Electricity choice continues to provide lower price options for residential customers who receive their power from BGE. The creation of a competitive electricity market has created an abundance of electric rate options that give consumers an alternative to the BGE default price to compare rate. Electric bills in the BGE service area are increasingly being reduced as a result of Maryland electricity choice laws that allow consumers to shop for competitive power rates.

BGE residential customers who do not shop the electricity choice market for lower rates pay a default rate for their power supply through BGE. The default rate is determined through an auction process where competitive electricity suppliers compete for the ability to service a bundle of the default paying customers. An individual customer can take that default rate, labeled the price to compare, and search for a lower competitive electricity rate. Once selected, the competitive rate replaces the default rate on the monthly electric bill, creating savings if the competitive rate is below the BGE default rate.

BGE electricity choice rates have remained lower than the price to compare for all of 2014. This has resulted in an increase in the participating level in Maryland electricity choice. Those customers who have not taken the time to learn about electricity choice are paying more than they have to on their monthly BGE electric bills.

CL&P has posted a rate increase for their residential customers for the generations portion of their electric bill. The rate increase will take effect on July 1, 2014 and remain in tact through the end of the year. Connecticut Light and Power is the state’s largest electric utility providing power to more than 1.2 million customers. Electricity customers in Connecticut, through the Connecticut Energy Choice Act, have the ability to shop for competitive electric rates from alternative suppliers who are licensed by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

In 2013, 43% of customers who receive their power from CL&P elected to purchase their power supply form a competitive electricity company. Due to low CL&P default rates, the number of participating electricity shoppers has steadily declined since 2012 reaching its current number at 39.9%. During this time it was difficult for competitive electricity companies to offer rates that were below the default price for electricity. When shopping for the lowest CL&P electricity prices, customers are encouraged to find a fixed rate below the default rate in order to ensure savings on their electric bill. With the CL&P default rate being the lowest fixed rate available during large stretches in 2012 and 2013 many consumers chose to go back onto default service instead of renewing their competitive plan.

Electricity shopping activity is expected to regain its growth due to the CL&P rate increase that will be taking place during the second half of 2014. Residential customers who are on the CL&P default rate will see the price they pay for generation service rise from $0.09235 to $0.0999 per KWH, which equates to a 8.2% increase. The rate increase also comes at a time when competitive electricity companies are seeing wholesale prices stabilize, allowing them to offer competitive electric rates below the default prices.

Below are competitive Connecticut electricity rates offered to CL&P customers. If the fixed rates are below the CL&P default rate the customer will save money on their monthly CL&P electric bill.

Pennsylvania electricity customers who receive their monthly electric bill from the Metropolitan Edison Electricity (Meted) company are likely to see a huge increase on their expenses this summer if they are not purchasing their power from a competitive supplier. On June 1, 2014 the default rate for generation and transmission service for Meted residential customers increased from $0.07753 to $0.09725 per KWh. The increase will result in a 25% increase in the price customers pay for power on their monthly Meted electricity bills. The 25% increase only represents the rise in the rate and not the jump in usage that most consumers see in the summer months compared to the spring. Taking into account both the usage and rate increases, Meted residential customer are expected to see electric bills 35-55% higher in June through August as compared to March through May.

The rate increase will only occur for Meted customers who have not selected a competitive supplier. Customers who have not shopped pay a default rate for power labeled the “Price to Compare”. If a consumer can find a competitive rate lower than the current price to compare they will be able to save money on their Meted electric bill.. Current competitive Meted electricity rates are showing savings as high as 17% versus the Meted default price to compare rate.

Below is a list of updated Meted competitive electricity prices. All offers are updated on a daily basis and are offered from companies who are licensed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Electricity competition in the state of Pennsylvania has created a robust marketplace where dozens of licensed power suppliers compete with one another for customers of all sizes. As the state’s largest utility, PECO Energy has more electricity companies offering competitive rates to their customers than any other utility in Pennsylvania. Competitive prices have allowed more than two million customers to save on their monthly PECO Energy bills.

PECO Energy delivers power to more than 1.6 million customers in southeastern Pennsylvania in an area that includes Philadelphia. While true electricity choice is only three years old in the PECO service area, competitive power companies have been successful in enrolling over 33% of the residential class in the area and 50% of commercial customers. As is often true with new energy choice markets, business customers were first take advantage of competitive prices offering savings against higher default supply rates. As more and more businesses have become familiar with power shopping, competitive suppliers began offering service to the 1.4 million residential customer pool.

