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Start-up Texas Broker Led By Utility Billing Vet Promises $50 In Savings, Or Money Back, Using Tool Ranking All Plans Based On Individual SMT Data
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WattTrim LLC d/b/a GridWise Audit, a start-up, registered as a Texas retail electric broker
John Wooten founded WattTrim and is the sole member of the LLC. Wooten has spent nearly 20 years at Atmos Energy, including over a decade in revenue management (including billing investigation and discrepancy resolution)
GridWise Audit touts its "decoupled ecosystem", contrasting such against commissioner-based or other shopping services in the market
GridWise Audit alleges, of services relying on commissions, the following: "This commission is built seamlessly into the plan's underlying rate sheet as a 'mil fee,' which typically scales from $0.003 to $0.010 per kWh. For a standard Texas household consuming 2,000 kWh per month, this invisible markup can quietly siphon between $72 and $240 annually from the consumer directly into the broker's pocket. Because default sorting mechanisms ('Featured,' 'Best Match,' or 'Recommended') are completely proprietary, platforms face an inherent conflict of interest: they are structurally incentivized to steer traffic toward high-margin affiliate contracts rather than true mathematical savings."
GridWise Audit also takes aim at shopping services which rely on collecting customer information, which is then monetized
GridWise Audit alleges: "Traditional comparison engines almost universally deploy an aggressive lead-capture wall, refusing to reveal plan details until a user surrenders an exact street address, email, and phone number. This forced onboarding satisfies two distinct revenue plays: Data Aggregation: While PUCT regulations technically restrict brokers from selling proprietary consumer energy data outright without consent, standard legal 'Terms of Service' frameworks frequently bypass this. By accepting the fine print, users often cross-authorize marketing access for 'affiliated business networks,' exposing themselves to automated solicitations for third-party solar installations, home warranty policies, and smart security contracts. Ecosystem Lock-In: To deliver 'advanced bill calculations,' platforms demand direct access to automated intervals. By capturing an address and an account sign-up, platforms gain the necessary leverage to execute electronic Letters of Authorization (LOA), extracting 12-month interval profiles from Smart Meter Texas (SMT). Once your usage history is wired into their proprietary infrastructure, leaving their funnel becomes highly inconvenient."
GridWise Audit describes its "decoupled ecosystem" as follows.
First is GridWise Audit, which provides a comparison of, "every Texas electricity plan"
GridWise Audit, which is free to users and does not require sign-up, touts that GridWise Audit is funded by advertising revenue, via "Standard Google Ads". GridWise Audit states that GridWise Audit receives no commission or compensation from any Retail Electric Provider (REP). "We do not accept sponsored placements in plan rankings, and advertising revenue has no influence on how plans are sorted, filtered, or displayed," GridWise Audit states
The second, optional step is WattTrim Audit, a customer-fee-based service, which analyzes every plan against a customer's actual usage, and, "deliver[s] a detailed, cascading breakdown of plans ranked from highest to lowest savings".
WattTrim is funded by a flat service fee paid directly by the consumer. WattTrim states that WattTrim receives no commission or compensation from any Retail Electric Provider (REP).
A single WattTrim audit is $14.99, but a customer may elect an ongoing monthly audit service at $4.99 per month, with the otherwise applicable $14.99 fee eliminated
WattTrim's website states, "$50+ in savings found or your money back automatically".
The audit includes:
• Personalized plan comparison for the customer's area
• Monthly cost breakdown on the best plan
• Annual savings vs. the customer's current rate
• All-in rates including TDU delivery charges
• Solar buyback and TOU plan analysis
• Cancellation fees factored into every recommendation
• Battery and VPP credit analysis
The ongoing monthly membership option (called Sentinel) also includes the following:
• Monthly cost comparison (before vs. after switching)
• Daily rate scanning using the customer's actual usage profile
• Savings alerts when a plan appears that would save the customer more than 5% on a 12-month or longer commitment
• Retail plan contract expiration countdown, reminders, and alerts
• Monthly heartbeat reports showing the current state of the market based on the customer's usage pattern; market rate trends vs. the customer's rate
• Free one-click re-audits for as long as the customer is subscribed -- run a fresh one whenever desired
• Early termination fee math factored into every recommendation, so a "cheaper" plan that costs $200 in an ETF to switch to is not presented as a savings
• Solar import/export balance
• Solar Feasibility Study included free ($17.99 value)
• Real-time ERCOT grid status for Texas
WattTrim markets its service specifically as not being a concierge (auto-switching) service. WattTrim rather provides to the customer the savings analysis, and the customer controls whether to enroll onto a new plan
WattTrim notes that customers do not need to provide SMT log-in credentials to WattTrim, as customers themselves upload exported SMT data to WattTrim. Customers do not provide any other personal info to WattTrim
WattTrim states, "With Sentinel, you stay in control. We watch the market and tell you when something better shows up. You decide if and when to switch. Nobody logs into your account. Nobody makes decisions on your behalf."
WattTrim also touts its service as "completely private" -- "We never share your data with installers or third parties"
The Solar Feasibility Study included in the monthly subscription ($17.99 without a subscription) provides as follows: Upload your Smart Meter Texas data and get a personalized Solar Feasibility Study -- ideal system size, payback period, and 25-year ROI based on the customer's actual usage.
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July 2, 2026
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Copyright 2026 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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