New Jersey electricity customers who receive service from Jersey Central Power & Light (JCPL), and who are on the utility’s default generation plan, will experience a sharp rate increase beginning on the first of October 2018. The default rate, known as the basic generation service charge, changes twice annually and is derived by a series of auctions that take place as long as three years before the rate actually takes effect. The auctions are spaced out over a three year period as a way to spread out the price volatility that often occurs in wholesale energy markets; in this way default paying customers are not stuck paying high prices due to an auction occurring during a time when wholesale prices were high. However, if current energy prices are lower during the time the default rate is in effect, customers are then presented an opportunity to save money by switching to a lower competitive New Jersey electricity supplier.

Residential JCPL customers on the basic generation service rate will see at most a 13.93% rate increase take effect on October 1, 2018 compared to what they had been paying since the beginning of June. The new higher rate will have the biggest impact on lower usage customers. Since June 1, 2018 JCPL customers on the default rate have paid $0.083846 per KWh for the first 600 KWh they consume in a given monthly service period. This rate then increased to $0.093071 for all kilowatt hours above 600. On October 1 these residential customers will pay a flat rate of $0.095527 for all KWh consumed. The JCPL rate increase can be stopped by simply shopping the New Jersey competitive electricity market for a lower fixed price.

As of July 2018, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities released electric switch data showing that 16.8% of JCPL’s 999,604 residential customers were purchasing power from a competitive supplier. This data indicates that there are roughly 831,348 residential customers who are on the basic generation service rate, and who can avoid the October 1 price increase and lower their JCPL electric bill by shopping for a lower rate. Below are fixed JCPL electric rates offered by suppliers who have been licensed by the New Jersey BPU.

Energy choice participation is picking up in Chicago as consumers are becoming more aware of legislation that allows them to choose a competitive electricity supplier as opposed to their incumbent utility ComEd. The creation of a competitive electricity market in Illinois has created an abundance of electric rate options that customers can now choose between. As suppliers fight to gain market share and brand recognition consumers will find it easier to shop around for the lowest rates with names they trust. Residents who become more educated with electricity choice continue to shop to stay informed about which suppliers are offering the lowest rates.

Chicago residents searching for the lowest electric rate should consider switching to a competitive supplier immediately . Locking in a fixed electric rate may protect the consumer from volatility during harsh winter months. Competitive electric suppliers already have future weather projections built into their rates, marginalizing the effects short term spikes in the energy wholesale futures markets will have on competitive offers. In general, fixed rates offered by Chicago competitive suppliers provide price security for residential customers.

Trying to choose the lowest electricity rate in Chicago is becoming easier as the competition fights to gain more market share. One tool that is becoming increasingly popular to help electric choice shoppers choose and compare rates are online comparison sites. Online comparison sites allow consumers to compare the cheapest electric rates from multiple suppliers based upon the desired term that best suits the customer. The process of switching to a competitive supplier through an online comparison site is minimal in time for the customer. All it takes is a copy of the ComEd bill and a few minutes to compare current competitive offers to the ComEd price to compare.

Texas electricity suppliers have been issuing numerous warning to their commercial customers concerning likely higher prices this summer in the wholesale electricity market. These prices will trickle down to the retail sector hitting the electric bills of many business customers who are not on a secure fixed electricity rate contract. The Houston grid zone is already experiencing upward pressure on electricity prices as temperatures have been higher than normal in May. Houston zonal pricing for the 12 month strip, which determines the 12 month fixed rate, jumped up 7% in May.

The cause for concern over Texas electricity prices for the summer of 2018 is a result of recent coal fired electricity generation plants being closed over the last year. In an effort to move to a more green energy future, the closure of coal generation plants is likely going to put Texas is a electricity supply shortage that the state has not experienced in decades. If the shortage in electricity gets to close to a break even point to the demand, wholesale electricity prices will skyrocket as retail electricity suppliers bid of prices to meet the demand of their individual customers, many of whom are on variable rate products and won’t be protected by aggressive market increases.

