Electric rate payers who are serviced by the utility Delmarva in Delaware are finding cheaper electric rates in the competitive market.  Both residential and commercial electric customers are discovering that the way to lower their electric bill is to find a low cost electricity company who is offering a fixed electric rate that is lower than the Delmarva Price to Compare rate.

Delmarva Power, the utility provider that serves the majority of Delaware, offers their Price to Compare rates as a default service for those customers who have not compared electric rates with other electricity companies.  Delmarva continues to serve as the lines and wires company in Delaware and thus is still responsible for the delivery of the power to homes and businesses.  Delmarva does not receive profits from offering default service to electricity consumers.  Delmarva is encouraging their customers to find lower electric rates and locking in the rates with alternative electricity suppliers.

By doing an electricity company comparison, customers can reduce their electric bills by 10-30% depending on their rate class, usage requirements, and electric rate product choice.  As an example, small general service customers, a rate class for small businesses in Delaware, are paying an electric default rate of 11.27 cents per kilowatt hour.  We have found fixed electric rates for such customers as low as 9.0 cents per kilowatt hour which translates into a 20 percent savings on the Delaware electric bill.

States that have decided to deregulate, or restructure, their electricity utilities are giving their consumers the opportunity to lower their electric bills.  Misunderstanding how to lower the electric bill has been a problem for some of these electric rate payers.

As a simple review, the electric bill is divided into two main sections; the delivery (lines and wires) section and the retail supply section.  The delivery section is the portion of the bill, usually between 20-30% of the total charge, that is paid to the utility company for delivering the power through the lines and wires.  These charges are still regulated by the state.

The energy charge, also called supply charge, makes up the majority of the bill and is the section that has been deregulated.  It is here where customers can lower their electric bill by finding an alternative electric company that will supply electric power at a lower price per kilowatt hour than the current default electric rate that the incumbent utility offers.

Most default rates are set for a specific period of time.  You can lower your electric bill by finding out how long the default rate will be at a certain amount per kilowatt hour and then finding an alternative provider who will offer a lower electric rate for that period.  For example, the default rate for customers who are served by the utility PPL in Pennsylvania is $0.10402 per kilowatt hour for the entire year of 2010.  Locking in a fixed rate of $0.09 per kilowatt for any period in 2010 will give the customer a lower electric bill by 13.5% off of the energy supply portion of the bill.  It might be wise to lock in a low electric rate for a period that goes beyond the expiration of the current default rate if you think energy prices are headed up.

States where you can currently lower your electric bill against the utility default rate include Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.  There are also saving available in Texas if you have not shopped the competitive electric market within the past two years.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission expects the average Met-Ed residential customer’s bill to increase by about 9.1 percent when the utility’s rate cap expires in December.  That hike is based on wholesale electric prices that have, until recently, dropped based on the sluggish economy and customers who cut back on their power consumption.

A division of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy, Met- Ed serves roughly 190,000 customers in York County.  On Dec. 31, Met- Ed’s rate cap expires, and its customers will then pay full-market prices for their power.  As of May, Met-Ed had completed three of its four energy auctions and had bought the lion’s share of the power it will distribute to its customers starting Jan. 1, 2011.

During the earlier part of this year, wholesale electric prices stayed low as more people cut back on their demand for power.  Also, at the time, wholesale natural gas prices declined.  Typically, natural gas is one fuel that power companies use in the generation of electricity.  It was at that time that Met-Ed held its first three energy auctions.  This fall, Met-Ed has scheduled its final energy auction.  Once the final auction is held, competitive suppliers will be able to determine whether or not they wish to enter the market and offer electric customers in Met-Ed competitive electric rates.

Despite the slight uptick in national wholesale power prices, the PUC doesn’t expect a major change from its prediction of a 9.1 percent increase for Met-Ed customers.  It is uncertain how the competitive market will look like for Met-Ed electric customers.  Dozens of competitors are offering customers choice in PPL, another Pennsylvania utility area whose capped rates expired at the end of 2009.

Maryland electric customers, both residential and business, are finding lower electric rates when they shop in the competitive market.  Customers who are served by Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) and PEPCO are finding the greatest savings.

The exact rate and savings that you can find depend on your individual rate class by your utility and historic usage patterns, but most electricity customers in Maryland can save between 10-20%.  As an example, current the current price to compare (default rate) for a BGE class G type 1 business customer is $0.1089 per kwh.  We have found a 24 month fixed offer for such a customer at a rate of $0.092 per kwh, a 15 percent savings.

