Electric choice options are heating up in some markets as we begin to enter the high energy summer season. Customers who use websites to perform electric price comparisons will give themselves access to the most options and highest electric rate savings.
In Philadelphia, electricity customers of PECO energy are experiencing electric choice for the first time and a surprising number of residential and business customers are power shopping for lower energy rates. PECO energy default rates are going to rise in the summer which has prompted people to explore electric rate options quicker than some had expected. Because PECO default rates change on a quarterly basis initial savings have not been huge, but people are starting to see that locking in a low electric rate can be beneficial as it protects you from future increases. The other side of that argument is that default rates can go down causing you to be stuck paying a higher electric rate with another electric supplier. While this a possibility, historic energy prices have shown that rates tend to go up in the summer. Unfortunately, it will probably take a large energy spike for some people to start looking into their electricity choice options
In Texas, which has enjoyed a competitive electricity market since 2002, thousands of customers who had not previously power shopped saw their electric rates triple in the summer of 2008 due to rising natural gas prices. Electric customers who had previously locked in low rates were not effected by the increases. Today the majority of Texas electricity customers are in some type of electric supply contract.
New Jersey electricity customers are also getting low electric rate offers that can protect them from summer rate increases. Performing an energy comparison of all the offers will allow electricity customers to get the lowest offers with the best promotional offers. Promotional offers as high as a $75 gift card are available in New Jersey.
Customers of the electricity utility company Duquesne Light can save big money on their electric bill by shopping for lower electricity rates. Duquesne Light, which serves the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, raised their price to compare rates in January 2011. The price to compare rate is the electric default rate that the state of Pennsylvania mandates Duquesne charge their customers who have not chosen a competitive supplier.
With Pennsylvania now a fully deregulated electricity state, Duquesne Light is now just the local electricity delivery company. Residential electricity customers in the Pittsburgh area can save as much as 19% on their electric bills by signing a fixed electric rate with a competitive supplier. Customers will still receive their monthly bill from Duquesne Light, the only difference will be that instead of paying the high default rate of 8.89 cents per kilowatt hour, they can pay a rate as low as 7.19 cents.
As of January 2011, 21.3% of Duquesne residential customers have switched electric suppliers. That number is expected to increase as the saving potential for these customers has recently increased.
Check out current competitive electricity rates in the Duquesne Light area:
Today PSE&G serves as the electricity delivery company for over two million residential and business energy customers living in New Jersey, including major suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. PSEG used to be a full functioning regulated electricity company, taking care of all aspects of electricity, generation, transmission, distribution, and customer service. Now that New Jersey has enacted energy choice, PSE&G is now only in charge of delivering power, transmission and distribution, to their customers.
While New Jersey customers have a choice of who supplies their electricity they do not have a choice of who delivers the power to their homes and businesses. Many consumers in the PSE&G service territory are reluctant to shop for lower electric rates because they feel loyal to PSE&G. This is the wrong way to view electricity deregulation. Even when a customer chooses an alternative electricity company to provide power, that person still remains a customer of PSE&G as PSE&G continues to act as the electric utility company delivery power to the property.
When a PSE&G customer receives their electric bill they will notice that the bill is divided into two sections; delivery and supply. The delivery charges are those charged by PSEG to deliver power as well as maintain the lines and wires. The electricity delivery charges are regulated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The supply section of the electric bill is the part that customers have a choice and can compare electricity rates among other companies. PSEG customers who do shop pay a default electric rate that PSEG is tasked with charging. PSE&G does not receive a profit from these default supply charges as stipulated in the New Jersey Electricity Choice and Competition Act.
In addition to PSEG’s service of delivering power and providing default supply rates, they also continue to provide customers with their monthly electric bill. Even after a PSEG customer chooses an alternative electricity company to provide their electric supply service, the customer will continue to receive one electric bill from PSE&G, in most cases. It is possible that the alternative electric supplier will want to send their own invoice in which case you will receive two bill, one from PSE&G and one from the chosen supplier. However, in most cases the competitive electricity companies choose to have their charges billed as a separate line on the PSE&G bill.
The competitive electricity company’s rate takes the place of the PSEG default supply rate, and if the chosen rate is lower than the default rate the customer saves money on their electric bill. Here are some competitive electric rates that are currently lower than PSE&G default rates.
PECO energy customers might notice a slight increase on their energy bills this month. February 2011 will mark the first set of bills that PECO electricity customers receive that include PECO default rates since capped rates were lifted on January 1, 2011.
Many PECO customers are still unaware that they have a choice when it comes to who supplies their electricity, and some of those choices will result in savings on the electric bills. Though it should be noted that many electric suppliers are offering rates that are higher than current PECO default rates.
Most electric suppliers offering service in the PECO area offer a single billing option. In other words, if you choose to switch electric suppliers, you will still only receive one electric bill per month from PECO for the delivery and supply of your electricity. The alternative would be to receive two bills; one from PECO for the electricity delivery, and one from the new electric supplier for supply service.
The single billing option combined with a lower electric rate than the PECO price to compare rate make switching electric suppliers equivalent to getting a rebate from PECO energy. For example, if you choose a fixed electric rate of 8.9 cents from an alternative electric supplier, you in effect are getting a PECO rebate of 10% off of the current PECO electric supply rate of 9.92 cents.
Below are “PECO Rebate” offers from electricity suppliers who offer single billing.
