New Jersey power consumers are finding savings through the state’s electricity choice program.  Electric choice in New Jersey has brought in more than a dozen electric suppliers offering electricity rates to commercial and industrial customers over the last several years.  Now electricity suppliers are starting to offer residential rates in New Jersey.

NJ power shoppers who take the time to compare electricity offers are finding the best deals.  In addition to low electric rates that offer significant savings versus utility default rates, some electric suppliers are offering incentives and promotions to entice customers to switch.  Despite electric bill savings of over 20% in some cases, less than 8% of New Jersey residential electric customers have switched suppliers.

Those who have not switched continue to pay a high default rate with their local electric utility company – PSEG, JCPL, ACE, Rockland.  PSEG and JCPL have been pushing power shopping and choice to their customers to help spread the word.  Though New Jerseyans now have a choice of who supplies their electricity, the power continues to be delivered by the local utility companies.  PSEG, JCPL, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric do not lose the customer when they switch electric suppliers.  Instead, the utility company continues to bill the customer and charge regulated rates for power delivery.  The only thing that changes is that instead of paying the high default supply rate, the customer pays a competitive supply rate.  If that competitive rate is lower than the default rate, than the customer saves money on their electric bill.

Here are some current low power rates in New Jersey:
PSEG Rates

JCPL Rates

Atlantic City Electric Rates

While most of the marketing efforts of competitive electricity suppliers have been focused on the territories controlled by PECO Energy and PPL Energy, customers of Duquesne Light are finding the largest savings against their utility price to compare default rates.

Duquesne Light customers, who currently have a supply default rate of 8.89 cents, can currently lock in a 24 month rate as low as 7.19 cents which will yield a savings of 19% on the electric bill.  While customers new to electricity choice might be hesitant to lock in a rate for two years, it is important for them to understand the benefits of long term fixed electric contracts.  The fixed electric contract will save customers money right away and protect them from potential default rate increases in the summer and in 2012.  Electricity customers can also lock in for a shorter term at 12 months at a low rate of 7.55 cents resulting in a healthy 15% electric bill savings.

PECO electricity savings and promotions are expanding in the Philadelphia area as suppliers compete for market share.  The PECO territory saw electric price caps expire on January 1 which has opened the door for alternative electric suppliers to offer rates to PECO default rate payers.

Duquesne Light saw their rate caps expire several years ago.  However electric suppliers were slow to enter the market due to the low default price to compare rates that the utility was offering their customers as a result of an auction they held among wholesale energy suppliers.  Now that those default rates are higher than what retail electric suppliers can offer, electricity companies have started to offer service to customers as they can now offer lower electric rates and electric bill savings.  Customers who switch electric suppliers will still receive their monthly electric bill from Duquesne Light.  The only difference will be the lower electricity rate on the bill.

Current Duquesne Light competitive offers:

PSE&G electricity customers in New Jersey paying basic generation service rates, the PSE&G default rate, are paying among the highest electric rates in the country.  The basic generation service rates are supply electricity rates that PSE&G charges customers who have not selected and alternative electric generation supplier.  These default rates are based on a series of auctions that PSEG holds for their customers.  Electricity suppliers compete to provide rates for a percentage of the PSEG default customers.

PSE&G passes the supply rates from the electricity companies who win at the auction directly on to customers.  So even when a customer pays the basic generation service default rate, they are still paying money for their supply service to another electric supplier other than PSE&G.

Lower electric rates can be selected by customers who take the time to shop and find their own electricity supplier.  When the auction for default rates takes place electricity suppliers have to take into account that a certain percentage of customers will leave the basic generation service during the year.  For example, if an electric company wins the right to provide default service for 100,000 customers starting in June, they have to put a premium on the price taking into account that there is a probability that 15% of these customers might sign a contract with an alternative electricity supplier who is offering a lower electric rate.

When electricity suppliers market their service and rates to individual customers, they do not have to include a premium since they are pricing for one entity.  This results in lower rates and savings on the PSE&G electric bill.

Here are some current offers and savings for electricity customers in PSE&G:

PECO energy is the utility company that delivers electricity to Philadelphia and surrounding areas.  PECO is the largest utility in Pennsylvania in terms of the number of customers it serves.

Many PECO energy customers might be unaware of their ability to choose an alternative electric supplier for the generation portion of their electricity bill.  With price caps being lifted earlier this year, the PECO service area is now a fully competitive electricity market.  Customers can lower their electric bill by shopping for an electric company who is offering a lower rate than the PECO default rate.

Below are some PECO offers that are lower than current PECO default rates.  PECO electricity default rates will change every three months.  According to PECO, the PECO residential rates are expected to increase this summer.  Locking in a fixed electricity rate with a competitive electricity company will save you money right away and protect you from future rate increases.

Some of the offers below also include promotional offers such as gift cards and cash back.  Click on the offers for more information.

PECO energy customers might be surprised to learn that even if they choose an alternative electric supplier, they will still be able to pay their PECO bill the same way they have been doing so, including online with e-bill.  This is due to the way electricity choice has been set up in the PECO territory as well as the whole state of Pennsylvania.

Choosing an alternative electricity supplier doesn’t end your tenure as a PECO energy customer.  PECO is a regulated electricity delivery company.  They are in charge of distributing the power in their territory, maintaining the reliability of the lines and wires, and controlling the management of the monthly electric bill.

