Shoulder Months Less Price Friendly as Grid Changes, Shop for Low Electric Rate Now
Electricity demand within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which covers about 80% of the state, increased 5 percent in 2011, ERCOT recently reported . A forecast for a similar high level of load in 2012 means that electric rates will likely rise with increased demand, and that customers should shop for a low electric rate now on SaveOnEnergy.com . Net energy for load for 2011 was 335,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh), compared to 319,097 GWh in 2010 and 308,278 GWh in 2009. April had the highest energy increase compared to the previous year with 14.4 percent, followed by July which increased 12.2 percent compared to last year, ERCOT said. The April statistic is telling, and should prompt customers to check their electric rate now and lock-in a lower price, before energy prices increase. Typically, the spring and fall are good times to shop for electricity in Texas , because the
Savings to Texas and Pennsylvania Customers Cited in Supporting Expansion of Electric Choice
Electric customers in Texas , Pennsylvania , and other states that have ended the monopoly in the electric industry are seeing savings from the competition that results when customers are able to choose their electric provider , notes an Op-Ed in the Washington Post . The Op-Ed’s author, clean energy expert Sunil Sharan whose resume includes senior positions at GE, notes that in most states, there is no choice when its comes to the customer’s electric provider — customers must take service from the monopoly utility regardless of the energy price or quality of service. “In such an un-competitive environment, customers are often reduced to ‘rate-payers’ with little-to-no choice when it comes to their energy services or electric suppliers . Guaranteed revenue streams have made utilities averse to innovation,” Sharan writes of states that don’t offer electric choice . In contrast, when electricity providers are forced to compete to win
Texas Heat Means Customers Need to Check Their Energy Rate
The record temperatures in Texas which have pushed customers to use their air conditioners non-stop mean customers need to check the energy rate they are currently paying for electricity , and make sure they are saving as much money as possible by shopping for the lowest electric rate on SaveOnEnergy.com . With several Texas cities continuing to see records broken for consecutive days with 100-degree heat, customers’ electric bills for July and early August usage are going to skyrocket. While customers can’t change their past bills, they can shop for a lower electric rate going forward using SaveOnEnergy.com , to make sure they are still taking advantage of the low electric rates for shopping customers in the market. Record power demands, which have prompted calls for conservation and even the interruption of large industrial customers under demand-response programs by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas , have sent wholesale power
Nearly Half of Illinois Customers Unaware of Ability to Choose Lower Electric Rate
A recent survey of Illinois customers reveals that nearly half are unaware of their ability to shop for a competing electric supplier that can offer them a lower electric rate . According to a poll conducted by Kelton Research, which surveyed customers at Commonwealth Edison and Ameren, only 54% of respondents were aware that they have a choice of which electricity provider to use. Illinois has offered customers at ComEd and Ameren the right to choose their electric supplier since 1997, to provide customers with a tool to save money on their electric bills . Illinois business customers can save 20-30% on their electric rate — with no change in reliability or service — just by choosing a new electric supplier rather than the utility, which will continue to deliver this electricity over the utility’s wires. Residential customers can save 10-15%. Many customers, however, especially among small and medium-sized businesses,
More Illinois Businesses to be Exposed to Hourly Electric Rates if Not Shopping for Power
Last week, the Illinois Commerce Commission declared electric customers at the Ameren Illinois utilities with peak demands between 150 kilowatts (kW) and 400 kW to be “competitive,” meaning these customers no longer require traditional “default service” from Ameren. Under traditional default service, which serves as a backstop source for power supplies, customers who do not choose to buy electricity from a competing alternative retail electric supplier are served by their utility, in this case Ameren, under a fixed default service electric rate . This default service rate was generally set for the entire year, though it could vary slightly month to month to reflect monthly reconciliations. However, the energy price was the same, flat rate for every kilowatt-hour consumed during a particularly month, regardless of the time of day. This flat electricity rate will eventually be eliminated for customers at Ameren in the 150 kW to 400 kW class, just
Arctic Weather Provides Reminder That Low Natural Gas Prices, And Electric Rates, Can Change Quickly
The arctic weather which blanketed nearly all of the U.S. last week provides a stark reminder that energy prices , whether due to weather or other market shocks, can quickly change, and customers need to protect themselves from this volatility while electric rates are still low. SaveOnEnergy.com offers both business and residential customers the fastest and easiest way to lock-in the lowest energy rate , by putting suppliers in head-to-head competition for your business. While natural gas is still trading at a relatively modest level in the mid $4/MMBtu range, gas was below $3.50/MMBtu as recently as late October, and has been climbing steadily with winter heating demand since then. Even though natural gas never tested $5 last week despite the frigid cold, prices did jump 30¢ from the low $4 range. It’s also worth remembering that gas prices spiked as high as $6/MMBtu last December and January, and such
SaveOnEnergy.com Helps PPL Electric Customers Facing Contract Expiration to Shop for Lower Rate
Even though electric rate caps are expiring for Pennsylvania customers at PECO, Met-Ed, Penelec, and West Penn Power (Allegheny) on December 31, 2010, those aren’t the only Pennsylvania customers that need to be in the market for a lower electric rate before the end of the year. Many customers at PPL Electric, whose rates expired December 31, 2009, are facing a similar deadline at the end of the year. Namely, many customers at PPL shopped for a lower electric rate last year and signed 12-month contracts, which are going to expire in just under four months. These PPL customers need to make sure that they shop for a lower electric rate before their contracts expire, to ensure that they aren’t stuck paying higher electric rates . Currently, 40% of commercial customers and 80% of industrial customers at PPL have shopped for electricity supply, and are buying their power from an
SaveOnEnergy.com Encourages Texans to Check the Rate on their Electric Bill to Realize Savings
Despite the lowest electric rates in Texas in more than five years, many Texans are still overpaying for electricity because they haven’t checked their energy rate, and compared it with competing energy suppliers . If you haven’t checked your energy rate since 2008, when electric rates reached historic highs, you’re probably paying too much for electricity. In the summer of 2008, spiking natural gas prices and record usage pushed Texas electric rates above 20¢ per kilowatt-hour . To avoid further price spikes, may customers locked-in rates of 17¢, 18¢, or even higher, to give themselves some price security until the markets calmed down, and prices started dropping. But many Texans haven’t compared their energy rate as prices have fallen over the past two years. As a result, even though most Texans can find a low, fixed rate in the 9¢ per kilowatt-hour range, millions of Texans are paying inflated rates
Spring Means Savings for Texas Electric Customers
Spring officially starts in a few days, and it means it’s time for Texas electric customers to shop for a low electric rate before prices start rising with the summer heat. SaveOnEnergy.com offers customers a quick and easy way to find and compare the lowest electric rates in Texas, so customers can take advantage of the low energy prices that come with spring. Spring has always been one of the best times to shop for a low electric rate in Texas, for several reasons. First, the spring months of March and April are known as “shoulder” months in the electric industry, during which time customers use less power. Moderate spring weather means customers are not heating their homes for as many hours as they were doing in the winter, and thus are not using as much electricity, or burning as much natural gas (which drives energy prices ). But temperatures
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