With the deregulation of energy in Texas, families and businesses have the opportunity to choose which company will send them their monthly electric bill for the first time. And the opportunity to compete in this emerging market led Tim Rogers, Tim Terrell, Tim Bell and Gary Shapiro to leap into the fray. 
 
The four, long-time Collin County residents formed Cirro Energy (www.cirroenergy.com) in early 2001. Using lessons learned while working with new technologies and navigating deregulation of the telecom sector, the executive team has built a company that treats people as valued customers instead of merely like “ratepayers.” 
 
“Under the old approach to energy, utilities were monopolies with exclusive franchise territories,” notes Tim Rogers, CEO of the Texas based energy provider, Cirro Energy. “This led to high prices, poor customer service and little incentive to teach people how to lower their power bills. Now that competition has come to the market, all that’s changing.” 
 
Cirro was founded as a result of the state’s efforts to provide Texans with a reliable alternative. The Company’s founders, who are all North Texans, have known each other for years. They even attended public school together in Collin County. 
 
“I grew up in Richardson, so I understand the energy demands North Texans face during the blistering summer and frigid winter,” comments Rogers. “Cirro was founded to give customers the ability to better control their utility bills and manage their energy costs. As we continue to grow, we plan to offer a full line of services including telecommunications and Internet access.” 
 
This is not an experimental concept for the Cirro team. The executives believe that the same opportunities presented during deregulation of the telecommunications market exist in the deregulated electricity industry. 
 
“As founders of CapRock Communications, we gained expertise in developing business plans to capitalize on the opportunities in a newly deregulated industry,” says Cirro President Tim Terrell. “In just seven years, we turned CapRock into the premier Integrated Communications Provider in the Southwestern United States. That same customer-centric philosophy, as well as proven procedures to streamline operations, will make us successful in this industry.” 
 
Based on the response by businesses and consumers, the future is bright for the company. Hundreds of multi-location businesses, office buildings, manufacturing facilities and homes have switched to Cirro. 
 
“There are more than 6 million residential and small commercial electric customers in Texas,” adds Tim Bell, Cirro’s executive vice president. “Texans have welcomed our efforts to treat them with responsive, friendly and cost efficient service.” 
 
One of Cirro’s most intriguing programs is a new agreement with utility construction company Teague Industries, which will bring deregulation to thousands of new homes. Under the agreement, construction crews building new homes will use a heavy-duty fixture from Teague to access economical power from Cirro. Homeowners can elect to maintain service with the retail electric provider upon move in. 
 
According to Executive Vice President Gary Shapiro, “Approximately 100,000 new homes are started each year in Texas. Our agreement with Teague means many new homebuyers won’t need to switch from a traditional incumbent energy provider to enjoy the value and service we offer. This will also help homebuilders lower construction costs, which also benefits home buyers.” 
 
Not everyone understands the benefits behind deregulation. The state recently launched a massive educational summer road show called “Texas Electric Choice.” 
 
“There are some misconceptions about deregulation in the market,” adds Bell. “Much like long distance telephone service restructuring, the local utility is still responsible for maintaining and providing the distribution infrastructure. There’s no ‘downtime’ during a switch, and customers continue to contact Oncor Energy directly in the event of any service affecting issues. The entire process is seamless, which allows customers to simply enjoy the savings.” 
 
Cirro is steadily expanding into newly deregulated areas of Texas. In addition to their Plano headquarters, Cirro Energy recently opened offices in Dallas and Houston. The team intends to begin offering service in Corpus Christi, Brownsville and throughout Texas during the third quarter of 2002. 
 
“We’re empowering customers with better service, competitive rates and educational programs,” concludes Rogers. “I think everyone will agree that choice will create new competition that will ultimately benefit consumers.”

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