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December 2012 Was 23% Warmer Then The Norm

January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We are starting the New Year with good news. From December 21, 2012 to January 3, 2013 natural gas and electricity prices fell. For this 14-day report period the average 12-month price for natural gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell 5.6% and the 12-month average price for peak power on the PJM fell 4.4%.

Almost everyone attributes this price drop to the new weather forecast released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAH). The forecast for the next 6-14 days calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures east of the Mississippi.

This warm weather forecast, along with the fact that December 2012 was 23% warmer than normal, placed downward pressure on energy prices last month.

For the near term all eyes are focused on the weather. The traditional heating season runs from November 1 to March 31. However, the two coldest months of the year are on the way. For now it looks like January will be warmer than normal, which will be beneficial to your energy budgets. Stay tuned.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), Commercial (MD), Commercial (PA), electricity, Green, natural gas, Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pepco Maryland Commercial Rates Jump

December 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Pepco Marylandand other Maryland utilities have announced and published commercial rates for the winter quarter effective December 2012 through February 2013. From just a quick glance at the rates if you have a type 2 meter you will see a jump of 19% in your supply rate. The type 1 rate now published through the end of September 2013 jumped over 10% pushing over 9 cents a kilo Watt hour. Seems that the downward trend in electricity pricing may have reversed itself with the trend definitely pushing rates higher.

Filed Under: Commercial (MD), electricity, Residential (MD), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Electricity and Natural Gas Pricing

September 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

September electricity and natural gas pricing has continued to beat the utility SOS (Standard offer Service) pricing in most markets. Giving companies that pay directly for their utilities an opportunity to lower their energy costs and deploy those savings to other areas in their business. Recently a restaurant client reduced their cost of electricity by a penny per kilo Watt hour using Electric Advisors as the conduit, saving over $8,000.00 over the next 12 months. According to the owner, close to 50% of the money not being spent on energy is going to be used to beef up their social media outreach as part of a larger campaign to fill more seats more often. What would you business do with another $4,000.00 in marketing spend?

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), Commercial (MD), Commercial (PA), electricity, natural gas, Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eco-Friendly Remodeling

May 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here is great information from Alex Shekhtman, owner of AA Design Build in Washington, D.C.:

As energy costs rise and the notion of conservation begins to take hold, people are taking the chance when they remodel their homes to increase their water and energy efficiency.  It may not pay for the entire remodel, but it is certainly a good way to subsidize the expense, help save the environment and increase the value of your home in one swoop.

Bathroom updates are the best way to conserve water in 2012 and beyond.  If your toilet is from before 1994, then it’s probably a water waster.  Update the look of your toilet and reap the benefit of a lower water bill.  A new showerhead is also a very quick, easy, and cost-effective way to save on water usage as well as improve your shower experience.  The difference between a good showerhead and a bad one is pretty significant.

Ceiling fans come in an array of styles, stains, colors, shapes and materials.  They are another relatively easy and inexpensive way to update the look of your home.  Remote controls can replace the dangling pull chains for a sleeker look and no matter how nice of an area fan you buy—it still looks like clutter.  Cut hefty A/C bills in the summer and stave off mustiness with a little circulation instead.

Doors and Windows are the biggest energy wasters in the house.  Warm air escapes in the winter and invades in the summer.  Exorbitant energy bills, even for a 4-bedroom house, are usually the result of a lack of proper barrier between the outside elements and the indoor haven against them. A new front and/or back door can be a great facelift for the façade of your home and this change can increase security and lower energy bills.  Windows are in the same boat with doors, especially if you have several.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), electricity, natural gas, Residential (DC), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , ,

Residential Electricity Prices Are Lower

May 22, 2012 by 2 Comments

From Pennsylvania and Delaware, to Washington, DC and Maryland, residential electricity account holders are making the switch to lower cost electricity and saving sometimes thousands of dollars over the current supply cost of the local utility. The process is easy from start to finish, in most cases all you need in your hand is a copy of your electric bill, unless you are the rare individual who remembers the account number! Click  to see the current residential rates.

From one of our clients in Annapolis, MD “my cost dropped 20%, why didn’t I do this sooner!” to West Chester, PA “Like you said, I grabbed my bill and I was done with the process in less than three minutes” to a beach rental on the Delaware coast “This makes profitability on my rentals a bit easier to obtain”.

So if you live in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Bethany, Friendship Heights, Columbia, Ocean City, Adams Morgan, Bethesda, or anywhere in between, start saving today and tell a friend how easy it was to put money back in your pocket.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (MD), Commercial (PA), electricity, Residential (DC), Residential (General), Residential (PA), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Wind Power For Less

May 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Frequently at Electric Advisors we are asked by prospects and clients alike what would  it cost to buy renewable energy for their business.  Much less than you would think! For a lot of reasons the cost of buying wind power has dropped over the last few years. In the 6 years Electric Advisors has been offering wind power options to its clients, the cost of adding wind power for your business has never been lower. As a matter of fact, in Washington, DC a business can purchase 100% wind power and often pay less per kwh than Pepco’s current supply rate. 100% wind for a lower cost then Pepco, incredible!  Call us today and find out how you can lower you Pepco DC electric bill and buy 100% wind power.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), electricity, Green, Residential (DC), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

