“Captive” Customers Upset with Lack of Choice at Austin Energy
Last month, SaveOnEnergy.com told you about looming electric rate hikes at Austin Energy, where customers cannot choose their electric provider , and are instead subject to the city monopoly for electricity . Now, more customers are speaking out against the rate hike, as they see lower electric rates in parts of Texas where customers have a choice in their electric supplier . ” Austin Energy’s rates are soaring, while rates elsewhere are declining. State officials will want to know why Austin Energy’s residential rates have escalated sharply because statewide average rates have dropped by 14 percent and are still falling,” one customer wrote to the Austin American Statesman . The customer notes that Austin Energy, under its new energy rate proposal, would impose an “inclining block” rate structure on customers, where higher levels of usage pay a higher per kilowatt-hour rate. In parts of Texas open to competition, like Dallas and
El Paso Fed Up With Monopoly Utility and High Electric Rates
Back in September, SaveOnEnergy.com told you about electric rate hikes at Austin Energy, and how customers couldn’t avoid the higher rates because they didn’t have a choice in their electric provider , as most Texans do. Now, customers at El Paso Electric — another Texas utility which does not offer customer choice — are facing higher rates, and customers are fed up with the monopoly system. Rates at El Paso Electric are among the highest in Texas. According to data from the Public Utility Commission , the average residential bill at El Paso Electric for a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month was $122.15 for September. That works out to a per kWh rate of 12.2 cents. In contrast, customers in Dallas and Houston who can choose their electricity provider can find fixed electric rates for as low as 8-9 cents per kWh on SaveOnEnergy.com . In other words,
Municipal Aggregation Programs Do No Produce Lowest Rates for Illinois Electric Customers
Illinois business and residential electric customers have no doubt seen a lot of news stories recently about a program known as “municipal aggregation” or “opt-out aggregation,” which purports to save customers money on their electric bill . While these programs may provide a marginal amount of savings versus the above-market rate charged by ComEd or Ameren, these municipal aggregations do not maximize savings for customers, and worse, keep customers from shopping for more advantageous rates. At its core, municipal aggregation is government-sponsored “slamming” — or the switching of customers to a new electric supplier that the customer has not affirmatively chosen. All the residential and commercial electric customers in a town are automatically pooled together, unless the customer affirmatively “opts out” and chooses their own electric supplier . For customers not opting out, the town selects a new energy supplier , replacing the utility, at the town’s discretion, and all
Free Electricity from SaveOnEnergy.com!
SaveOnEnergy.com is giving away a free month of electricity thru a random drawing each week for the next month. All entrants have to do is fan SaveOnEnergy.com on facebook at the company’s official facebook page www.facebook.com/SaveOnEnergyCorp . Entrants do not have to switch energy providers or even be located in a deregulated area to win. The free month is capped at $250 per winner. This is just part of an aggressive move from the company supporting their investment in social media. SaveOnEnergy.com can also be found on twitter at www.twitter.com/SaveOn_Energy as well as on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/SaveOnEnergy.com .
