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This may not apply to you (vkou) specifically but many people don't know that 1/3 of states have deregulated electricity markets that allow customers to choose
by thinkcontext 6y ago
This may not apply to you (vkou) specifically but many people don't know that 1/3 of states have deregulated electricity markets that allow customers to choose who generates their electricity. There is still a local utility company that maintains the wires and handles billing, that does not change. The choices vary on price, length of contract, amount of renewables, etc. Signing up is as simple as filling out a web form, you continue to receive your bill from the utility as usual. The only difference is the part of the bill for generation has the new company's name and rate.
See https://www.electricchoice.com/ https://www.electricchoice.com/ for which states and more background info.
- atombender 6y agoMy sense is that the awareness and participation is so low that ESCOs don't really make a difference. There's essentially no competition of the kind you see in other countries. In Norway (my native country), there's a wealth of national providers, lots of competition, and it's easy to find the rates, and also super easy to switch. Pretty much everyone paying utility bills is aware of the choice, and most people don't choose their default infrastructure provider because they're usually much more expensive. When I rented in NYC, I had the option of using ConEd or an ESCO. ConEd was always cheaper, because they already negotiate the best rates on the open market. I could choose a "green" provider, but I'd be paying 20% more.
- thinkcontext 6y agoIn DC where I live about 15% of residential customers choose other than the standard offer service, while 85% of nonresidential do. Consumption breaks down similarly, however, since nonresidential is a bigger market the incumbent on supplies 30% of total MWH.