The Governor of Connecticut vetoed an energy bill that was pushed through the state house and senate at a rapid pace.

The bill has many components with one of the main points dealing with the structure of Connecticut’s deregulated electricity market.  Supporters of the bill noted that Connecticut pays some of the highest electric rates in the country and that the bill would allow incumbent providers CL&P and UI to lower their default rates.  These high electric rates are the default rates that CL&P and UI charge customers who do not shop the competitive market for alternative providers offering lower rates.

Any consumer who is upset that the bill did not get passed because they were hoping for lower rates on their bills can still achieve lower rates by shopping for a competitive rate, it’s that simple.  Savings versus the utility’s price to compare are out there at the tune of 20%.

By supporting energy deregulation in years past, Connecticut has put themselves in a position to benefit from competition.  All they need to do now in order to lower the average consumer’s electric rate is to educate their consumers about deregulation.  There is still strong misunderstanding out there about electricity deregulation, and the recent attempt to pass this energy bill does not make any thing clearer for the average consumer.

The fact is that CL&P (Connecticut Light & Power) and UI (United Illuminating) are no longer in the energy supply business, they are solely responsible for the delivering power.  They are given the responsibility, by the state, to provide default rates to those customers who do not switch to an alternative supplier.  Those who do switch and find a lower rate will see their bills decrease;  the great thing is that their incumbent provider (CL&P or UI) will continue to send them the bills, so the only thing that changes is the rate and amount that they will pay.

Feel free to comment or send us an email with any questions.  Electric savings are available in Connecticut.

The purpose of this article is to briefly explain the different type of electric providers in the Pennsylvania PPL electric market.

With the competitive electric market in the PPL utility territory maturing, business and residential customers are starting to become more familiar with some of the 30+ alternative suppliers’ brand names.

With many consumers the idea of electricity choice is still a foreign concept, and difference between providers is minute.  In reality the difference between some electric providers can be vast.  To start, though all electric providers are selling the same end product, electricity, how and who they sell it to will determine if they can be a right fit for you.

I put the providers into three categories:  Level 1 (Bait and Switch), Level 2 (Fixed Rate), Level 3 (Large Business Complex).

Level 1 providers are providers like Viridian and Glacial Energy.  They present an easy and friendly way to switch showing an introductory rate that is less than current default rates.  There rate is a floating rate that can changed at anytime.  Their market is usually small businesses who spend less than $1,000 a month.  They attract a customer who is unwilling to sign a more complex contract that would allow them to lock into a low fixed rate.

Level 2 providers offer customers a true fixed rate that will not fluctuate during the term of the contract.  Their contracts are more complex than that of the Level 1 provider because they are essentially buying the power for the specific customer on the wholesale market in advance.  This is how they are able to offer a fixed rate.  Providers like this include Liberty Power, Con Ed Solutions, and Direct Energy.  Their target markets are businesses that have good credit ratings.

Level 3 providers are usually only willing to service large business customers.  They tailor their rate products and contracts for those customers.  Their contracts are usually the most complex and often the customer will benefit by having a licensed broker represent them in negotiating the contract with the provider on their behalf.  The complexity of the contract is however justified as the provider is making a large investment, by agreeing to buy a large block of energy, for the customer and in doing so can save the customer a lot of money on their energy expenses.  Though not always limited to these type of transactions, some of the providers that are more likely to fall into this class are Suez Energy, UGI Energy Services, and Constellation New Energy.

For more information on specific providers, feel free to leave a comment or send and email.

PECO is trying to prepare their customers for choice in who charges them their electric rates by unleashing multiple programs.  Recently, the PA Public Utilities Commission announced that Pennsylvania utility companies will offer customers a choice of who they buy their electricity from.  In addition, price caps that expired in 2011 in the PECO area - as well as Met-Ed, Penn Electric, and West Penn – have increased default rates and given consumers an incentive to shop.

PECO is rolling out numerous programs to help customers cope with increases including the PECO Smart Home E-Audit, Smart Lighting Discounts, Smart Home Rebates, and Smart Appliance Recycling.  Alot of smart programs, but probably the smartest way consumers will be able to reduce their electricity bill is by shopping for an alternative supplier that will offer a reduced rate versus the PECO price to compare default rates.

PECO will continue to deliver power to those customers who they are currently delivering to as well as continue to send invoices out.    The decision to choose an alternative electric generation company will simply be a choice to pay less.  We will be providing contact information and rates for alternative providers as we get closer to 2011.

Update, as promised above, here are the absolute best rates and electric providers we have found in PECO:
Rates are updated Daily

Glacial Energy is an alternative electric supplier located in nearly every deregulated market in the U.S. including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and Texas.

On the positive side they offer an easy to read contract agreement to customers and generally, like most alternative suppliers, can offer customers on default service savings.

On the negative side, they rarely offer fixed rate contracts or a variable product tied directly to the wholesale electricity market.  Instead, they offer what they call a “Glacial Index” rate.  The Glacial Index rate is essentially a floating rate that has no boundaries as to how high it can go.  Furthermore, they require their customers to lock in for a term of 12 months or more.  With a floating rate product such as this there should be no need to have to commit to a 12 month term agreement.

If you’re a small business looking for savings on your electricity bill and are still on default service, you will most likely save some money by signing with Glacial Energy in the short term, however I would caution that in the long term they can increase your rate at any given time if you are on their Glacial Index product.

More serious consumers should look to compare electric rates and sign a contract with a provider that offers a fixed rate or a floating index rate that is tied directly to the wholesale market in which case you are taking a calculated risk.  The Glacial Index is random risk with Glacial having all of the power to increase the rates at anytime.

Electric rates will decrease for the second year in a row for New Jersey electric consumers who are on default service (i.e. have not shopped for a competitive supplier).  However, despite the decrease, greater savings are still available for these default service commercial and industrial customers if they decide to shop the competitive market for lower rates.

The default rates will lower after the four major New Jersey Utilities (PSEG, JCPL, ACE, Rockland Electric) completed their auction for basic generation service. 

Even after the default service reduced rates take effect on June 1, business consumers can expect to save anywhere from 10-30%  more off of those rates by contracting out with an alternative supplier.

Commercial and Industrial business customers on SGS or MGS rate classes being serviced by the Delmarva utility in Delaware have options to lower their electricity bills.  SGS rate class customers pay a default rate of 11.26 cents per KWh and MGS rate class customers pay 11.03 cents.  Both customer classes can lower those rates to below 10 cents per kilowatt hour. 

The lowest rate we found this week was 9.58 cents for a 12 month term (15% savings for SGS; 13% savings for MGS).  If you do not know your rate class you can find it at the top of your Delmarva invoice.