Tracy Hodge
Electric Rates Expected to Rise June 1 for Businesses at Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh
Business customers at Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas can soon expect to start paying more money for electricity if they continue to buy their power supply from Duquesne Light instead of shopping with SaveOnEnergy.com for a lower rate from a competing electric supplier. That’s because Duquesne Light’s Price to Compare, or the electric rate for customers who buy their electric supply from the local utility instead of a competing energy provider, is forecast to increase on June 1 for small and medium business customers. Pennsylvania electric customers now have a choice when it comes to their electricity provider, and no longer have to buy their power supply from the local utility. In fact, the local utilities do not even own power plants anymore, and only maintain the poles and wires to deliver electric supplies to customers from competing providers in the market. If you shop for a
Huge 40% Rate Increase Coming for PECO Mid-Sized Business Customers, Unless They Shop for Competing Supplier
Mid-sized business customers at PECO, the utility serving over 1.6 million customers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and surrounding regions, are due to see a huge spike in their electric rate starting June 1, 2013 if they continue to buy power from PECO instead of shopping for a low rate from an alternative electric supplier. Pennsylvania businesses no longer have to buy their power supply from PECO, and instead can choose among competing electric suppliers offering lower rates. If you shop, PECO still delivers your electricity over its wires with no changes in distribution service. If you don’t shop for an alternative electric supplier, PECO provides you with power under “default” service. PECO no longer generates its own power, and buys supplies for “default” service on the open market throughout the year. Because of the way it buys power, the PECO default service electric rate, called the Price to Compare, can be
More Texans to Start Seeing Electric Choice Offers in Early 2014 as Competition Expands
Nearly 50,000 Texans who currently must buy power from the monopoly utility will start seeing offers from competing electric providers in early 2014, as the state moves the former Cap Rock Energy service areas to retail choice. As SaveOnEnergy.com has previously noted, the former Cap Rock Energy service areas — which are now the Brady, Celeste, Colorado City, and Stanton divisions of Sharyland Utilities, L.P. — are to be moved to retail choice starting in May 2014. There are about 50,000 customers at these divisions of Sharyland Utilities. Once competition starts, it means customers will be able to choose and switch electricity providers, just as they can pick their cellular provider, long distance provider, cable/satellite company, etc. Electric choice will provide customers in Brady, Celeste, Colorado City, Stanton and surrounding areas the power to save money on their electric bills — the same savings currently enjoyed by customers in Dallas,
Forecast Shows Higher Electric Rates Expected This Summer for Non-Shopping Customers at PPL
Residential customers in the PPL service area in Pennsylvania who do not shop for an alternative power supplier are expected to pay higher electric rates starting June 1, according to an updated estimate provided by the utility. With customer choice, Pennsylvania electric customers no longer have to buy their power supply from PPL, and can choose from among dozens of competing suppliers offering lower electric rates. If customers don’t choose, however, PPL continues to provide them with electricity supply, under a program known as “default service,” with an electric rate that changes every three months. Nearly 60% of residential customers at PPL still buy their power from PPL under default service — at higher prices than what’s available from shopping around for a lower rate. On June 1, PPL’s Price to Compare — the price for default service electricity supply — for residential (RS) customers is estimated to increase nearly
Some Texans Still Paying Too Much for Electricity, Lower Rates Available Through SaveOnEnergy.com
Despite over a decade of having the power to choose their electricity provider, many Texans have still never shopped around for a lower electric rate, or only do so infrequently and miss out on big savings, several recent stories in the Dallas Morning News remind us. A recent column in the DMN notes that, “some folks are paying substantially more for electricity out of loyalty,” to the old monopoly provider. “As a result, they eventually were paying almost twice as much for electricity as I was — more than 15 cents per kilowatt-hour vs. a little over 8 cents for me,” DMN columnist Steve Blow noted. Such a large rate discrepancy isn’t justified, even for value-added products like 100% renewable energy, or products bundled with smart thermostats or other gadgets, which are still well below 15 cents per kWh. But some Texas electric companies are able to charge high rates
Businesses That Don’t Shop for Power Seeing Higher Electric Rates at Penelec and West Penn Power
