The Department of Energy has set up a site to that shows what the average price of gasoline is in any particular state.  The application then shows the comparable price per gallon of driving a vehicle that runs on electricity.

The difference is significant.  In Pennsylvania, the app calculates that regular unleaded gasoline is $3.54 per gallon.  This is compared to the eGallon, which is priced at $1.21 per gallon.  In New Jersey, the app calculates a gallon of regular unleaded at $3.54 also.  However, the eGallon price is a bit higher due to higher electricity prices.  The New Jersey eGallon is $1.51 per gallon.  The Department of Energy also emphasizes the fact that the price of electricity is more stable and does not go through large fluctuations as the price of gasoline does.

If you want to save on charging up your electric vehicle, or just powering your home, Alphabuyer can help.  Simply go to alphabuyer.com and enter your ZIP code to see offers in your area.  Alphabuyer can help find an energy solution that fits your needs.

Coal currently comprises about 40% of electric power in the United States.  However, Standard & Poor’s contends that two-thirds of coal facilities are over 30 years old and must either be shut down or renovated.  With legislation on charging firms for carbon output still being tossed around, and the low prices on natural gas due to a major production increase because of fracking, many utilities are turning to natural gas.

According to the EPA, natural gas creates half the carbon emissions that coal does.  Should any emissions charge or limit be levied against utilities, natural gas would be, financially, a much better fuel to be burning for utilities.  Natural gas currently supplies 30% of US electricity but, according to Forbes, could rise as high as 40%-50% in the next 20 years.

It’s not just the United States that is seeing an increase in natural gas use for utilities.  Natural gas was featured more prominently in new site construction than was coal.  The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2009, 24% of the EU’s new plants were powered by natural gas compared to 8.7% that were powered by coal.

It remains to be seen what effect the trend toward natural gas will have on your monthly bill.  However, in the meantime, Alphabuyer can help you lower your bill.  To see offers in your area, go to alphabuyer.com.  Alphabuyer can help you find an energy deal that fits your needs.

The first step is to register for the “do not call” lists, both state and federal.  The federal do not call list can be found here. If you are a New Jersey customer, you are only required to sign up for the federal “do not call” list.  You will automatically be added to the New Jersey list as well.  If you are a PA resident, Pennsylvania has a separate “do not call” list which can be found at here.

Next, you should have your account removed from your utility’s Eligible Customer List (ECL).  The ECL is a list of customers that the utility is required by law to make available for suppliers.  This is to encourage public knowledge of energy deregulation and to allow suppliers to make customers aware of their offerings.  The process varies based on your utility, but listed below are links to ECL removal forms in areas we serve.

PECO: Must call PECO customer service at 1-800-494-4000

Duquesne Light: Must call Duquesne Light customer service at 1-412-393-7100

PPL

Met-Ed

If suppliers continue to call you after taking these steps, there are a couple different options for reporting them.  First you can file a complaint through the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission here.  If you are a Pennsylvania resident, you can report state infractions to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office by following the link at the bottom of this page or calling 1-800-441-2555.  New Jersey residents can report “do not call” list infractions online here.  For federal complaints, file with the Federal Trade Commission here. To ensure accuracy always obtain the caller’s name, company, and the supplier they represent.

If you still want to save money by switching energy suppliers without sifting through hundreds of offers with hidden fees lurking in the fine print, come to alphabuyer.com.  Alphabuyer can help you find an electricity offer that fits your needs.  Go to alphabuyer.com to see how much you can save.

Inquirer Article on electricity savings

Based on our last blog post, we decided to send a quick letter in to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Editorial Board. Alphabuyer has access to some pretty interesting information and we felt the need to provide our perspective.

You can read the full article, Inquirer Letters Extra: Savings found in switching, here.

First, this “fixed” offer has a condition hidden in chapter 2 of the agreement.  It reads as follows:

“In addition to the charges described above, if any regional transmission organization or similar entity, EDC, governmental entity or agency, North American Electric Reliability Corporation or other industry reliability organization, or court requires a change to the terms of the Agreement, or imposes upon FES new or additional charges or requirements, or a change in the method or procedure for determining charges or requirements, relating to your Retail Electric Supply under this Agreement (any of the foregoing, a “Pass-Through Event”), which are not otherwise reimbursed to FES, Customer agrees that FES may pass through any additional cost of such Pass-Through Event, which may be variable, to Customer.  Changes may include, without limitation, transmission or capacity requirements, new or modified charges or shopping credits, and other changes to retail electric customer access programs.”

Whew, that’s a mouthful.  So, what does it all boil down to? Basically, this clause says that if the supplier has to pay any fees or charges that are not expressed in the contract, the cost is passed on to you.  The clause even states that these charges may be variable (see the underlined section of the above passage).

