Why Should I Utilize an Energy Consultant?
An Energy Consultant is an industry expert with knowledge of the current market and the historical trends needed to make an educated recommendation. Your Energy Consultant is able to contact many suppliers on your behalf in order to obtain the best rates and terms, so you can be sure of getting the best rate possible based on your needs. Since our loyalties are with the customer and not the utility or supplier, you can rest easy knowing we will suggest the right supplier for you. The consultants work for the customer. They have your best interest in mind. Let us do all the work; all you have to do is save money!
What Is Deregulation?
For the electric industry, deregulation means the generation portion of electricity service will be open to competition. However, the transmission and distribution of the electricity will remain regulated and your local utility company will continue to distribute electricity to you and provide customer services to you. The generation of electricity is being deregulated, which means you will have the opportunity to shop around for the electricity-generation supplier of choice. Deregulation is not new; you probably remember previous deregulations involving trucking, airline travel, and long-distance telephone service.
What Is the Local Utility Company’s Role in Deregulation?
Your local utility company–whether it is an investor-owned company or a rural electric co-op–will continue to distribute electricity to you and provide customer services to you. It does not matter who you may select as your electricity-generation supplier, you will remain a customer of your local utility company for transmission, distribution, and local services. These services will remain regulated for the foreseeable future. Your local utility company will be responsible for providing line repair and maintenance, restoring service after storms and accidents, and providing customer services, including metering and billing. When your local utility company is restoring electrical service after a storm or accident, the line crews cannot give preferential treatment to those customers purchasing electricity from the company.
Your local utility will also serve as “the electricity generator of last resort.” In other words, if your selected electricity-generation supplier is unable to provide the electricity you need, your local utility company will supply you with electricity at the prevailing price.
What Changes Can You Expect?
Electricity pricing will certainly change. Today, the investor-owned utilities are guaranteed the opportunity to make a profit in the regulated environment, with oversight provided by the PUC. Rural electric co-ops are not guaranteed to make a profit since they are operated as nonprofit cooperatives governed by a board of directors elected by all customers. In the competitive environment, the utility companies will no longer be guaranteed the opportunity to make a profit on the generation of electricity. In the deregulated environment, many pricing options will be available, some of which may be very complex. Some companies will prefer to use an Energy Consulting Company; others will shop on their own. Utility bills for electricity now include one total price for all these components: generation, transmission, distribution, and local service. There are separate additional charges for fuel adjustment and taxes. Utility bills in the deregulated environment will be “unbundled,” meaning that each of the components will be itemized separately with a price per kilowatt hour (kWh) for each. In addition, there may be a competitive transition charge or stranded investment charge for each kWh.
The Most Common Reasons for Not Choosing a Supplier to Lower Your Electric Rates
No one has to choose an electric supplier, it’s YOUR choice. But we believe you should be aware of the most common reasons a business owner or a consumer does not choose a supplier. And not choosing is a choice and it can cost you. For some, choosing the right supplier can not only save you money but gives your business or home protection against future rate spikes. So check out the following reasons that may be stopping you from making the right choice.
Choosing a Supplier is so Confusing
Actually, choosing a supplier is not as confusing as you think. At US Energy Consulting Group, we get rid of the confusion! It is only confusing to you because you have a business to run and do not want to deal with the ins and outs of Energy Choice, even if it can save you money. You don’t want to call all the suppliers and then compare all the rates and figure out terms and fixed or variable rates. We are contracted with multiple suppliers in your area so we can do the shopping for you, provide you with a free no obligation cost analysis and explain all of your options to you and let YOU make the choice.
I don’t want to change from my utility company
You can’t change from your utility company even if you wanted to. They will continue to be your utility company no matter what unless you move out of their territory. They are your distribution company and will continue to deliver your electricity/gas, bill you and handle any emergencies just like they always have. Each Customer Choice program is designed by your utility company and they encourage you to enroll. They go to third party suppliers whether you choose one or not. Once you do choose your supplier, then YOU can control what you pay for your supply costs! Otherwise you pay the highest rate available and no one wants to do that!
