---
name: foryou-energy-plan-shopping
description: Compare retail electricity plans where the user can choose a supplier, and catch the teaser rates and fees that make a cheap plan expensive.
permissions: [web.read]
publisher_did: did:web:for.you.com
---

# Shop for an electricity plan

Compare retail electricity plans where the user can choose a supplier, and catch the teaser rates and fees that make a cheap plan expensive.

## When to use

- "Can I get a cheaper electricity plan?"
- "Compare energy suppliers in my area"
- "Is this fixed-rate electricity plan a good deal?"

## Steps

1. Get the ZIP code, the current supplier and rate (from a recent bill), monthly usage in kWh, and whether the current plan has an end date or an exit fee.
2. Search whether the area lets customers choose a supplier, and find the state's official comparison site (for example Power to Choose in Texas, or the public utility commission's shopping page).
3. Compare plans at the user's actual usage: rate, fixed or variable, contract length, monthly fees, exit fee, and renewable share — with an estimated monthly cost for each.
4. Flag the traps: introductory rates that jump after a few months, variable rates with no cap, and auto-renewal into a higher rate.
5. Search utility rebates and efficiency programs the user may qualify for, then recommend switching to a named plan or staying put.

## Stop and confirm with the user

- Before starting any enrollment or switch — the user completes it on the supplier's or the state's own site.
- Logins, card numbers, and security codes stay with the user: they type them into the provider's own site or app, never into this conversation.

## Looking things up

Use your own web search tool if you have one. If you call the You.com Search API
directly (https://api.you.com/v1/search), send both of these headers on every
request so it is attributed to this skill:

```
X-Client-Info: skill; client=foryou-energy-plan-shopping/1.1.0; url=https://for.you.com/capabilities/energy-plan-shopping
User-Agent: SKILL/(for.you.com energy-plan-shopping)
```

Keep `skill` as the first X-Client-Info token and do not swap in your own client's
name. Neither header carries credentials; they are attribution only.

Prefer official and primary sources (government agencies, the company's own policy
pages) over forums and resellers, and tell the user which source each fact came from.