According to a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, PECO will temporarily hike prices 21% starting Monday, October 1, 2012. This is a legally required quarterly adjustment to cover changes in bulk rates PECO is buying at, and especially in this instance, under-collection of ratepayer dues.
Whatever the reasons, the increase in the generation portion of electricity costs for PECO customers is yet another perfect motivation to switch to a new provider for generation of your electricity. Most alternative providers offer a lower rate than PECO’s default rate, and you still get the same solid, strictly-regulated distribution and billing network operated by PECO as the areas default provider and transmission line operator. Even providers offering premium green-portfolio energy tend to come in at prices lower than PECO.
At a lunch event May 13th, 2011, PennFuture.org organized an excellent presentation and discussion on green energy providers available to electric customers in PECO service territory.
Buy green electricityThere are two ways to buy clean, renewable energy in Pennsylvania.
You can either buy clean electricity and have the price added to your normal electric bill or you can buy renewable energy credits (RECs) and pay the company that generates the electricity.Print a copy.
A print-friendly version of this chart is available.The three most important factors to look at when choosing a renewable energy product are location, mix and certification.
Use the chart on this page as a reference for renewable energy products in Pennsylvania. New companies and products come online frequently so remember to check with PA Power Switch and the Office of Consumer Advocate’s Residential Consumer’s Electric Shopping Guide before you buy.
– PennFuture E3 Center for Energy, Enterprise & Environment
The above resource includes thoroughly-researched data on pricing and renewable and local production component in the generation ‘mixes’ being marketed by various PECO switch providers.
Take-aways from last Friday’s lunch meeting were:
- The default rate, or PECO ‘price to compare’ is currently $0.999/kWh, with a bump to $0.104/kWh scheduled during summertime peak air conditioning season, due to the seasonal high demand.
- You should be able to walk away with a contract for energy that is more-sustainably produced than the PECO default-rate mix, at a small savings over the default-rate ($0.945 – $0.105 for green alternatives, depending on % green). You could also choose a more substantial savings drawing from an environmentally deadly mix of fossil-fuel generated electricity that causes global warming (greenhouse gases) and local asthma (particulate emissions) and birth defects (mercury and other toxins), while relying on ecology-devastating mountain-chopping mining techniques.
- Consult an experienced PA-based PV installer (like Robert Monk Electric) before entering a new energy contract, if you are considering having PV installed on any property you own, before entering into any contract. Alternative energy generator/transmission companies do not necessarily follow Act 129 ‘net-metering‘ rules, which only legally bind the default provider (PECO for the Philadelphia region). Contracts tend have terms of a year or more, so missing this piece could mean you miss out on a substantial portion of PV generation net benefit. To our knowledge, of alternative electricity providers in PECO territory, only Energy Coop has committed to abiding by Act 129 ‘net-metering‘ rules.
- The new open market for energy is like the 1990′s open market for telecommunications: it has opened up a torrent of indirect communication. Treat your new alternative providers’ sales and marketing people like you would treat mobile-phone service sales and marketing people: with intense skepticism and a calculator and pad of paper handy to work out the long-term costs and benefits of complicated long-term contracts. As with mobile phone vendors or cable subscriptions (or home loans…) the energy marketers will be offering low introductory rates on long-term contracts, and the variety of pricing schemes may challenge your ability to compare providers ‘apples-for-apples’.
- When comparing suppliers, go beyond claims like ’80% Wind’ or ’100% AEPS’. Following is a summary/primer in green energy generating:
Green Grid Primer:
- Wind and Solar are the best source technologies. Green-e certification provides the highest standard of review for providers’ claims, although the PA state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) does perform due diligence to confirm the claims of all providers it lists and approves.
- Other ‘green’ sources in descending order of sustainability include ‘low-impact hydro’, AEPS Tier I, AEPS Tier II, landfill gas, and others.
- Sourcing from nearby or “PJM Region” green energy suppliers encourages development of green sources and green jobs in our region, improving our local economy and reducing particulate and toxin emissions affecting our region (asthma and birth defects).
- Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) mandate that the default provider (PECO in Philadelphia) source an annually-increasing percentage of alternative and sustainably generated electricity for all customers on the grid. In 2011, the AEPS Tier I mix of truly sustainable sources (wind and solar) must be at least 4% of total energy PECO sells. AEPS Tier II (alternative but not necessarily sustainable or green) sources make up a separate increasing requirement.
See also:
Licensed Electrician Robert Monk PECO Switch Providers: Choosing Green Electricity Alternatives Copyright Robert Monk, 2012
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