Source
r/Frugal•
ultimateplayer44

Selecting Electricity Providers

For those of you who live in the 13 states that allow consumers to choose their electricity provider, how do you go about selecting the supplier and terms of contract?

In many instances, it doesn't amount to a ton of money, but for a few minutes each 4,6,9,12,24 months (dependent on contract length), it is something I figure you dig into.

When selecting the contract type and length, what data do you use to back up your decision?

An example of something I consider using is below:

http://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/electricity.cfm

Posted Jan 8, 2017, 3:24 PM UTC

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Darth_Ernie•

In Connecticut I use the state website energizect.com

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ultimateplayer44OP•

As do I. But when looking at 4 month rates vs 6, 9, or 12 month rates, we are realistically betting that the rates will go up or down and make a decision accordingly.

4 months at 4.99, 6 months at 5.99 or 9/12 months at 7.99 c/kwt.

Do you pick the 4 month and hope the summer months are not higher than what would be covered by the current 9 month fixed rates, or pick the 9 month at the 7.xx rate and hedge that the rates go higher?

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gladmaned•

energizect lists a lot of 'teaser' rates - that I would be wary to signup for. Generally anything less than 6 months would be a teaser (i.e. customer sign a contract for 12 months - first 4 months would be promotional low rate and the last 8 months rate will go up substantially).

1
Happy_Harry•

In PA there's enough providers that you can keep signing up for the 3 month introductory rates. When the 3 months are up, I just switch providers.

1
gladmaned•

I used powersetter.com in the past. I used them to signup to NY rates, but I believe they compare CT rates too

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my_normie_account•

I use this website in Texas

http://www.powertochoose.com/

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mrs_frizzle•

Hey, would you mind sharing any about your experience with this? I also live in TX and just discovered the site. I'm currently paying 14.4 cents pKw on a monthly plan with TXU. TXU had several plans in the 7 cent range on that website, and Reliant had a few in the 6 cent range. Are there hidden fees that offset the kilowatt difference I should be aware of? Do you normally sign a contract? Thank you!

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my_normie_account•

Are there hidden fees that offset the kilowatt difference I should be aware of?

The pricing is pretty straight forward.

Do you normally sign a contract? Thank you!

Yes, you'll see in the Plan Detail column that most plans have a term of 3, 6, 12, or 24 months.

Some things to watch out for

-There are plans for fixed and variable rates. I think it defaults to filter for fixed rate, but double check.

-Each plan has a different price per kWh based on if you use 500 kWh, 1000 kWh, or 2000 kWh. IF you can find a recent electric bill, there should be a summary of your past usage so you can get an idea of how much you typically use.

-Many of these plans are for new customers only. This is noted in the plan detail column. Every time I renew (which happens at least every 6 months for the past 10 years), there are new companies and the cheapest companies always switch, so I don't worry ever running out of 'new customer' discounts.

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mrs_frizzle•

That's awesome. Thank you!

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