NJ DISers: Constellation Energy?

[dex08]

Question for NJ DISers -

Are any of you switching from PSE&G or JCP&L over to Constellation Energy? It sounds like a great deal and they are giving away either $75 gc or $150 gc depending upon your contract term.

http://home.newenergy.com/

DH and I have been talking about it and seriously considering. Their rates are very good, it's almost a no-brainer. But that's what makes us skeptical.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I would love to know also.. I did something similar with NJNG.

 

[JB2K]

Question for NJ DISers -

Are any of you switching from PSE&G or JCP&L over to Constellation Energy? It sounds like a great deal and they are giving away either $75 gc or $150 gc depending upon your contract term.

http://home.newenergy.com/

DH and I have been talking about it and seriously considering. Their rates are very good, it's almost a no-brainer. But that's what makes us skeptical.

It's most likely on the up-and-up, as electric suppliers are fully-licensed by your state's public utilities board.

For those of you who were adults in the 1980's, it's a lot like when the Baby Bells broke-off from the old Ma Bell (AT&T) and you had to suddenly choose a long distance provider...

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

We're in NJ and we've gotten flyers from both Constellation and Gateway Energy so I went to the BPU (state Bd of Public Utilities) to check out our options, now that NJ has been deregulated.

They give a list of each provider that is licensed to supply electricity/gas in your current provider's area, as well as their website so you can go to read the fine print. We're currently a JCP&L customer and ended up choosing Verde Energy as they offered the cheapest price per kWh and also support budget billing. They also offer a $50 credit - most of the alternative suppliers seem to be offering some sort of sign up bonus as they know that NJ customers have choices now.

Dig out your current electrical bill and compare the price per kWh that the competitors are offering - that's the best place to start. Some of the companies listed on the BPU site are actually more of a "green" provider and you'd end up paying more to go with them but you have the peace of mind knowing that you're using "cleaner" energy, if that appeals to you.

Start here - read through all the info and on the bottom you can click on your current supplier to get the list of alternate suppliers:
http://www.state.nj.us/bpu/commercial/shopping.html

They'll be listed with an "R/C/I" to designate which ones provide residential, commercial and/or indusdrial service. In our case, all we care about are the ones that supply residential service.

ETA - The same concept applies to natural gas as well. We have NJNG and when I compared all our gas options, none of them would give us much more than a 1% savings so I didn't bother switching gas providers. On the other hand, since the switch to Verde for the generation part of our electric, our electric bill went down just under 10% last month so that was worth it to me.

ETA2 - Our church recently switched over to Veridian and they had a little blurb in the church bulletin that if any parishoners switch over to Veridian, the church gets a $2 credit each month from each customer. Just wanted to toss that out as there are some affiliate offers apparently so keep your eyes open as you may be able to help out any causes that appeal to you... I considered it but I liked Verde's prices better.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

This may sound stupid, but here is my concern over switching energy companies. What happens in a blackout? Aren't the lines & transformers still managed by JCPL? Does that mean that people who are customers of other electric suppliers will be bottom of the list for repairs?

We seem to have at least one blackout per winter with lines down & blown transformers. My neighbor was out for 5 days once waiting for the power line to be re-attached to her house after a tree limb brought it down. (I have no trees near my power lines, so it is less of a concern for me)

After my last JCP&L bill was $625.00 I am definately considering a different company....

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

This may sound stupid, but here is my concern over switching energy companies. What happens in a blackout? Aren't the lines & transformers still managed by JCPL? Does that mean that people who are customers of other electric suppliers will be bottom of the list for repairs?

From the State Utility Board's site:

Under New Jersey’s energy deregulation law, the supply portion of your electric or natural gas bill is separated from the delivery portion. With the supply portion open to competition, customers can shop around for the best price on their energy supplies. Their electric and natural gas distribution utilities will still deliver those supplies through their wires and pipes – and respond to emergencies, should they arise – regardless of where those supplies are purchased. Purchasing your energy supplies from a company other than your electric or gas utility is purely an economic decision; it has no impact on the reliability or safety of your service.

The crews that are repairing things have no idea which particular house buys electricity from their home company or which use a 3rd party supplier and they wouldn't really care anyway as it's still being delivered by JCP&L and you'll still be paying JCP&L the delivery charge. It's only the generation part of the service that is being outsourced. JCP&L is still getting a piece of the pie.