We have recently been getting a lot of questions pertaining to the Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania as a result of their increased rates over the past few months.  After much research, here is what I have discovered:

The Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania is a licensed retail electric provider that was set up by the Manufacturing and Business Association (MBA) through Fluent Energy as a way to get better electric rates for their members.  In their own words….

“The Association has established the Employers’ Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania, Inc. (EEA-PA), which will act as an energy supplier for its more than 4,700 member companies and organizations operating throughout central and northwest Pennsylvania. By purchasing directly from the electric grid and gas pipeline and eliminating broker commissions and marketing costs, the EEA-PA is able to pass savings directly on to participating members.” (keep a mental note of the words in bold)

The statement sounds good in theory, but many members saw their rates skyrocket to over $0.13 a few months ago when PPL default rates are at $0.10402 and the majority of businesses in the area are able to get low fixed rate offers of $0.085 (35% less than the $0.13 rate).  So what is going on here?

First, upon reviewing the Energy Alliance Electric Service Agreement, the Alliance buys their electricity on a monthly basis from the wholesale market which makes them extremely and completely open to spikes in the market.  When the Alliance charged their customers over $0.13 the wholesale market did see a bump in prices.  However, the jump in wholesale prices should not have caused rates to go up as high as they did.  Here is where things get really interesting….

In the Electric Service Agreement, the part that explains how customers will be charged, it reads:

“Basic Commodity Price: this is a variable price which is comprised of the weighted average PJM Independent System Operator commodity price and other associated costs of goods sold, plus the administrative fee per kWh set forth below, and any applicable taxes and/or agent fees.”

To break that sentence down, the first part (basic commodity price) is the wholesale price of electricity.  The administrative fee per kwh is listed in the contract at $0.0012 which isn’t out of the ordinary.  Applicable taxes are always warranted.  Then comes the kicker, ever so slightly written, “agent fees”.  What exactly is an agent fee?  It is not defined anywhere else in the contract, and to me it seems like it is the very thing the Alliance set out to eliminate in the first place (bold area from above “liminating broker commissions and marketing costs“).

Basically this “agent fee” gives the Energy Alliance the right to tack on whatever commission they would like on a monthly basis, and it is possible that when the members of this alliance payed a rate of $0.13 cents per KWh a few months ago, someone walked away with a nice undeserved bonus.

I would recommend to any business involved in this Energy Alliance to seek out a fixed electric rate that will prevent such spikes to happen in the future.  For a list of electric companies offering fixed rates and their offers, email us or write a comment to this article.

The thing that really gets to me about the Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania is the way they market themselves.  They come off trying to sell the whole “power in numbers” mentality when really their buying structure is not taking advantage of their buying power at all.  Furthermore, there statement of lower rates due to the fact that they will eliminate broker fees, followed up by adding their own agent fees is just plain misleading.  Even the name “Energy Alliance of PA” gives the impression that they are a non-profit when clearly they are as profit seeking as Walmart or McDonalds.

PPL has posted their estimated price to compare electric rates for the first half of 2011.

The Pennsylvania utility estimates that their residential customers who are still on default electric service will pay $0.09426 cents per Kilowatt hour which is a penny less than what they are currently paying.  The exact rates won’t be known until December.  Once the exact rates are published it is our belief that the competitive suppliers will start offering a lower electric rate as well in order to attract customers who have been slow to adapt to the competitive market.

Small businesses are estimated to pay $0.09764, down from $0.10402.  Current fixed electric rates can be locked in between $0.080 and $0.085 for small business electricity customers.  Medium and large business customers have been able to negotiate rates in the $0.07s and in some cases even get down to the $0.06s.

The price to compare includes the generation and transmission portion of the PPL electric bill.  The delivery charges and still charged by PPL and regulated by the state.

Update: Residential rates are now very competitive in the PPL market, with savings upwards to 15%. Here are the best residential electricity prices we have found:

Bounce Energy is a Texas based electric company who focuses their marketing campaigns on savvy online users.  They offer a unique rewards program for many of their customers that rewards consumers who pay their bill on time.  Such rewards include free movie tickets, gift certificates to Target, bill credits, and even airline tickets.  Customers become eligible for more rewards the longer they use Bounce Energy as their electricity company.