Most Maryland Utility companies, like BGE and PEPCO, offer consolidated billing options which means that customers will still receive their monthly electric bill from their same utility company if they choose to lock in a low fixed rate with a competitive electric supplier.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center is expecting a rough Hurricane season in 2010 that may have a negative effect on retail electricity prices.  Electric rates in the majority of competitive electric markets have a direct correlation with natural gas prices.  Bad hurricane seasons result in a decline in natural gas production that eventually pushes electric prices up for consumers.

The Climate Prediction Center estimates an 85% chance for an above normal hurricane season with only a 10% of a near normal season, and a 5% of a below normal season.  They are estimating 166 (Bcf) of natural gas shut in production which may cause electric prices to increase across the country.

The hurricane season is between June 1 and November 30.  Most utilities have default rate structures that cause their default customers to pay higher rates in the summer as oppposed to the rest of the year.  With those two factors added to the fact that at the moment fixed electric rate contracts have been low (10-30% lower than default rates depending on your location and energy consumption patterns), now is an idea time to look into locking in a low fixed electric rate. 

If you are currently on a floating rate you would also want to think about locking into a fixed rate as the floating rate will be affected by a bad hurricane season.  Customers in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Texas should get off of default rates on lock into a competitive fixed electric rate.

Competitive electric rates in Connecticut remain well below the price to compare default rates of CLP.  Despite this, only 27% of customers (residential, commercial, and Industrial) have chosen an alternative supplier.

Small and medium commercial customers in the CLP territory on default service (i.e. have not chosen a competitive supplier) are paying a rate of $0.11723 per KWh.  By contracting out with another electric provider, these customers can lock in rates below $0.10 per KWh and see their bills reduced by over 15%.

Over two dozen electric providers are active in Connecticut for residential and business electric consumers.   We recommend signing an agreement that will give you a fixed rate as opposed to a variable rate that can change from month to month.  The fixed electric rate will give you an apples to apples comparison against the CLP default rate and will guarantee that you save money as long as the rate is below the 0.117233 default rate.

Ask us for a comparison chart for your specific home or building.  Power prices are low.

The competitive electric market in the PPL territory in Pennsylvania has matured at a rapid pace.  From January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2010 about 30% of commercial and industrial customers have switched to a competitive electric supplier with the number being much bigger for larger consumers.

Competitive rates remain significantly lower than the 2010 PPL price to compare prices.  Small businesses on the price to compare default rate pay $0.10402 cents per kilowatt hour.  We have found rates for such customers this week as low as $0.080 per kilowatt hour, which equates to savings of 23%.

Rates as low as $0.075 per KWh have been found for larger commercial customers (who spend over $10,000 a month) allowing these electric consumers to save 28% off of their monthly bills.

For a list commercial offers, email us with your company name and estimated monthly bill amount.  Also email us if you have any questions.

IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU ARE RELUNCTANT TO SWITCH PROVIDERS?  If so tell us why in our comment section below and we will respond with the corresponding fact as to why you should shop for lower rates.  Right now, in PPL, every customer should switch off of default service and on to a lower rate structure.  We want to debunk any myths that are out there that say otherwise.

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.

Southern New Jersey commercial and industrial customers can now see significant savings on their electric bills if they choose to shop the competitive market for an alternative supplier.  Savings as much as 22% off of the basic generation service default rates have been achieved for many businesses.

Many customers on the MGS and AGS rate classes continue to pay the ACE default rates that are over 12 cents per KWh.  Current fixed rates can be locked in for 12 month terms as low as 10 cents per KWh.  While many businesses are starting to become wise to deregulation, the majority of ACE customers are still unaware or confused about the savings available.  We encourage all businesses in the ACE utility service area to shop for a competitive supply contract.

Update:  12/23/2010

Atlantic City Electric residential electricity customers can save 22% off of their default rate with a variable rate and $50 Cash back bonus by going here

Fixed electric rates with savings between 15-22% (plus up to $75 Visa Prepaid Card) can be found here

Suez Energy Resources is a retail electric provider who is active in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington DC.  They offer competitive pricing to large commercial and industrial markets in these regions.  Typically they will not price deals that are below 4 million KWh annual usage which usually amounts to a customer spending around $40,000 a month on electricity.  However they do seem to make exceptions for smaller users from time to time.

They offer a variet of products tailored to larger users such as block pricing and heating index rates.  From discussions with large users and brokers, their pricing tends to be competitive.  On the down side, they currently shy away from offering long term contracts.