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Start-up Texas Broker WattTrim Adjusts Strategy As It Gains Access To More Retail Electric Plans; Customer-Specific SMT-Based Audit Of Electric Plans Now Free
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WattTrim LLC d/b/a GridWise Audit, a start-up which recently registered as a Texas electric broker, has revised its strategy as the company has gained access to Texas retail electric plans which are not posted on the Power to Choose site
WattTrim's initial vision was to build a tool that uses a customer's SMT data to find the best-fit electricity plan for Texas consumers, funded entirely by a flat fee paid by the customer, with WattTrim previously emphasizing, "No commissions, no conflicts of interest".
Specifically, initially for a customer-paid fee, WattTrim offered an audit which analyzed every Power to Choose plan against a customer's actual SMT usage, and which "deliver[s] a detailed, cascading breakdown of plans ranked from highest to lowest savings".
See more details on the initial offering here
John Wooten, founder of WattTrim and a Texas utility billing veteran, stated that, upon being registered as a Texas broker, WattTrim through broker agreements with retail electric providers now has access to plans that are not otherwise publicly available -- plans that Wooten said are often cheaper and a better fit than what consumers can find on PowerToChoose or other broker sites.
"Having that insight changed my perspective on the revenue model," Wooten stated.
Rather than charging consumers a fee for an audit of available plans (both those on Power to Choose and non-public plans to which WattTrim now has access), WattTrim will now offer the WattTrim analysis, specific to the customer's SMT usage, completely free to anyone, regardless of whether they choose to sign up for a plan through the WattTrim platform.
The prior $14.99 single-audit fee has been eliminated. In light of the audit now being free, a prior "$50 in savings or money back" guarantee has been removed.
WattTrim now touts a free, customer-specific audit, based on SMT data, of every public plan on PowerToChoose.org and of, "exclusive broker-negotiated rates," across all 6 TDU service areas, ranked by what plan saves the customer the most
Continuous electricity plan monitoring, branded as Sentinel, remains available at $4.99 per month for customers who want ongoing plan tracking and alerts.
WattTrim now earns revenue through optional subscription services and enrollment commissions when customers choose to switch through the platform.
"But the core commitment has not changed: analysis results are never influenced by provider compensation. Rankings are based solely on each customer's actual Smart Meter usage data. Every page on both WattTrim and GridWise Audit carries our independence statement and PUCT broker license number," Wooten stated
"We have also improved the customer experience significantly. Customers no longer download and upload their own Smart Meter data. They snap a photo of their electricity bill, WattTrim extracts the account details automatically, and we request their 15-minute interval data directly through the Smart Meter Texas API. Once the customer approves a brief authorization email from Smart Meter Texas, personalized results are ready within minutes," Wooten stated
As before, the audits and recommendations take into account early cancellation fees and include analysis of solar buyback and TOU plans and battery and VPP credit analysis
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August 5, 2026
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Copyright 2026 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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