Business customers at Penelec and West Penn Power in Pennsylvania who do not shop for a lower electric rate from a competing energy supplier have seen their electric rates rise recently. Penelec and West Penn Power, both owned by FirstEnergy Corp., serve over a million customers in central and western Pennsylvania, including Altoona, Johnstown, and the outer suburbs of Pittsburgh. Thanks to the competition that has been introduced into Pennsylvania’s electric market, customers in Pennsylvania now have the ability to shop for a competing electric supplier offering a lower rate. However, if a customer does not shop for a competing energy supplier, the local utility provides the customer with their power supply under a program known as “default service.” The default service electric rate changes every 3 months, and it changed at Penelec and West Penn Power on March 1. The March 1 changes brought higher business electric rates for
Illinois Electric Rates from Municipal Aggregations Set to be Above-Market
Electric rates negotiated by many Illinois cities and towns under a process known as municipal aggregation are set to be above the utility’s electric rate starting on June 1, showing that the municipal aggregations are not a good deal for customers, and that customers looking for the lowest electric rate need to shop individually with a trusted energy expert like SaveOnEnergy.com. Municipal aggregation is a process in place in Illinois and select other states that allows local governments to choose a customer’s electric supplier without any affirmative consent from the customer. Essentially, the local government picks an electric supplier for all the customers in the town, to replace the local utility like ComEd or Ameren. If customers don’t “opt-out” of the town’s supplier, they are automatically switched from the utility to the town’s chosen supplier. While local governments initially touted claimed savings under the programs, the electric rates are now
Consumer Alert from Pennsylvania PUC Shows Need to Shop With Trusted Advisor for Lower Electric Rate
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Attorney General recently issued a consumer alert warning customers about fraudulent marketers claiming to be from the local utility, and promising customers a lower energy rate, when in fact the company is not the utility and is charging a higher rate. These alerts show why Pennsylvania customers shouldn’t just take the first offer of a lower electric rate that comes across their door. Instead, customers need to actively compare electric rates from competing suppliers, to determine if the rate they are being offered is really a good deal. That’s where SaveOnEnergy.com is an invaluable resource for customers. SaveOnEnergy.com offers Pennsylvania customers an online marketplace for their electric and natural gas supply, and forces energy suppliers to compete head-to-head for your business. Instead of just getting one offer from a cold call that may not be the best rate, customers using SaveOnEnergy.com can instantly find
Atlanta Natural Gas Rates Falling With End of Winter
The start of spring means lower natural gas rates for Georgia customers at Atlanta Gas Light, but only if customers shop for a competing energy supplier offering a lower rate. With heating-driven demand for natural gas subsiding as temperatures rise, natural gas prices are falling. Thanks to the revolution in shale natural gas, winter rates were already at historic lows, but Georgia natural gas prices have fallen by about another 10% since December. However, customers need to actively shop around for the best natural gas rate to take advantage of these savings. Georgia natural gas customers can easily find the lowest rates in the market by shopping with SaveOnEnergy.com. SaveOnEnergy.com forces Georgia natural gas marketers to compete for your business, ensuring that you receive the lowest rate. Because of this head-to-head competition, rates offered by natural gas suppliers on SaveOnEnergy.com are lower than the “standard” rates offered by these same
PPL Electric Rate Increases for Business Customers
The electric rate for customers buying their power supply from PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania increased for small and mid-sized business customers on March 1. Business customers can save 35-40% on their electric rate by shopping with SaveOnEnergy.com. PPL serves 1.4 million customers in Harrisburg, Allentown, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Lancaster, and surrounding areas. Under the competition that has been introduced into Pennsylvania’s electric market, customers no longer have to buy their electricity supply from PPL. Customers can choose from dozens of competing electric suppliers offering a lower rate. If customers don’t shop for a lower electric rate, however, they receive power supply from PPL on a mechanism known as “default service.” PPL buys power supplies for default service in the wholesale market, and charges non-shopping customers a Price to Compare for their generation supply. The Price to Compare changes every quarter. On March 1, the PPL Price to Compare for small