The combination of competing companies and high default rates have made finding low electric rates in PECO an easy task for those willing to spend a few minutes learning about their options. By finding a fixed rate that is lower than the PECO price to compare default rate, a customer is easily able to see the savings on their monthly PECO electric bills. Consumers who are wanting to save on their PECO Energy bills simply have to shop for competitive prices.

PECO Energy has announced that their default supply electricity rates will increase on September 1, 2013. The increase will be about a full penny per kilowatt hour higher than the rate that was charged during the summer, resulting in a $10 per month increase for a home that uses 1,000 KWh in a month.

The power rate increase will only occur for those PECO Energy customers who have not shopped for competitive electricity. To date only 31% of PECO residential customers are buying their electricity from a alternative energy supplier, meaning that the rate increase will take place for 69% of customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The rate increase has presented a savings opportunity for these default paying customers. The increased PECO rates combined with lower competitive electric rates gives customers the chance to save money on their electric bill if they are willing to spend a few minutes shopping for competitive power rates.

Many customers have chosen to lock into long term fixed rate electricity agreements with energy companies that will not only protect themselves from the rate increase that will take effect in September, but also protect them from future potential rate increases. Many energy analysts are forecasting energy prices to increase from now throughout 2014 making now an idea time to lock in low fixed electric rates.

Though Pennsylvania has had an active energy choice market for several years, only recently have customers living in the Meted utility service area seen the benefits. As a result of rising Meted generation and transmission rates, competitive electricity suppliers have started offering low electric prices to customers with properties in the Meted service area.

As the fourth largest power utility in Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Edison serves over a half million residential electricity customers, all of which are now able to shop and compare Met-Ed electricity rates in order to save money. Many competitive energy suppliers were slow to enter the Met-Ed market because the default rates in the area had been low over the past couple of years. This price environment did not allow for competitive rates to offer savings to Met-Ed consumers which is often needed in a newly deregulated market in order to stimulate shopping. With the default rate recently increasing and competitive power rates dropping, the opportunity for competitive electricity suppliers has finally arrived and the result has been lower Met-Ed electric bills for consumers who take the time to power shop.

Current competitive electricity rates are providing significant savings to Met-Ed residential electricity customers. The switching process in Met-Ed simply requires a consumer to choose a competitive electric rate and enroll either online or by phone. Once the switch request is in you can expect the new electric rate to kick in at the next available scheduled meter read date. After that you simply get your Met-Ed electric bill as usual with the competitive electric rate replacing the Met-Ed default price to compare rate.

Electricity choice in New York allows energy users to shop for competitive electricity and natural gas rates among a variety of companies offering innovating rate product options. Prior to the electricity market deregulating, residential customers were forced to accept the rate structure offered by their local utility company. With New York electricity choice these same customers can elect how they purchase their power through different term options and ways the power is generated. For example, New York electricity consumers who think energy prices will be rising might decide to lock in a fixed electric rate for 36 months. If they think prices will go down after the current season they might decide to lock in a six month fixed rate so that they are not bound to a contract for too long.

Customers of NYSEG, the third largest electric utility company in the state, pay an electricity supply rate through NYSEG that is variable. The variable rate changes monthly in response to the wholesale electricity market. Electricity prices like this can be very volatile as they are somewhat tied to other global energy markets such as natural gas and coal. World events and abnormal weather patterns can have huge effects on energy prices. It would not be uncommon for a variable rate structure to rise by 20% or more in one month.

However with choice, NYSEG electricity customers can mitigate the volatility by locking in low fixed electric rates through competitive energy companies called Electricity Service Companies (ESCOs). When a NYSEG customer chooses an ESCO to supply their power, the customer continues to be charged for delivery service by NYSEG. Since the NYSEG supply rate changes on a monthly basis, competitive ESCOs are usually unable to guarantee savings to customers, however by offering a fixed rate they are able to offer price stability for consumers who may not be able to afford a large rise in energy prices resulting in a higher than expected NYSEG electric bill.

Choosing a competitive electricity company that offers a low fixed electric rate has been the strategy for about 25% of NYSEG electricity customers.

Energy choice is providing savings for Connecticut electricity customers. Connecticut’s energy choice laws allow consumers to shop for competitive electricity generation rates. Currently competitive rates are being offered that are significantly lower than the local utility (CL&P, United Illuminating) generation default rates.