So, what are some of these charges that can be passed on to customers and how likely are they?  Let’s start with capacity charges.  Capacity charges are fees charged to the supplier based on a customer’s peak usage.  The day of the year that you use the most electricity becomes your peak usage rate.  Your utility then charges the supplier based on this peak amount.  Under this offer, any time capacity charges are increased for the supplier, the supplier pass the charges on to you.

Transmission charges are another source of fees that the supplier can pass on.  These charges are for the transmission of the electricity that the supplier generates to the utility who distributes it.  Again, if the supplier ends up paying more, you end up paying more.

In fact, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will soon be handing down a ruling regarding these “Pass-Through” charges.  They will decide if suppliers that have offers containing these types of clauses will be able to market them as fixed rate offers.  It may soon be illegal to have “Pass-Through” clauses in fixed rate plans.

The clause basically leaves open the possibility of the supplier passing on any charges that it incurs to its customers.  To Alphabuyer, this does not seem like a fixed rate offer.  This is why we choose not to carry this particular offer.  To see fixed-term offers in your area, go to alphabuyer.com and enter your Zip code.  It’s that easy.  We can help you find an energy solution that’s right for you.

For the full terms and conditions of the offer go to this link:

https://www.fes.com/content/dam/fes/Files/Terms-Conditions/v3/C-00007091.pdf

Updated: April 26 (graph of rates)

While sitting at the kitchen table last weekend, drinking my coffee and reading the Philadelphia Inquirer, I came across Alan Heavens’s most recent “On the House” article. He ended the article with the classic “Food for thought” phrase, so I decided to take a bite.

He mentioned that he ends up using less and less energy every year, but his bill remains the same because the price of electricity seems to go up every year. That got me thinking it’s time to address what’s really going on with energy deregulation, because I imagine there are a lot of people that probably feel the same way as me, and maybe Alan too.

I’ll start with a few facts about saving money by switching to alternative electric suppliers here in the PECO region.

1. Since 2011, Alphabuyer customers saved on average of $180 a year by using our service to switch to a trusted, reliable alternative electricity supplier
2. Homes that use more energy will save more money after switching
3. Even with high awareness, switching rates are low due to consumer skepticism and apathy (more on this later)

I co-founded Alphabuyer in the beginning of 2011, when PECO’s electric rate caps expired. Alphabuyer’s mission is to do everything possible to help people keep more of their hard-earned money in their own pocket. At a time when consumers were going nuts over Groupon and LivingSocial buying deals for cupcakes, skydiving and laser hair removal, we set out to provide smart, simple, secure solutions for saving money on monthly energy-related costs! We dedicated ourselves to helping homeowners and businesses make smarter decisions that lower monthly bills, save energy and help the environment.

We’ve had a lot of success. But we also faced significant challenges along the way brought on in part by the perception created by questionable practices by many suppliers out to acquire customers at all cost.

What does all this have to do with Alan’s article? Well, since Alphabuyer started operations, we are proud to say that our best-in-market deals have gotten better with time, even as PECO’s price has risen. Despite lower rates, only 34.6% of residential customers have switched in PA, with only 31% having switched in the PECO region, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Click for high resolution graph

So, why specifically haven’t people switched? They know the electricity market is deregulated. They know they have options. Alphabuyer conducted a survey in July 2011 and found that nearly 90% of PA residents were aware of energy deregulation. The survey showed then that most of the respondents had not switched because they either felt the savings were insignificant or were confused by the sheer number of choices they had available to them.

Almost 2 years have passed since that survey. Over that time I’ve personally had hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations with people about switching. Now, almost half way thru 2013, by far the biggest REAL reasons people have not switched are the horror stories.

Everyone has a story of the persistent phone calls during dinner, the barrage of junk mail promising guaranteed savings and the real life accounts of how a neighbor up the street switched and ended up paying more.

A lot of people are simply turned off to the idea because of the tactics in which some suppliers choose to engage.

Members of the Alphabuyer team themselves have experienced door-to-door salesmen that ask to see your PECO bill, and then use your account number without your permission to enroll you in their service.

I’ve personally experienced suppliers who call me saying I am “eligible for PECO or state sponsored discounts”. Uh, yeah. I, of course, play dumb to see how far down the path they take me. In most cases, you guessed it, it’s a questionable offer at best, complete scam at worst.

Fortunately for PECO region electric customers, I can definitively say there is a way to really save money on your monthly energy bills. We call it the Energy Triple Play — pay less, use less and lose less. Take these 3 steps and you’ll start accumulating savings immediately on your next bill.

As Alan points out in his article, using EnergyWorks to connect with trusted, reliable companies to make your home more energy efficient is the best place to address the “lose less” component of the triple play. Using Alphabuyer to choose a trusted, reliable energy supplier with best-in-market rates, terms and conditions covers the “paying less” part.

The rest, in essence, if left to you — using less energy. But even this area is getting easier for homeowners with solutions like WattzOn.com or PECO’s new online home energy management tools powered by OPower.

If you’re like Alan, always looking for ways to reduce energy consumption AND lower monthly bills, I ask you to consider the Energy Triple Play idea.