DC Business Electricity Costs Drop

May 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

In my last writings the focus was on residential electricity prices and how low the cost per kwh rates are through Electric Advisors as opposed to Pepco DC’s current supply rates. Now to bring the focus on the cost per kwh that commercial supply rate payers are being charged by Pepco in Washington, DC as opposed to the rates Electric Advisors is getting for their clients in Pepco DC’s service area. In some cases the cost per kwh through EA could be up to 25% percent less than Pepco DC’s mandatory pricing. Yes that’s right, 25% lower…

First to define broadly a commercial account. Simply it is any rate payer whose Pepco DC invoice does not have an “R” or residential designation. From houses of worship, restaurants, multi-family buildings, warehouses, retail stores, office buildings, gas stations, hotels, and  many more categories. It doesn’t matter if the meter is in Anacostia, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Chevy Chase, or Columbia Heights, if there isn’t the “residential” category, the meter is considered commercial.

As with residential electricity choice in DC, commercial rate payers have contracted “shopped” with alternative electricity suppliers at a significantly lower rate than their Maryland counterparts. The POR (Purchase of Receivables) option that is not available in DC but is available in Maryland plays a part in this lower shopping rate.  Again the DC Public Service Commission has great information available for commercial rate payers to learn about the process of choosing a third party supplier on their website and probably in their office, but getting someone on the phone can be a challenge.

Just like every the majority of expenses a business incurs, electricity costs can be controlled to some degree. Understanding your options regarding electricity supply rates available through energy brokers like Electric Advisors would allow you to free up cash assets that could be used for energy efficiency improvements, marketing dollars, debt reduction, and the list goes on.

Next posting will talk about renewable energy options available to the DC business community. Most would be surprised to know that buying renewable “green”  in some cases can actually lower your rate as compared to Pepco DC’s supply rate.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), Commercial (MD), electricity, Green, Other, Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Electricity Competition in DC

May 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As I wrote yesterday about the lack of residential energy choice participation by rate payers in DC I alluded to the reasons why the market has not yet taken off as it has in Maryland. Particularly when a resident or a business owner can actually buy 100% wind power at a lower cost per kwh than Pepco is currently offering. Part of the challenge is education for the consumers. Trying to get someone on the phone at Pepco to explain energy choice to you in not an easy task, perhaps not even Pepco’s job. The DC Public Service Commission has great information on their web site, but the commission is overwhelmed with work and despite the  great people working at the commission,  there is only so much you can get done in a day.

The other advantage Maryland has over DC is something called Purchase of Receivables or POR. POR is simply the utility (Pepco DC) taking over the financial responsibility of collecting and owning the accounts that go bad. Part of the reasoning behind this POR program is the fact that third party suppliers can not shut down your electricity if you don’t pay your bill, but the regulated utility can. This POR process does eliminate the majority of the risk from the supplier stand point, not all of the risk. On the consumer side, POR allows rate payers who have has credit issues for what ever reason beefit from lower rates and perhaps help the consumer on his or her way back to financial solvency.

Since POR was introduced in Maryland the number of residential third party suppliers has more than tripled and the benefactors of this are the rate payers who are enjoying the benefits of energy choice. Perhaps it is time for DC to roll out POR, Pepco Maryland is doing it! Meanwhile if you are a DC resident with a Pepco bill, grab your staement and click here to get lower rates for your electricity supply! My Lower Rate

Next up for discussion is how the business community in DC can benefit from energy choice.

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (MD), electricity, Green, natural gas, Residential (DC), Residential (MD), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

DC Residential Power Competition Lacking

May 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In a recent review of shopping statistics published by both the DC and Maryland Public Service Commission (The term shopping simply means the end user has chosen a third party supplier for their electricity or natural gas supply) regarding electricity supply, Maryland residential rate payers had “shopped” at a rate of nearly 20%. In DC the shopping number was less than 3%. You might think that the DC residents don’t have a lower supply cost alternative, you would be wrong. Currently DC Pepco customers who look for competitive electricity through companies like Electric Advisors could lower their current supply rate by over 20%. Yes, I said 20%.  Pepco DC published schedule R (residential rate for supply and transmission) is 9.141 cents per kwh.  Electric Advisors rate at publication including supply and transmission is 7.4 cents per kwh. In the next post I will talk about why I think DC rate payers are not running to sign up for electricity supply at a lower cost than Pepco DC is offering. Meanwhile if you have a friend or family member in Washington, DC and they happen to pay an electric bill, tell them to call me. I look forward to putting money in their pocket, and not in Pepco’s!

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), electricity, Green, natural gas, Residential (DC), Residential (General), Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Energy Independence, Hype or Possible

May 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

You have undoubtedly heard about the large amounts of natural gas reserves that have been found in the United States and in Canada. Some are saying that the US could be largely free of the need to import oil from the middle east by 2020. Also the large natural gas reserves will continue to bring down our electricity prices which should lead to a re-shoring of American manufacturing jobs. What are your thoughts?

www.npr.org/2012/03/07/148036966/is-u-s-energy-independence-finally-within-reach

Filed Under: Commercial (DC), Commercial (General), Commercial (MD), Commercial (PA), electricity, Green, natural gas, Wind Power Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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