PECO charges a default rate for electricity generation, also referred to as electricity supply.  When PECO customers use electricity choice to find a lower electric rate, that rate simply takes the place of the PECO default generation rate.  The customer can still pay their electric bill online, as they will still receive their monthly electric bill from PECO energy.

PECO Competitive Rates

In Houston Texas, where the electricity market is deregulated, customers have dozens of choices when it comes to who will provide their service for power.  Residential electricity customers in Houston can choose to pay a low variable rate that gives the flexibility to leave the company at any time, or they can choose a number of fixed rate options with different sets of terms ranging from 3 months to 3 years.  In recent years green power choices such as wind power have become more popular among Houston energy customers.

Choosing a wind power option is not different than choosing any other type of electricity rate product.  All of the electricity that is generated from sources such as wind, coal, and natural gas, go into the same grid.  Choosing wind power for your home means that your retail electric provider of choice will buy the power from the wind power company generating the electricity, and then sell it to you at the retail level.  When you buy wind power you are voting with your dollars to support clean energy.

The electricity rate that an Houston energy customer ends up paying depends on the electricity product that they choose. Here are the some of the best electric offers in Houston updated daily:

Customers of the electricity utility company Duquesne Light can save big money on their electric bill by shopping for lower electricity rates.  Duquesne Light, which serves the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, raised their price to compare rates in January 2011.  The price to compare rate is the electric default rate that the state of Pennsylvania mandates Duquesne charge their customers who have not chosen a competitive supplier.

With Pennsylvania now a fully deregulated electricity state, Duquesne Light is now just the local electricity delivery company.  Residential electricity customers in the Pittsburgh area can save as much as 19% on their electric bills by signing a fixed electric rate with a competitive supplier.  Customers will still receive their monthly bill from Duquesne Light, the only difference will be that instead of paying the high default rate of 8.89 cents per kilowatt hour, they can pay a rate as low as 7.19 cents.

As of January 2011, 21.3% of Duquesne residential customers have switched electric suppliers.  That number is expected to increase as the saving potential for these customers has recently increased.

Check out current competitive electricity rates in the Duquesne Light area:

Centerpoint Energy is the electric delivery company in the Houston metro area.  They are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electric lines and wires, and charge fees that are regulated by the state utility commission and passed through the customer’s electric supplier charge.

The electricity market in Houston is deregulated so residential customers have the power to choose who supplies their electricity.  Many electric rate options exist for Houston energy users including fixed rates, variable rates, long term, short term, and green energy options.

The actual reliability of the power is the responsibility of Centerpoint Energy.  The Texas electricity suppliers are retail electric companies who merely buy the power on the wholesale market and sell it to consumers and retail prices.  If one of these companies were to go out of business and default on their energy requirements, the customers serviced by the defaulting supplier would be transferred onto Centerpoint’s provider of last resort (POLR).  In other words, Centerpoint would continue to deliver power to your home, but the rate would change to a default supplier at a regulated rate.  At this point the customer would still have the power to choose and shop again for competitive electricity pricing.

Residential electricity customer in the Houston area should really focus on finding the lowest electricity rate when shopping for competitive electric suppliers.  Promotional offers found at electricity companies like this that offer free movie tickets and even airplane tickets with time can also weigh into the decision.

Here are some current electricity pricing options in Houston:

Residential electricity customers in Philadelphia and surrounding areas in southeast Pennsylvania are finding good savings on their PECO energy bills through electric competition.  Customers in the area seeking to compare electricity prices will find savings versus the PECO price to compare rates of 2011.

Below are two electricity companies offering electricity rates that are lower than the current residential PECO default rate.  While the savings are relevant, they do not even take into account that PECO rates are estimated to increase by another 10-15% this summer according to www.peco.com.  Locking in a fixed rate will protect customers from these increases.

The default prices for PECO electricity will change every three months and are based on a series of auctions.  Some competitive electricity companies are able to offer savings compared to the PECO rates partly because PECO has to include a premium in their pricing when they buy the energy on the wholesale market to offset the uncertainty of how many customers they will have.  Competitive electricity companies do not have to include this premium in their pricing since they are able to purchase power on the wholesale market for the retail customer one at a time.

Compare PECO Rates:

PECO energy customers might notice a slight increase on their energy bills this month.   February 2011 will mark the first set of bills that PECO electricity customers receive that include PECO default rates since capped rates were lifted on January 1, 2011.

Many PECO customers are still unaware that they have a choice when it comes to who supplies their electricity, and some of those choices will result in savings on the electric bills.  Though it should be noted that many electric suppliers are offering rates that are higher than current PECO default rates.

Most electric suppliers offering service in the PECO area offer a single billing option.  In other words, if you choose to switch electric suppliers, you will still only receive one electric bill per month from PECO for the delivery and supply of your electricity.  The alternative would be to receive two bills; one from PECO for the electricity delivery, and one from the new electric supplier for supply service.

The single billing option combined with a lower electric rate than the PECO price to compare rate make switching electric suppliers equivalent to getting a rebate from PECO energy.  For example, if you choose a fixed electric rate of 8.9 cents from an alternative electric supplier, you in effect are getting a PECO rebate of 10% off of the current PECO electric supply rate of 9.92 cents.

Below are “PECO Rebate” offers from electricity suppliers who offer single billing.