Wedding cake, flowers and electricity

The Green Mountain Energy booth looked seemingly out of place at the Bridal Extravaganza this past weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center,  wedged among the vendors showcasing bridal dresses, bridal cakes and bridal china place settings. Two company representatives stood in front of the electricity display, trying to attract the brides-to-be, mothers-of-the-bride and bridesmaids walking by with catering and flower arrangements on their  minds to think about something more mundane.

"Who is your electric provider?" they shouted.  "Are you happy with them?"

The electricity market in Houston is deregulated and electric utility providers like NRG Energy-owned Green Mountain Energy are in a constant scramble for new customers and hanging on to their existing ones. Energy retailers spend as much as $250 to sign up new customers when the cost of marketing and enrollment are figured in. NRG Energy has the largest share of the retail electricity business in Texas and also owns Reliant Energy, Cirro Energy and Pennywise Power.

Many of the visitors sailed past the Green Mountain booth on their way to the cake samples up the aisle but a few lingered long enough to shout out their current provider or pick up a brochure. Others shrugged their shoulders because either they don't know their provider or they don't care. Only about 16 percent of customers in the CenterPoint service area - the utility that serves the Houston area - switched electricity providers last year. But enough must be stopping and signing up because the personal sales technique is still an important way electricity is sold in the deregulated parts of Texas.

For years, Green Mountain Energy and other retail electric providers have set up tents at grocery stores, big box stores and festivals to promote their electricity plans to shoppers and fun seekers. The bridal show is one of those events when shoppers might have electricity on their minds, said Green Mountain spokeswoman Alex Angelina.

Many couples attending the show are planning new homes together, she said, and with any move, picking out an electricity plan is part of the process.