Anyone shop around for electric service?

[rcpae]

My husband and I have never changed electric providers, but recently we've looked into it and it appears there are less expensive options. Have any of you done this? Who do you use and are you happy?

Thanks!

 

[HM]

Interesting.
We can't do that here. Where you live determines who provides your energy.

 

[01spirit750]

I did look into this.

There was a low cost power provider in our area that was offering a really low rates per watt and it sounded like a good idea.

Until I researched it and found: I would still have to pay the original power provider (PG&E) for "transmission fees". This is the cost to use their lines. So If I would have switched I would have payed a lot more.

Be carefully, it could be too good to be true.

 

[Marionnette]

I did look into this.

There was a low cost power provider in our area that was offering a really low rates per watt and it sounded like a good idea.

Until I researched it and found: I would still have to pay the original power provider (PG&E) for "transmission fees". This is the cost to use their lines. So If I would have switched I would have payed a lot more.

Be carefully, it could be too good to be true.

Hmmm. We pay a transmission charge regardless of who the energy provider is. We still get billed by the local electric company but the "energy" comes from the company that I choose.

I recently switched from Gateway to Energy Plus to get the SWA Rapid Rewards points. I was with Gateway for a year before I made the switch. If I find Energy Plus to be too costly (they have a variable rate), then I'll switch again. It's pretty easy to do and as long as I don't enter a long-term contract, it costs nothing to make the change.

 

[LJSquishy]

We don't have a choice, either. Where we live in the city determines which power company we have to use.

 

[Marionnette]

We don't have a choice, either. Where we live in the city determines which power company we have to use.

There's a difference between your power company (the company that services the lines and sends you a monthly bill) and your power provider. Where I live, I can only get my power provided by one company but I can designate who they must get my energy from. Does that make sense?

For instance, my electric company might be Duquesne Light but I can tell them that I want them to get my energy from a green energy provider who generates their power using wind. Or I can choose from other energy providers who have better rates than Duquesne Light. I still call Duquesne Light if my power goes out and the monthly bill still comes from them. I can't make a choice for that. But my share of the electricity they buy comes from my desginated provider, which is currently Energy Plus.

 

[JB2K]

My husband and I have never changed electric providers, but recently we've looked into it and it appears there are less expensive options. Have any of you done this? Who do you use and are you happy?

This is a program which varies from state-to-state (where available) -- you are choosing your electric supplier and it's billed/serviced by your usual electric utility (much like when we chose long distance carriers for the home phone back in the 80's and 90's).

This program is available in Illinois, and there are a variety of electric suppliers competiting for business from ComEd and Ameren Illinois' customers (that state's two largest electric utilities). For me, the only drawback is these suppliers do not participate in the "Budget Billing" program, which does me no good (since where I live, my utility handles both the electric lines as well as natural gas -- the Budget Billing program gives me a solid, predictable bill every month).

 

[buzz2400]

I changed mine awhile back because a newsman that I trust said it was a good deal. Recently I have been getting many advertisements in the mail from other providers so I decided to do a little research. Pretty much what I found was that you get the promotional rate for a month or so and then it goes up to about the same as if you stayed with the regions electric company. In CT, you stay with the main electric company and you are billed through the main electric company but then on the bill it will state another company. Hope that wasn't too confusing. Anyway I did switch to another company since they are going to give me a gift card to best buy for $200 if I stay with them for a few months.

If you don't like it when you switch, you always have the option to switch back to original with no penalty.

 

[CarolynK]

Whoever offers the lowest rates is going to get our business. We were hesitant at first to change, but we did some research and went with Energy Plus a couple of years ago, to earn Starwood points. We changed again recently: our city offered a good deal (a few cities in our area got together with an electricity provider to offer a good rate, I think it's locked in for 2 years). That company is MC Squared (mc2). As far as being "happy" with them, you can't even tell anything is different other than the bill being cheaper, so yes, I am happy