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You don't get to choose who delivers your gas or electricity. There will only be one provider.
You can choose to use that provider or go with an ESCO for the supply portion.
Like genoobie says I don't think you'll see a large difference between the ESCO options. I would not however do business with anyone that knocks on your door trying to get you to switch..
I have National Fuel for gas and it is very reasonable. OTOH, we have a high efficiency furnace, lowering costs from the old one. Even when adding a gas dryer, my cost is still low ( furnace, WH, dryer, cooking). // NYSEG for elec. I do not think anyone has decent rates here. We should, given we have Niagara Falls, but all that power is going to businesses and NYC.
I keep hearing about the "power going to NYC". Who built the power plant (i.e. where did that money come from)? Wasn't a bunch of blue collar types in Buffalo who spent billions of dollars when the other plant fell into the river. The result of the deregulation and "choice" of supplier has lead to the state we are in. Blame the deregulation laws for high power costs in WNY. If you are a larger market, you get to have greater leverage in writing supply contracts. Yep, deregulation because people were "upset" about "monopolies" in the utility industry. Why aren't utilities government owned??
The collapse was in the early 1950s. We had very low rates in into the late 1970s/mid 1980s. Deregulation did not help the cost. It made it higher. Sorry.
Some towns have their own utilities. Where I grew up did; substantially cheaper than large companies. A friend said she has it in their rental down in the southern tier - I believe Jamestown.
You will never get good electric rates here when the power is legislatively in Albany and big business in NYC. They hold the power -- and in doing so -- get the lion's share of power. Census of 2010 has NYC with population over 8 million and the state (inc. NYC) at 19 million., so the entire state outside of NYC (not including LI) is over 11 million. Take away NYC burbs? We don't count for diddly in negotiation.
I signed up with Energy Cooperative of America, a locally-based nonprofit supplier of gas and electric. They are a nonprofit so their business model is to seek the lowest prices for their customers, not to maximize profit for the shareholders and executives. It is essentially a buyer's coop where all of the customers are pooled to achieve economies of scale in purchasing energy.
I use Energy Cooperative of America also. Great company, used them for 5 years now.
I don't save a TON of money on my gas bill, but in a 2 bedroom apartment with a modern gas furnace, we save around $125 per year by just using ECA as our provider.
I can't measure what we are saving by using them as our electric supply company, but in their literature it is said that you will save tax percentage points, so maybe a few bucks a month off that.
Thanks for the tips on the Energy Coop. I think I looked into this group a few years ago but they were not taking more customers at the time.
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