Whether you’re a business owner or a homeowner shopping for electricity, looking at price is just the beginning.  With over one hundred energy providers competing for your business, it’s hard to separate the good values from the fly-by-night operations.  And the wrong choice can have big consequences.  Not only could you lose the low rate you thought you were getting, but you could end up on the highest priced electricity plan in the market, known as the Provider of Last Resort. 

This very nightmare happened to thousands of Texans in 2008 as several electric companies were mismanaged, leaving customers stranded.  Some of these providers were typically among the lowest priced companies in the market, but the cheap electricity rate was merely a mirage which soon disappeared, leaving customers paying rates that were 8, 9, and even 10 cents per kilowatt-hour above what they thought they were getting.

That’s why when you shop for electricity, you need an expert to help guide you and weed out the pretenders from the contenders.  That’s where SaveOnEnergy.com comes in.  Not only does SaveOnEnergy.com allow you to shop for a low electric rate any time day or night, it also rigorously screens competing energy suppliers so that only reputable electric companies compete for your business.

And SaveOnEnergy.com just strengthened its already robust screening process and supplier criteria, to give you even more peace of mind.  The energy experts at SaveOnEnergy.com, with decades of experience in the industry, vet potential energy companies against a wealth of benchmarks and industry standards for financial fitness, managerial experience, technical ability, product innovation, and customer service. 

For Business Customers:

Of course, the bottom line that customers care about is price, and SaveOnEnergy.com only recommends suppliers with competitive pricing that offers consistent savings, whether the product is fixed, variable, or a blend in between the two.  But before a supplier can even quote a price through SaveOnEnergy.com, it must prove its competence so you are assured a positive customer experience.

As noted, the financial stability and technical fitness of a supplier’s management is paramount to ensuring that the low price you are quoted is honored for the life of your contract.  SaveOnEnergy.com’s experts scrutinize suppliers and only recommend those with an established and trustworthy management team with significant industry experience.  Suppliers must prove their financial strength and wherewithal before they can compete for your business.

Perhaps the second biggest headache that can develop for a business owner, after losing their electric company to financial ruin, is a supplier that can’t bill the customer properly.  While business owners may not initially think about billing being a problem for energy suppliers, some suppliers cannot handle so-called “complex billing” for customers with interval or real-time metering information.  Another problem that often crops up with inexperienced providers is difficulty handling larger accounts with multiple meters (anywhere from a dozen to thousands, each with different meter reading and billing dates).  Some energy providers may be unable to offer you a summary bill of all these separate locations, or may only do so very poorly after delays and inaccuracies.

That’s why SaveOnEnergy.com grades suppliers on the quality of their billing system.  SaveOnEnergy.com only recommends suppliers that provide:

• Billing accuracy
• Easy-to-read invoices with no “small print”
• Usage and rates clearly displayed on the bill
• Online account management
• Paperless billing
• Multiple payment options such as credit card, automatic bank draft, online or payment by phone
• Bill payment assistance and payment plans

This means with a supplier from SaveOnEnergy.com, your bills will be right the first time, and you won’t have to fight suppliers just to get an accurate, easy to understand bill.

For Residential Customers:

Much of SaveOnEnergy.com’s screening process for residential suppliers mirrors that applied to commercial suppliers.  Suppliers must still be financially sound and technically competent, with proven management.  Bills must be accurate and easy to understand, with features such as budget billing, payment assistance, and convenient payment options.

However, SaveOnEnergy.com also screens residential suppliers for the value-added services associated with the mass market.  Customers shouldn’t expect to just get electricity when buying power now; they should expect a bonus or reward for their business and loyalty.  That’s why SaveOnEnergy.com ranks residential suppliers based on the innovative or value-added services they offer, including:

• Airline miles and companion tickets
• Gift card offers
• Magazine subscriptions
• Bill credits
• Eco-friendly and renewable options

That way, customers get more bang for their energy buck, thanks to SaveOnEnergy.com. 

SaveOnEnergy.com also screens residential providers to ensure that there are no hidden fees; that all charges are listed clearly; and that signing up is simple and convenient (such as through online enrollment).

With competition forcing Texas electric companies to compete against each other for each customer’s business, Texas electric rates have fallen to their lowest levels in some eight years, below the final prices under the old regulated monopoly system.  With the recession lowering demand for power, now is the time to lock-in a low, fixed rate for electricity to save money on your electric bill.  SaveOnEnergy.com is the easiest and fastest way to compare Texas electric companies, allowing you to get competing offers from trusted energy suppliers with just a few clicks of the mouse.

