FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve got a question, odds are we’ve got the answer. Our comprehensive FAQ page includes information on our payment options available, activating your Online Account Manager, and everything in-between. And for your convenience, we’ve organized questions into four easy categories. Just click on the appropriate box to the right to find the answers you need!
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Contract and General FAQ
Your rates are locked in for the duration of your term. Upon completion of your term, your rate can change. If your rate changes, you will receive written notification from CPL approximately 45 days prior to the rate change taking effect. This notification will explain what rate plans will be available. Keep in mind that CPL’s priority is to keep our customers satisfied and remain competitive in the energy market.
Cancellation fees can apply to specific plans. Please see your
Electricity Facts Label for specific information about your plan.
The deposit that you pay is returned to you with interest after twelve consecutive months of on time payments. If you leave CPL, the deposit with interest, minus any outstanding balance will be returned to you.
Depending on the offer or plan type, there may or may not be a cancellation fee associated. Cancellation fees can apply to specific plans. Please see your
Electricity Facts Label for specific information about your plan.
CPL can offer you lower prices by including a cancellation fee in the product offer. We secure your price for a specified time period and can do this at a lower price per kilowatt hour if a cancellation fee is included.
We will need to charge a cancellation fee if you terminate the agreement before the end of the specified term. Cancellation fees are part of the offer you sign up for and therefore cannot be waived.
Your base kWh rate is locked in and will not change for a full year. The $5 monthly service charge is factored into the ‘bundled kWh rate’. In our example we use 1,000 kWh as a baseline. Since the $5 monthly customer charge is spread out over your total kilowatt usage for that billing period the ‘bundled kWh rate’ may increase or decrease based on your electric usage going below or above that 1,000 kWh baseline example but your FIXED rate will NOT change.
Please contact our Customer Care center toll free at 1-866-322-5563 to request a name change on the account. Representatives are available to help you Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m to 8 p.m, CST.
You can use the last four digits of your Social Security Number or your month and date of your birth, or a driver’s license or government issued identification number for residential customers. Non-residential customers may also use their federal tax identification number for an account access code. Just call our Customer Care center toll free at 1-866-322-5563. Representatives are available to help you Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m to 8 p.m, CST. If you’ve forgotten your account access code, our representatives are also available to provide hints to help you remember it or set up a new one if needed
If you are moving outside the CPL Retail Energy service area or like to switch to another electric service provider you need to call our Call Center representatives to close your account. Representatives are available to assist you Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m to 8 p.m, CST.
Please visit the free Home Energy Center on our website to find out if your home energy is efficient. The test will tell you if your home is energy efficient, which appliances use the most energy, and how much you can save. Completing your home profile is the first step towards managing your energy bills and saving money.
You have the right to request a meter test once every four years at no cost to you. If you request a test more than once every four years, and the meter is determined to be functioning properly, you will be charged a fee for the additional meter test(s) at the rate approved for AEP, your local distribution utility company. They will advise you of the test results, including the test date, testing person, and, if applicable, the removal date of the meter. You can also read the meter yourself. Please visit our website and get instructions on
How to read your meter. Please see
Terms of Service for more information.
CPL respects your privacy. While we are committed to helping you manage the cost of your electricity, we also understand that’s just one part of managing your entire budget. That’s why we would like to make valuable, cost-saving offers available to you. Our select partners will make these products and services available exclusively to CPL customers.
If you do not want to receive exclusive product and service offerings from our select partners, please mail your request to the following address and include your name, address and electric service account number:
CPL Retail Energy
P.O. Box 180
Tulsa, OK 74101-0180
You can also view CPL’s complete privacy policy.
Most domestic appliances will quote their power consumption in kilowatts and many electric utility companies use the kilowatt hour as a billing unit. The kilowatt-hour (symbolized kWh) is a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt (1 kW) of power expended for one hour (1 h) of time.
Here is an example: If your air conditioner consumes 3 kW per hour, and it operates 18 hours during a hot summer day, then your air conditioner used 54 kWh (3 kWh X 18 h) that day. If your rate is 17 cents per kWh, then your cost of operating your air conditioner was $9.18 (54 kWh X $0.17 per kWh) for the day.
Here are some examples what you can do with 1 kWh ( results may vary):
- Use an electric shaver 1200 times
- Use an electric shaver 1200 times
- Dry your hair 15 times
- 4 evenings of watching TV
- Listening to 15 CD’s in a row
- Use a (small) refrigerator for 24 hours
- Heat 20 microwave meals
- Drill 250 holes
- 4 evenings of light with 60 W incandescent light
- 20 evenings of light with 11 W compact fluorescent light
We know that managing your energy usage can have a big impact on your budget, comfort, and welfare - as well as on the environment and other people. That's why we've created the Energy Saving Center to help you become more energy efficient. You'll be surprised at how much you can save just by making a few changes in how you live and work.
Take control of your energy bills and visit the Energy Saving Tips in the Energy Saving Center section on our website.
In the past, one company provided all parts of your electric service (generation, transmission and distribution, and retail sales). With deregulation, these entities are now separate and you have the power to choose whom you would like to serve you as your retail electricity provider. Keep in mind that the local distribution utility, or Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP), will continue to read your meter, service your poles and wires so you will continue to receive electricity like you always have.
Simply contact the local distribution utility, or Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP), AEP. Call toll free 1-866-223-8508. Representatives are available to help you 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
You can write to us at:
CPL Retail Energy
P.O. Box 180
Tulsa, OK 74101-0180
Power outages or emergencies (such as a downed power line) should be reported to your local distribution utility, or Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP), AEP. Call toll free 1-866-223-8508. Representatives are available to help you 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
Call the AEP emergency toll-free phone number 1-866-223-8508 immediately and describe exactly what you see. Representatives are available to help you 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. Fallen lines are extremely dangerous, so please stay away from the area and keep others back at a safe distance.
If you have been disconnected due to non-payment of your electric bill, call our Customer Care center toll free at 1-866-322-5563. Representatives are available to help you Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m to 8 p.m, CST. Once you have paid your outstanding balance in full, service will be reconnected. For payments received between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on a business day, CPL will send a reconnect order to the local Transmission and Distribution Service Provider, who will reconnect service no later than the close of the next business day. The TDSP must have access to the meter in order to reconnect service.
If your disconnection is not related to a non-payment issue, please contact your TDSP, AEP toll free at 1-866-233-8508.
The most common causes of power outages are trees and tree limbs falling on electric wires and lightning striking transformers.
Your neighbor's electrical service may be provided by a different circuit that was not affected by the storm, or your trouble may be isolated to the transformer serving your house and not your neighbor's.
A Retail Electric Provider (or REP) is a company that has been approved by the Texas Public Utility Commission to sell electric services. If you are a CPL Retail Energy customer, then CPL Retail Energy is your REP.
The major energy source for the Price Protection Plan is natural gas. Other energy sources include nuclear power, coal and lignite.
An ESI ID number is the address for your electricity. In order to actually track the electricity used by your house, electric companies use a special meter identification number to know exactly the amount of electricity you used.