Pennsylvania Businesses Can Use SaveOnEnergy.com to Lock-In Today’s Low Electric Rates to Avoid Rate Hikes
Electric rate caps at the remaining Pennsylvania utilities which have kept prices low for the past decade are going to expire on December 31, 2010 in several areas of the state, including for customers of PECO in the Philadelphia area. With the expiration of these rate caps, Pennsylvania electric rates for businesses are projected to increase 30%. With the introduction of electric competition, Pennsylvania business customers can avoid these rate hikes by shopping for a lower electric rate on SaveOnEnergy.com , which is the only source for Pennsylvania business customers to get competing rate quotes from up to eight different energy suppliers, maximizing customers’ savings. Customers can save up to 20%, or more, on their electric rate by leveraging the power of competition through SaveOnEnergy.com . Now is a particularly good time to shop for a low electric rate in Pennsylvania, as summer usage has tapered off, driving electric demand
Pennsylvanians Not Shopping for Lower Electric Rate to Face Hikes Next Year, Miss Out on Savings
Last week we told you about the phenomenal savings Pennsylvanians at PPL Electric are seeing on their electric bills from shopping for a lower electric rate and choosing a new energy provider , known as an electric generation supplier (EGS) in Pennsylvania. These same savings will soon be available to the remaining parts of the state that haven’t had viable electric competition until now, including the metro Philadelphia area in the PECO Energy service territory. Customers can shop for these lower rates using SaveOnEnergy.com , which pits competing energy suppliers head-to-head to win your business. But what happens if you don’t shop for an alternative energy supplier ? Starting January 1, 2011, the rate caps which have kept Pennsylvania electric rates low will come off, and customers not shopping for a lower rate will be exposed to new utility rates that are projected to increase sharply due to 15 years
Electric Competition Brings Texans Lower Rates, But Remains Confusing for Customers, SaveOnEnergy.com President Says
Although millions of Texas electric customers are saving money by shopping for their energy provider , there is still a big language gap when it comes to customer understanding of competition and choice, SaveOnEnergy.com President and Chief Operating Officer David Roylance told a forum on electric deregulation hosted last week by the Dallas Morning News. Roylance, a 25-year energy industry veteran, noted that, under customer choice, “costs have gone from being a source of profit for retailers to a destroyer of profit.” Roylance explained that, before competition, electric utilities earned profit on their “rate base,” or their retail costs and physical assets like power plants and transmission wires, at a guaranteed rate of return. That increased incentives for utilities to spend more on operations than needed, because it meant that they had a larger rate base on which to earn a profit. Under competition, where electric companies only make money
Competition Brings Texas Electric Rates Below National Average
With customer choice forcing Texas electric companies to compete for customers’ business, Texas electric rates have gone from above the national average before competition, to below the national average. However, that’s not the story that’s typically reported by the media, because the federal Energy Information Administration is using flawed data which underestimates the significant decline in Texas power prices since the start of competition, according to a new study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). “Most competitive prices are considerably lower than what is reported in the federal government’s data,” said Bill Peacock, Director of the Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom. “In fact, the average competitive price is below the national average, and consumers who exercise their choice can easily find rates that are lower than in our neighboring states.” TPPF found that the average electric rate offered by electric companies in the competitive regions of Texas in December
Cold Weather Prompts Record Texas Electric Usage, Provides Reminder to Switch to Lower Rate
Texans usually start to think about the size of their electric bills as summer heat approaches, but the arctic temperatures blanketing the State for the past few weeks have led to record power usage driven by customers with electric heating, and provide a good reminder that now is still a great time to save on your electric bill by shopping and switching to a new lower electricity rate . The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which includes the electric transmission lines for 85% of the state, reported that it reached a new record for peak winter power usage at 55,856 megawatts during the 7-8 a.m. period Friday. That demand broke the day-old record of 52,001 megawatts set during the 7-8 a.m. period Thursday. Before the recent cold snap, the winter demand record was 50,408 megawatts set Feb. 16, 2007. The new record also far outpaces ERCOT’s forecast of peak
California Residents Forced to Pay Electric Rate Hike due to Lack of Choice
California residential utility customers who use the least amount of electricity will have their electric rates raised in order to lower the rates for residential customers who use more power, under an order from the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Unfortunately, although more California businesses will soon have the opportunity to buy power from an energy supplier other than their utility, legislation specifically prohibits the vast majority of residential customers for shopping for a low electric rate . That means customers facing this new rate hike have no choice but to grin and bear it. The Public Utilities Commission’s decision lifts a rate freeze imposed on residential customers in the two lower usage tiers, which was originally imposed during the 2000-01 energy crisis. The PUC did not freeze electricity rates for residential customers in the three higher tiers of usage, and these customers have had to shoulder the share of