The utility generation default rates are set for an entire calendar year. As an electricity shopper, if you can find a competitive fixed electric rate that is lower than the default rate (see below) than you can guarantee yourself electricity bill savings. Connecticut Light & Power and The United Illuminating Power Company offer default electricity rates for consumers who are slow to learn about Connecticut energy choice.

The expenses customers pay for default service are actually passed through CL&P and United Illuminating to competitive energy companies who have bid to service the default class. Many people refuse to shop for lower electric rates because they believe that staying loyal to CL&P and United Illuminating will promote the local economy. That thought process is false as the default revenues already go towards competitive energy suppliers. The Connecticut energy choice laws have unbundled the CL&P and United Illuminating so that they now only focus on delivering the power in their regulated local utility territory. Connecticut Light & Power and The United Illuminating Company do not profit from generation supply rates, and therefor do not care if their customer’s shop for lower competitive energy rates.

Many Pittsburgh consumers are surprised to learn the Duquesne Light is not the only power company in the area. This is because the Pennsylvania electric choice law allows alternative power companies to offer competitive pricing to power users in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.

Consumers who have not participated in Pennsylvania’s competitive electricity market pay a default rate with Duquesne Light labeled the “Price to Compare”. Regardless of which Pittsburgh power company chosen, Duquesne Light continues to deliver the power to the homes and businesses of Pittsburgh. This is because Duquesne Light is the area’s regulated electric utility company, which means they are responsible for the maintenance and management of the power lines.

Selecting a competitive power company can lower the electric bill for Pittsburgh consumers substantially. Here are some current electric rate offers by Pittsburgh power companies:

Performing an energy price comparison among different energy companies and their offers is not always as simple as it may seem.  If you are shopping for competitive energy prices you may not always get apples to apples rate comparisons, especially if you are doing electric rate comparisons for a business.

Increasingly competitive energy suppliers are finding creative ways to structure their rate offers which makes customers appear to be signing contracts for unrealistic low rates, when in truth the contract has many additional charges that show up on the electric bill.

In order to protect customers, New Jersey and Pennsylvania post their “Price to Compare” rates which are the default rates offered by the utilities that competitive suppliers are supposed to offer their rates against.  Most people understand that with electric choice, the bill is now divided into two sections:  the competitive supply section, and the regulated delivery section.  The “Price to Compare” rate that utility companies (PP&L, PECO, PSE&G, JCP&L) publish are the entire supply component of the bill.

The supply rate for energy is broken down into more smaller components.  Some of these charges, such as transmission and capacity, will often be displayed on the bill.  Other components, such as line losses and congestion fees, are charges that are not stated on the bill but are blended into the price to compare rate.  However, competitive suppliers will take out these charges and present their rate to a customer that only contains the energy commodity.  The remaining charges will show up when the customer receives the bill.

This practice makes offers seem significantly less than the utility price to compare.  Unfortunately, often when the bill shows up those extra charges push the rate well above the default price to compare.

It is important to understand that in most energy choice markets, business customers can save money on their bills through shopping and comparing offers.  However due diligence needs to be done and the contracts read.  If your staff is unable to do this themselves they should consider working with an energy consulting firm or use a electricity comparison site that presents all offers equally against each other and against the utility’s current price to compare rate.

Here is some information on specific price to compare rates:

PPL:  The price to compare includes the energy rate and transmission rate that are posted on the PPL website.  The rates also include a GRT tax that is 5.9%.  Current PPL commercial rates increased by 33% on June 1.

PECO:  The price to compare includes the energy rate and transmission rate that are posted on the PPL website.  The rates also include a GRT tax that is 6.06%.  PECO commercial rates will increase by 9-11% on July 1.  PECO residential rates will increase by an average of 10% on July 1.

PSEG:  The official term for the price to compare in New Jersey is Basic Generation Service (BGS) rate.  The BGS rate for PSEG businesses is a little complicated because they use different measurements for different charges.  They charge a per KWh rate for energy commodity, and then a dollar per KW demand for transmission and capacity.  This causes the total BGS to change slightly from month to month.  To get an overall idea of what your BGS default rate is, take your total supply charge and divide it by the total KWh amount for that month.  All of this is stated on the bill.  Then you can compare competitive rates against the total BGS rate to see what type of savings are available.  Keep in mind that BGS rate include a 7% NJ tax.

JCPL:  The official term for the price to compare in New Jersey is Basic Generation Service (BGS) rate.  The BGS rate includes energy and transmission charges.