Some of Bounce Energy offers include:

Low Introductory Variable Rate: $0.079 /KWh

12 Month Fix Your Rate for A year: $0.088/ KWh        MOST POPULAR!

*Rates are for Oncor Territory and are accurate for the posted date of this article.  For other utility areas, and to see if the rates have changed, click on the rate link.

To learn more about Bounce Energy’s Rewards Programs, click on one of the rate offers above.

The 1.5 million electricity customers serviced by Connecticut utilities CL&P and UI have close to a dozen options when it comes to choosing a Connecticut electric supplier.

CT electric suppliers range from small start up companies to sister companies of fortune 500 energy companies.  Some of the CT electric suppliers are only offering service to residential electric customers, some only to commercial and industrial electricity users, and others are offering service to all energy users.

Currently, more than one million Connecticut customers have not chosen a competitive CT Electric supplier.  Those who have not chosen a supplier pay a high default rate with either CLP or UI, who act as the electricity delivery companies for the majority of the state.  Residential customers can save up to 18.7% by choosing a new electric company to provide electric generation service.

When a customer chooses an alternative electricity generation (or supply) company, they simply are choosing a lower rate versus the CLP or UI default rate.  In most cases, the customer will still get their monthly electric bill from the utility.

Some CT electric suppliers, like MX Energy (click here), offer fixed rates that lock in a specific rate for a specific period of time.  In Connecticut, the default rates are set for one year at a time, so getting a fixed electric rate with an electric supplier can guarantee savings.

Other CT electric suppliers, like Positive Energy (click here), offer a variable electric rate that can fluctuate from month to month but gives the customer the option to leave at any point without penalty.

PECO Energy is a utility company who delivers electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania.  On January 1, 2011 they will be increasing their rates by about 10%.

January 1, 2011 marks the expiration of rate caps that were enacted in 1997.  PECO energy customers will more than likely also see their generation rates increase as the capped rates expire and they move to PECO electric generation default rates.  Customers will be able to find lower generation electric rates with other electric companies.

It is important for people to understand that PECO Energy is still a regulated company.  PECO is responsible for the delivery of power to their customers, but they are not responsible for offering low generation rates.  People who wish to remain “loyal” to PECO by staying with their electric default rates are poorly misinformed.  Those who shop and buy lower electric rates with other electric companies will have lower electric bills, but they will still receive their monthly electric invoice from PECO.

PECO electricity customers will be able to offset the 10% increase that PECO is imposing on their delivery charges by shopping for lower generation electric rates, which makes up about two-thirds of the bill.

Best PECO Competitive Electricity Rates (updated daily):

Viridian Energy is a new company, founded in 2009, who offers a variable electric rate to customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Viridian Energy only offers a variable rate which can be dangerous if you are a customer.  There is really no limit to how high a variable electric rate can go up in any given month, and history shows that eventually the rates will increase drastically.  The main reason for this is the huge dependency that Viridian places on the wholesale market.  When the market behaves, Viridian can offer a rate that is slightly lower that the utility default rates, however when the market spikes they will be forced to pass on the extra costs to their customers.  I recommend finding a fixed electric rate that will lock in a rate for a set period of time.

Viridian Energy markets through “Direct Selling” or multi-level marketing.  They attract independent associates, who are often not well informed on energy prices and markets, to sell Viridian electric rates to their friends and family in hopes that it will cause these customers to stay loyal to them long term.

Viridian’s rates are not attractive.  Lower electric rates, both variable and fixed, can be found by comparing other electric companies’ offers to Viridian’s offers.

Besides the lower rates offered by these other companies, the important thing to note is that these offers are fixed.  Viridian’s offers are variable and can go even higher at any time.  Viridian advertises that they have “no contracts”, but when it comes to buying electricity, it is good to have a contract as it will state the exact rate you will pay assuming that the contract is for a fixed rate.  Without a contract you are truly at the mercy of the electric company.