Deregulation and energy choice has saved New England consumers a substantial amount of money. Choice has brought competition, which has meant more options and savings because companies need to compete for the consumer’s dollar.
Unfortunately, there are always companies that taint the otherwise good image of an industry by operating with their own best interests in mind versus that of their customers.
Case in point: Some Competitive Electricity Suppliers have recently received negative press regarding their variable rate products. These practices went largely unnoticed until recently because the variances for customers who used variable rate plans was slight. However, this winter was harsh across much of the country, creating a greater demand for electricity, which increased the demand for natural gas (the primary source of electricity), resulting in extremely high prices.
What was previously just a 10% or so monthly electric bill increase now surged to more than 300% in some cases. In states where electricity is deregulated, this has resulted in Public Utility Commissions investigating Competitive Electricity Supplier practices and enacting new rules to protect consumers. Read more from Energy Choice Matters.
This issue has also caught the eye of mainstream media. WABC TV in New York recently completed an undercover report about electricity supply companies using tactics that many consider inappropriate.
Provider Power, the parent company of ENH Power, also operates in Maine as Electricity Maine, and in Massachusetts as ProviderPowerMass, applauds the actions of the PUCs as well as the media’s attention to these issues. Electricity Supply Companies should be transparent in their business practices. Luring customers in at artificially low fixed rates, then switching them to high variable rates without the consumer’s knowledge, is wrong, not to mention bad business.
Provider Power companies offer ONLY fixed rates and never include variable rate options. You have our word.
Comments are closed.