I also ask my fellow energy-profession peers, cohorts and consortiums, to think about it the same way. Let us not fall victim to the perception of the bad-apple suppliers. Let us promote a “whole home approach” that includes energy choice. A solution that I know produces results greater than the sum of its parts.

I’ll be the first to admit, shopping for and choosing an alternative energy supplier or a home energy efficiency company is hard. I’ve been thru it personally with the Energy Works program and Mark Group. It will take time and effort for all the energy movements (energy choice, efficiency, behavior) to become common-place. I get that.

But remember, at one time your Grandma didn’t know how to use Facebook. Now, it’s a piece-of-cake for her.

Food for thought.

The NASCAR Race to Green program will spotlight accomplishments by teams, drivers, and fans to help bolster green activities in the sport.  According to NASCAR, there are three areas that the program will focus on: waste, emission and power.  The program also encourages fans and partners to donate trees to areas that have fallen victim to natural disasters.

The NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program involves the NASCAR organization pledging trees to offset carbon emissions.  UPS has signed on to support the program and plans to plant 8000 trees over the course of the NASCAR season.  According to NASCAR a mature tree absorbs about a metric ton of carbon dioxide over the course of its life.  NASCAR says that this is the equivalent to the emissions of a Sprint Cup car driving 500 miles.

If you would like to reduce your carbon footprint, Alphabuyer offers green energy options in some regions.  To check out green energy options or energy savings deals in your area, go to alphabuyer.com and enter your Zip code.  It’s that easy.  We can help you find an energy deal that fit your needs.

A new report from the Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital along with the Institute for Market Transformation indicates that homeowners that own energy efficient homes are 32% less likely to default on their mortgages.  Over the course of the study, the owners of Energy Star-rated houses defaulted about 1/3 less than those of non-Energy Star-rated houses.  The study concluded that this was because owners of Energy Star-rated homes save money on their energy bills that can be used for other expenses, including mortgages.  Not only do these improvements pay for themselves over the life of the home, they can allow homeowners more flexibility and security with their bill.

Whether you own an Energy Star-rated home or not, you can still save money on your electricity bill with Alphabuyer.   Alphabuyer can help you switch to an alternative energy supplier and start saving.  We can help you find an energy solution that fits your need.  To get started, go to alphabuyer.com and enter your Zip code to see the deals in your area and how much you can save.

The launch of pagasswitch.com was a turning point for residential energy shopping in PA.  After the success of papowerswitch.com, the PUC went ahead and launched a sister service for natural gas. Shortly after its launch, Newsworks and The Philadelphia Inquirer both reached out to us for an unbiased opinion on the industry and the service.  Read the full articles above!

At Alphabuyer we believe in energy conservation and green technology.  We offer deals from Mark Group on home energy efficiency upgrades that help you lose less energy, and we also encourage communities to use less energy.  In late December we issued a press release where we ranked Philadelphia area neighborhoods by energy usage.  Chestnut hill, being the top energy consuming neigborhood in the city, was quick to pick up on this article, as was Newsworks.

Alphabuyer doesn’t just provide consumers with best in market energy deals. We are also working towards the goal of creating a more informed energy market by spreading knowledge about energy deregulation.   Weather it is an Alphabuyer press release or a news agency looking for a professional opinion, Alphabuyer is always at the forefront of energy in the media.

Besides heating and cooling, how can you figure out which devices are consuming lots of energy in your home? Enter low-cost green technology devices such as Bert.

For Businesses-

Bert is a wireless device which can control electricity consumption for as many outlets as you want. It cuts off power according to a schedule which you can preprogram. It installs right between the outlet and the appliance’s plug, with no need for extra wiring or tools. Easily programmable via your wireless network, it can pay for itself in less than a year with any size building.

Find more information at www.bertbrain.com

For Homes-

The Nest is not a programmable thermostat- it’s a learning thermostat. As we wrote before, heating and cooling account for a large amount of your energy costs- up to 50%. Unfortunately, 90% of programmable thermostats are rarely or never programmed. Even those that are programmed, have to be given an exact schedule, even though our lives don’t run that way. After one week, Nests learn what their users like and what their schedules are and adjust the temperature accordingly. Functions like “Auto-away” change the temperature if you forgot to when you leave the house. There’s a mobile app where consumers can track your savings and adjust the temperature. Best of all, studies estimate savings to total over $6,000 over the 20-year life of the system.

Find out more at: www.nest.com

For Homes-

The Belkin Conserve line gives the homeowner everything they need to monitor and shut off unwanted consumers of electricity. Through products like the Conserve Insight, which plugs into the outlet like Bert, allows homeowners to find out how much energy each of their appliances are using, how much it costs, and the amount of carbon dioxide produced as a result. The Conserve Smart AV automatically figures out which devices are “powered off” and completely cuts power to those devices.

Find out more at: www.belkin.com/conserve