Small and medium commercial electricity customers often let their fixed rate contracts expire without renewing for another fixed contract. When this occurs, electricity providers in Texas will likely place the customer on a monthly variable rate that is tied directly to the wholesale market with a retail adder for the provider. These variable products are the most accessible to the likely price spikes expected this summer in Houston and other parts of Texas. Texas electricity prices have been fairly stable over the last seven years, so keeping up with the electricity contract hasn’t been an issue for many small business owners. The stability in the market has created a moral hazard issue that could hit businesses hard this summer for commercial electricity consumers who are paying a variable rate with their provider. The variable rates have been quite low over the past few years that many customers have come to believe that low variable prices are normal; they are not and can jump up quickly and aggressively.

It is crucially important for all commercial electricity customers in the Houston area to lock in a low fixed electricity rate contract. Luckily in Texas, as opposed to other states who have electricity choice markets, the time it takes to switch providers and rate structures can be as early as the next business day. In some states in can take up to two months, which would leave customers on a variable rate in a bad situation if wholesale prices spiked.

Residential PSEG electricity customers who are on the basic generation service rate are getting hit with a summer rate increase. The basic generation service rate is the price for electricity power supply that customers pay who have not chosen to buy their power from a competitive supplier. As an energy choice state New Jersey residents have the ability to shop the market for competitive electricity rates the same way they can shop for phone service or television content providers. Customers who do not participate in the market by shopping and buying their power from a competitive supplier pay the basic generation service rate offered by PSEG.

PSEG updates their basic generation service rates twice a year on June 1 and October 1. The PSEG basic generation service rate, which serves as a default electricity price, is determined through three auctions that take place in the previous three years of the current basic generation service rate. Competitive suppliers are often able to offer more favorable pricing than the default price, offering customer an opportunity to pay less money on their PSEG electric bill. The new PSEG basic generation service price will have residential customers paying a maximum of $0.131959 per KWH for customers who consumer above 600 KWh in a month. Meanwhile, competitive New Jersey electricity suppliers are offering fixed rates in the 10 and 11 cent range.

As of April 2017 PSEG has reported that only 12% of their residential customers have switched off of the default basic generation service price and onto a competitive plan. The new summer rate increase for 2017 could provide an incentive for the more than 1.6 million residential customers, currently on the default plan, to shop for the first time. Statewide New Jersey energy choice has resulted in 505,111 residential shoppers and 151,805 commercial and industrial customers. Despite the low residential switch percentage competitive New Jersey suppliers remain optimistic at their chances of acquiring new customers. PSEG customers have more than a dozen electricity companies to purchase their power supply from, many of which are offering fixed rates below the default price. Below are rates offered by suppliers who are licensed by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

While energy choice laws have been in effect for almost a decade in the New York City area, an alarming number of consumers are still unaware of their option to shop for competitive electricity and natural gas rates. The majority of citizens are still under the belief that they have to pay the energy rates offered by Con Edison, the local utility company. In truth, New York City consumers only have to pay the regulated delivery charges for energy to Con Edison, the supply component of their energy bills is open to customer choice. New York energy choice laws changed Con Edison from being the sole energy company in the New York City area, responsible for the delivery and generation supply of the energy, to only being responsible for the delivery and maintenance of the energy lines and wires.

On top of their delivery duties, Con Edison also provides a default rate for electricity supply to customers who do not choose to initiate in electricity shopping activity. Con Edison customers can find attractive rate plans offered by competitive electricity companies that will replace the default rate. The competitive electricity companies in New York are referred to as ESCOs, which stands for energy supply companies. ESCOs can offer customers rate plans that differentiate from the “one size fits all” default plan offered by Con Edison.

The Con Edison default electricity rate changes each month as it is variable and tied to market fluctuations. This volatility does not allow for ESCOs to market exact savings with their rate offerings as they are able to do in other state markets. In the neighboring states of New Jersey an Pennsylvania, utilities have default rates that last anywhere from three to eight months at a time. Electricity companies there can offer rates below the default rates and consumers can calculate exact savings. While this isn’t the exact case in New York, consumers can still lock in low Con Edison rates that are fixed and will offer price certainty during the term of the contract.

In addition to price, Con Edison customers can shop for plans that offer renewable energy as the source of power. ESCOs can purchase power generated from wind farms and sell it to retail customers so that there money is supporting renewable resources.