As summer heat and air conditioning usage being to wind down, already depressed power prices are falling even more.  On an inflation-adjusted basis, today’s electric rates are up to 25% below the rates charged under the old monopoly system, with customers in the Dallas (Oncor) and Houston (CenterPoint) areas both able to save over 20% versus the old monopoly rate.  The following compares the current low fixed rate on SaveOnEnergy.com with the inflation-adjusted rate from December 2001 before competition started:

Service Area                  12/01 Regulated Rate           9/18/09 REP Offer          Difference  

Oncor                            11.8¢                                    9.12¢                          -22.7%

CenterPoint                   12.6¢                                  10.02¢                          -20.5%

AEP Central                   11.7¢                                  10.40¢                          -11.1%

AEP North                      12.2¢                                    9.30¢                          -23.8%

TNMP                            12.9¢                                    9.70¢                          -24.9%

Not only are rates lower than they were eight years ago, they have continued to fall since the lows seen last spring:

Service Area                  12/01 Regulated Rate         9/18/09 REP Offer          Difference  

Oncor                            10.6¢                                9.12¢                                -14.0%

CenterPoint                   11.3¢                               10.02¢                                -11.3%

AEP Central                   10.9¢                               10.40¢                                  -4.6%

AEP North                      10.0¢                                 9.30¢                                 -7.0%

TNMP                            10.1¢                                 9.70¢                                  -4.0%

That means if you locked in a 12-month rate last fall when prices started to fall, or a six-month plan this spring, your plan is about to renew, and it’s time to save even more money on your electric bill by shopping around again for a lower-priced energy provider.

If you haven’t shopped for your electricity rate since last summer, your rate may be a nickel or more higher than today’s current rates.  At that level, just by switching to a lower rate, you could save $50 per month on your electric bill (assuming the typical usage of 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month).  That translates into savings of $600 per year.

The best part is, those savings don’t have to be a hassle or take a lot of time.  With SaveOnEnergy.com, you can shop for a low electric rate, any time day or night, with just a few clicks of the mouse.  The energy suppliers listed on SaveOnEnergy.com have all been vetted by the experts at SaveOnEnergy.com as well, so you get a reputable, financially sound energy provider in addition to your low rate.  That means you can count on saving money not just now, but well into the future.

With Pennsylvania opening up its electric market to competition to allow customers to save money on their electric bills, customers have several choices to make.  Not only must customers consider the savings available from competitive energy suppliers, customers must also consider the best way to shop for electricity, and the quickest and easiest way to find the lowest electric rate.

SaveOnEnergy.com offers Pennsylvania business owners the most convenient and hassle-free way to make energy companies compete for their business.  With rates projected to increase up to 40% for medium-sized businesses at PPL starting in January, now is the time for businesses to lock-in a low electric rate with a competing energy provider using SaveOnEnergy.com’s one-of-a-kind retail exchange portal to find the lowest rate and best supplier.  There are several advantages to using SaveOnEnergy.com to find the best energy price rather than going it alone or using another provider.

First, SaveOnEnergy.com saves you the time and aggravation of trying to comb through the mass of competing products and rate offers.  Instead of having to take the time to call several competing suppliers for quotes, SaveOnEnergy.com makes energy providers compete for your business, all with just a few clicks of the mouse.  All you need to do is enter some information on your business on SaveOnEnergy.com’s exclusive retail exchange portal, and the information is instantly transmitted to up to eight competing electric companies who contact you directly with their lowest rates.  This cuts down on the time you spend shopping for electricity, freeing you to spend more time on other important parts of your business. 

Second, you can be assured that SaveOnEnergy.com gives you the lowest rate because suppliers know they are competing head to head with other suppliers to win your business.  When you call suppliers individually for quotes, suppliers may not initially offer you their best rate, in the hopes of earning higher margins on your business.  They can’t play that game with SaveOnEnergy.com because if they do, one of their competitors will undercut them, and they won’t win your business.

Third, SaveOnEnergy.com ensures you find a reputable, stable energy provider.  With the Pennsylvania market opening to competition, dozens of new energy suppliers, many of them start-ups, are entering the market in the hopes of enrolling customers.  However, not all of these electric companies offer high levels of customer service or are financially sound.  In other competitive electric markets, there have been some suppliers that have gone out business, leaving customers stranded on extremely high “Provider of Last Resort” rates which are priced well above competitive offers.

