall for imitation sites that use variations of the words “power to choose” to confuse people who go to the wrong site.

On the site’s left side is a menu that allows you to filter out what you don’t want. We suggest you filter: plans without a minimum; fix rate; do not show prepaid plans, and don’t show time of use plans.

One clue we’ve found that possibly indicates funny business is when the difference between a 500 kWh average and a 2,000 average is more than 1 cent.

Use simple strategies for picking low-priced plans without gimmicks. You’ll live with the final decision.

As I say, it’s a gamble.