Consumers have a variety of options when shopping for competitive electricity in New York City. Getting this idea out has been difficult as people have become used to accepting whatever rate Con Edison imposes. The last migration data in New York was released at the end of 2015 which showed that only 23.6% of residential customers where purchasing their power from a competitive ESCO. Below are competitive offers from ESCOs who have been approved to sell power in the Con Edison service area.

In the state of Delaware electricity customers are discovering that they are no longer forced to buy their power from Delmarva Power. Delaware competitive electricity has created an abundance of electric rate options that customers can now choose between. However, with recent increases in the Delmarva default Price to Compare rate and tumbling energy prices, the primary reason new shoppers are materializing is to save money.

Current competitive electricity prices in Delaware are yielding as much as 21% savings versus the Delmarva default rate. The Price to Compare default rate includes electricity generation supply and transmission service while the distribution charges that Delmarva Power charges for the delivery of power remains regulated by the Delaware Public Service Commission. Competitive electricity rate plans replace the Delmarva default price, resulting in a lower Delmarva electric bill if the competitive price is below the published Delmarva Power Price to Compare.

Despite an abundance of plans yielding significant savings, the majority of Delaware electricity consumers continue to be on the Delmarva Power default plan. November shopping activity released by the Delaware Public Service Commission show that only 10.33% or Delaware residential customers were purchasing their electricity using a competitive electricity price. Only 28,755 residential customers had elected to leave the default plan while 249,486 customer remain. On the commercial side, more than 33% of business customers have entered into agreements with competitive Delaware electricity suppliers allowing them to purchase their power from an alternative supplier.

Current competitive Delaware electricity prices are below $0.08 per KWh while the Price to Compare remains at $0.0958, where it has been since August of 2016. Since June of 2014 the Price to Compare has averaged above $0.10 per KWh. Alternative offers to the Delmarva Power default price are listed below by electricity suppliers who are licensed by the state of Delaware.

Saving money on the monthly Eversource electric bill has never been as easy as it now is for New Hampshire citizens thanks to the successful results of energy choice deregulation. Through state legislature, New Hampshire electricity choice laws allow consumers to shop for the power generation supply component of their electric bill from alternative electricity companies. Instead of being forced to purchase power from a regulated utility, New Hampshire Eversource customer can shop for lower electricity prices at desired terms. Customers who are adapting to New Hampshire electricity choice are discovering that they can drastically reduce their Eversource electric bill.

Having competition in business is an important market component that ultimately benefits the consumer as competing firms are forced to trim profits while enhancing the products they sell. Nowhere is that lesson in economics more apparent than in the New Hampshire electricity choice market where customers are seeing savings north of 30% versus the old utility default price. Most consumers are unaware of how the rate they pay for electricity is derived, especially consumers in regulated markets where they become familiar with the mundane process of receiving a disorganized monthly utility bill with a total amount that they must pay or have the lights turned off in their home.

The reality is that electricity is traded on a 24/7 market where utilities and competitive suppliers purchase and trade blocks of power with the goal of selling it to consumers through the monthly electric bill. It is very similar to the business relationship of the bank and homeowner when purchasing a home. The bank buys the home with cash, and then allows the homeowner to make monthly mortgage payments to the bank with a premium in the pricing. In the case of electricity, the utility or competitive supplier is purchasing a block of power through futures contracts for the consumer and then selling it back to the home dweller through the electricity bill with a small retail adder.

Regulated utility customers, or customers who live in states or markets where they do not have the ability to shop for competitive power, pay a rate for the electricity through their local utility. The local utility has a team who purchases the power on the wholesale energy market for their customer base, and then charges a retail adder that is approved by the state utility commission. However, the main component of the charge is going to be determined by the buying strategy of the utility. In a market environment where there is no competition, the utility has no incentive to make sure that they are doing a good job for their customers as they don’t have to worry about losing customers to another company. In contrast a competitive market keeps electricity suppliers on their toes, always looking for ways to cut costs and purchase wholesale electricity at the right time so that they can pass on the low electricity prices to their customers.

In recent months alternative New Hampshire electricity suppliers have been able to offer NH Eversource customers substantial savings on their electric bills by taking advantage of buying opportunities in the wholesale energy markets. In order to market services to customers, alternative New Hampshire electricity suppliers need to be licensed by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. If a New Hampshire Eversource customers chooses to purchase power from a company who is offering a rate that is lower than the utility default rate, then the customer will experience the difference in savings on their monthly Eversource electric bill.

