Energy Plus Master Thread

[clear thinker]

As a commercial energy broker I do not deal with residential accounts outside of JCPL and therefore cannot give information specific to residential accounts, but I will write my experiences regarding some of the points mentioned.

• Ambit can be OK but only if you are on their guaranteed saving plan for the exact period needed to get the guarantee. The way the guarantee works is that the price can be more or less than the default price over the term but they will reimburse you at the end if you remained with them for the entire term. If you leave before you will not get a termination charge but will also not get the savings. If you stay past the term it will not be included in the guarantee (possibly if you renew the guarantee-don't know) Even then, the savings are paltry at 1-3% depending on the zone. In JCPL that will save you $0.002/kWh. Members of my groups are saving as much as a full penny.
• In NJ it is easy to know whether or not you will save since the default price is mostly fixed with a summer and winter rate and only one component which changes usually within a range of 0.004. JCPL and PSEG rates are more or less known until June 2016.
• In NY it is much more complicated. ConEd's price is based on the real-time and day-ahead markets which have different prices for every hour of every day. This makes their pricing very volatile with some hours reaching close to a dollar (!) per kWh and some reaching near zero. Since the prices change so frequently the rate on a bill will change based on when the meter is read. This structure will cause prices to spike during periods of high demand such as very hot or cold days which is likely to be when you are using more too. When using an ESCO the main thing you will get from it is stability if you choose a fixed rate. I am unfamiliar with available ConEd residential rates and do not know whether they are likewly to save money over the long run, but right now the energy futures market is near a low point.
• ConEd's default price is not capped by regulators-it just has a set formula how to calculate based on the market. It can go and has gone above .20/kWh.
• I am not (yet) active in MA but I am under the impression that Nstar (now Eversource) changes their default pricing every 3 to 6 months. Right now over the winter the pricing is high due to transmission constraints (you can thank the environmentalists for that) and will likely moderate over the summer.
• In NY you will save the sales tax on the delivery portion by switching to an ESCO.
• ConEd does own an ESCO in an unaffiliated division. The NYPSC ensures that they their ESCO does not receive an advantage by being owned by the same parent.

Great write up amd tnx!
This should be made into a wiki

[skyguy918]

Great write up amd tnx!
This should be made into a wiki

+1, thanks aygart.

• In NY you will save the sales tax on the delivery portion by switching to an ESCO.

Is this still true? I read somewhere that you had to switch through PowerMove in order to not get charged the tax, but it appears that the program is now defunct (can't find it on the PowerYourWay website anymore).

[aygart]

Is this still true? I read somewhere that you had to switch through PowerMove in order to not get charged the tax, but it appears that the program is now defunct (can't find it on the PowerYourWay website anymore).

You definitely do still get the sales tax savings. I think it says it on your ConEd bill. IIRC That program was to give a guaranteed 7% savings for a couple of months with a variable rate