I am happy with the rate I pay so I don’t want to bother with this
Purchasing electricity is an unconscious decision because every time you turn on your lights or oven or air conditioning you are purchasing electricity with out a second thought. If you bought electricity from a store instead of it just being automatically there every time you need it, would you choose the lower priced electricity or the higher priced electricity? If there is NO difference in the product whatsoever, we all would purchase the least expensive electricity. So why not do it now when you are given a choice? You may not even be aware that the rate you are paying is too high just because you think it is not too expensive but saving even a penny on every kwh you use could lead to thousands of dollars a year and if you use a lot of electricity, you are looking at saving tens of thousands of dollars in one year. It is worth the bother! And we do all the work for you so that it isn’t such a bother.
What if rates go down?
That is a really great question and one that is easily addressed. Too many business owners wait because they think the rate will go down and even if it does when do you make the choice? Wait a month? Maybe wait for a particular time of year? Even if rates went down they go down so rarely and so minimally that you actually lose money. The fact is in one month that you didn’t enroll, instead of saving $200 or even $1,000 while waiting for the market to go down, you lost that savings and even if you waited just a month and got lucky and the rate went down a tenth of a penny that little bit more savings will never make up for the money you lost waiting. It’s a gamble but by enrolling NOW you can save money right away and give yourself peace of mind with budget certainty and price protection. It’s not just about saving money but protecting yourself from those inevitable rate spikes that occur when a storm goes through the Gulf of Mexico or the market drives up the cost of energy. And we will make sure we give you enough information to make the right choice.
I already chose a supplier
Great, you exercised your right to choose a supplier and take control of your energy supply costs! But we can still help. If you are on a variable rate then let us look at locking a low fixed rate in for you. Variable rates can jump sky high with no warning.
If you have a contract that expires in a year or less, let us look to see if we can save you even more money. We would never ask you to terminate your existing contract only let us see what kind of rate you can roll over to after your current contract expires. This way you will never roll back over to the higher rate with the utility company. Sometimes we find companies who did not choose the right supplier and though we cannot turn back the hands of time, we can help you out in the future and give you the best pricing from the best suppliers at today’s prices! Even if your current rate is good, prices are projected to rise even more than they are so getting today’s rates locked in for a year from now is a great decision.
You never want to just assume your current supplier will always be the right supplier for you. Even with our lifetime customers we always look at all our suppliers for them when it comes time to renew to make sure they are still getting the best pricing available.
Shopping around takes too much time
This is one of the worst excuses of all. But we understand you have a business to run. This is our field of expertise and you want what is best which is exactly why we will do a free rate comparison.
I don’t have time to choose a supplier!
We understand you have a business to run. This is our field of expertise so let us do the work for you. You want what is best for your business so let us find the right supplier for you. Let us get to work for your business at no cost to you and show you exactly how much money you can save.
“I think this is just too good to be true, why is my utility company doing this and why don’t they just automatically apply the savings?”
This is deregulation in the energy industry so just like you can choose your cable company and your telephone service provider, you can now choose who supplies your electricity to your utility company. When your state opens up competition in this industry, the utility company is still there and regulated by the state to ensure safe and reliable electricity and gas are delivered to your home and business. Where the competition is opened up is on the supply side. Your utility company no longer makes electricity and gas so they have to go to the licensed suppliers in your state to purchase it for you and then in turn deliver it. They can’t force you to choose a supplier or tell you which one to go to so they will continue purchasing your electric and gas until you let them know which supplier you have chosen. So until you exercise your choice, the utility company cannot apply a savings or a discount because it is not a discount program. You can only save money when you choose who you want your supplier to be. The savings can only come about when you choose a supplier who has better pricing than what your utility company can offer. And that is where US Energy comes in and helps you to make an informed choice.
If this is my utility company’s program, why don’t they call me? I only want to enroll with them”
Though this program is set up by your utility company, your energy supply comes from the licensed suppliers of your state. Your utility company does not work for the suppliers and the suppliers do not work for the utility company. So your utility company cannot tell you which supplier to choose. So it is up to the suppliers to get you enrolled in your customer choice program and going though an energy consultant will not only save you time but help you find the right supplier for you.
One other myth is that you are making a switch when in fact you are only making a choice. A choice to save money. Nothing changes except the rate you pay for your electric and gas supply. Call us today for a free no obligation cost analysis and to answer any questions you have. Energy Choice is here to stay so don’t let anything stop you from exploring your options and letting US Energy do its job by helping your bottom line.