Jersey Central Power & Light, a First Energy Corporation company, implemented a rate change to their basic generation service (BGS) charge on October 1, 2016 that will stay in effect until the end of May next year. The BGS price is the price for electricity supply charged to all JCPL residential customers who have not switched to a competitive supplier. The rate change will effect smaller homes and apartments the most.

Throughout the summer JCPL residential customers were charged $0.094604 per KWh for the first 600 KWh that they consumed, and then $0.103862 for all KWh above 600. Starting on October 1, 2016 customers on the BGS plan will pay one flat rate of $0.102863 for all electricity consumption. This means that it will be the smaller home customers who see the biggest increase on their electric bills. For customers who use below 600 KWh a month, their JCPL electric bills will rise by 13% if they decide to stay on the BGS service rate plan.

Many competitive rate offers exist that are in the $0.09 and even $0.08 range. The discrepancy between competitive offers and the default BGS rate is providing a incentive for customers to switch to a competitive JCPL electricity supplier. Choosing to purchase power from a competitive supplier results in the new supplier’s rate to replace the JCPL BGS charge, which produces real savings on the electric bill. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities estimates that 199,269 of JCPL’s 984,646 residential customers have switched to a competitive electricity supplier. The switch numbers have slowly but steadily risen over the last year are expected to continue to rise as more people become aware of electricity choice in the JCPL service area.

On October 1, 2016 the New Jersey Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSEG) enacted a scheduled change to their basic generation service rate charged to residential customers. The rate change will effect roughly 1.7 million residential electricity customers in the state of New Jersey who are not purchasing their power from an alternative supplier. Basic generation service represents the costs for the power supply portion of the bill, which is also the section of the bill that PSEG customers have the option to shop around and search for a better price.

As of August 2016, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities reported that 185,973 PSEG residential customers, 10.4% of the residential customer base, had elected to purchase their power from an alternative supplier. For these customers, the rate change that took place on October 1 will not effect their monthly electric bill. Instead these customers will pay whatever rate they purchased from the specific alternative PSEG supplier for whom they entered into a contract with.

The remaining 89.6% of PSEG residential customers who are paying the high basic generation service rate of $0.125982 for their power supply have an opportunity to lower their electricity costs by finding a more competitive offer from an alternative supplier. The new PSEG rates will stay in effect until May 31, 2017. On June 1, 2017 the rates will increase even more to $0.137684 for some consumers. With no rate relief in sight from PSEG, the time to shop for competitive PSEG residential rates is as beneficial for consumers as it ever has been. Competitive rate offers below show the amount of savings versus the current PSEG basic generation service default price.

Customers of Delmarva Power in Delaware have the ability to save a substantial amount of money on their monthly electric bills by searching for a competitive supplier. Delaware electricity choice provides consumers with the option to either pay the default standard offer service price for power supply through Delmarva or replace that price with a competitive offer. Currently, competitive suppliers are offering electricity rates that are well below the standard offer service price, resulting in an opportunity for Delaware residential customers to reduce their electricity bill in the coming months.

While Delaware has been open to electricity choice for several years, until recently it had been difficult for residents in the state to purchase their power from a competitive supplier. Few electricity suppliers were willing to go through the lengthy process of offering electricity rates in a relatively small and unproven market. Meanwhile, the neighboring state of Maryland has seen a consistent increase in both electricity supplier offers and number of customers shopping for competitive rates over the last several years. The success in Maryland has enticed some major electricity suppliers to take the leap and enter the Delaware market in recent months.

In order to entice customers to shop for the first time some suppliers are offering rates that are as much as 19% lower than the Delmarva DE standard offer service. The majority of Delmarva customers are unaware of their ability to shop for competitive power, which leaves the job of educating the market up to the suppliers. The electricity bill savings available to Delaware residential customers should help speed up the process. According to the Delaware Public Service Commission, as of the end of April 2016 only 28,198 of the 277,109 residential customers in the service area were purchasing power from a competitive supplier. While the residential switching percentage is just above 10%, the number of business customers who has switched is above 30%. Both markets are expected to see more shopping activity in the coming months and years as more competitive suppliers enter the market and provide more options for customers.

Below are current competitive prices offered in the Delmarva Delaware service area.