That means it’s important not only to find a low rate, but a stable energy supplier who will be around for a long time.  The experts at SaveOnEnergy.com vet and screen all suppliers offering service on its exchange portal using a rigorous criteria, so that you only receive offers from competent, sound electric companies with high levels of customer service, innovative products, and low rates.  Not only do you get a low electric rate with SaveOnEnergy.com in a fast and convenient process, you also get peace of mind that you’re finding the most competitive and most reputable energy supplier.

Consumer advocates and state regulators agree that competition in the energy industry is lowering electric rates for customers. 

Wholesale energy prices in the PJM region, which covers Pennsylvania to Maryland to Illinois, are 40% lower than they were at the start of the year.  Customers, however, can only take advantage of these lower rates if they choose a new energy provider, since the utilities are still charging rates based on last year’s record high prices.

In Texas, the Public Utility Commission noted that rates in competitive areas of the state, like Dallas and Houston, continue to fall.

Barry Smitherman, Chairman of the Commission, noted that “Competition has pushed down prices below those found in noncompetitive jurisdictions.”

As noted by the Wall Street Journal, “The economic downturn, combined with a boom in natural-gas output, has driven wholesale energy prices sharply lower in the past year, inspiring an increasing number of recession-strapped households to shop around for cheaper rates.”

“All of a sudden, we’re in a situation where we have competition working,” agreed Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander, who represents residential ratepayers on utility matters.

As the Journal noted, when customers are able to choose their electric company, customers can benefit from lower electricity rates.  Currently, the rates offered by many monopoly utilities are higher than the price in the wholesale market and the rates offered by competing electric companies.  That’s because some utilities in states across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic like Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, and Connecticut buy power in advance, and blend their supplies over two to three years. 

That means a good portion of current utility rates are based on last year’s record high energy prices.  Customers can avoid these higher prices by switching to a new energy supplier, who buys electricity at current, low rates. 

But customers need to take advantage of their ability to choose a new energy provider to realize these savings.  SaveOnEnergy.com is the easiest way to find a low electric rate in Texas, Pennsylvania, or any other of the more than a dozen states offering customers the ability to save money on their electric bill by choosing a new energy provider.  SaveOnEnergy.com puts the power of competition into customers’ hands, with just a few clicks of the mouse.  For business customers looking to save money on electricity, all it takes it just a few minutes on SaveOnEnergy.com to get custom quotes from up to eight competing energy suppliers, so customers can get the lowest electric rate possible.

If you own or run a business in the PPL service territory of Pennsylvania, now is the time to lock in a cheap, fixed electric rate with an energy provider for when rate caps expire January 1, 2010.

Based on current projections, PPL’s rates for small business customers are expected to rise 21% starting January 1.  Rates for mid-sized business customers will rise even higher, with an estimated 40% increase.  Although PPL has not yet purchased power supplies for large business customers, these customers will be served on “hourly” wholesale market prices, which wildly fluctuate throughout the day.

Because Pennsylvanians have a choice in their energy companies, they can avoid these rate hikes, and the price spikes that accompany hourly pricing.  Competitive electricity companies are offering business customers at PPL fixed-rate plans with substantial savings, offering customers both budget certainty and a low electric rate.

While rate caps don’t expire until January 1, now is the time to shop for a new energy provider.  First, with the recession depressing wholesale power prices, energy prices are the lowest they have been in some five years.  This makes it the perfect time to lock-in a low electric rate for the long-term, to shield your business from any future rate increases.  The best part is that you can choose a new electric provider now, but have your new contract take effect January 1, so that you continue to be served under capped rates until then, and then immediately start saving when the rate caps expire.

Second, the switching process can take up to two billing cycles (45-60 days) to take effect.  This means that to ensure that you switch to a new energy supplier with a low rate by January 1, 2010, you need to submit your switch by the end of October. 

SaveOnEnergy.com ensures that you get the lowest rate possible when shopping for a new energy supplier, and makes the process simple and easy.  SaveOnEnergy.com puts the power of competition at your fingertips by pitting up to eight competing energy providers head-to-head for your business.  Without SaveOnEnergy.com, this would be a time consuming process, spent calling suppliers, getting quotes, and trying to negotiate for their best rate.

With SaveOnEnergy.com, it takes just a few minutes.  All you need to do is enter a little information about your company and electric usage on SaveOnEnergy.com’s exclusive retail exchange portal, and the information is instantly transmitted to up to eight competing suppliers.  Suppliers then contact you directly, saving time without any back-and-forth with a middleman, and offer you their best rate, knowing they are competing against up to eight other suppliers.  Saving money on your electric bill couldn’t be easier.