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Did you take into account Target $150 (swap out for Amazon, see Google) spread over 24 months? (I am planning to cancel once variable hits)
Not in my numbers above your post, but that's one of the things that makes me so wary ... kinda sounds too good to be true. It makes me distrust the small savings it LOOKS like I will see on the KWhrs.
Please let us know how it worked out for you after a few months with the service. Maybe YOU'LL be able to answer the questions that CE and PSE&G won't ... did the taxes or delivery charges increase ... eating at the savings?
I'm also going to watch the rates I get charged by PSE&G over the next two years. I am curious if they will drop, given this new competition. I'll report back here, too, on what I find.
Maybe YOU'LL be able to answer the questions that CE and PSE&G won't ... did the taxes or delivery charges increase ... eating at the savings?
I am kind of expecting this to happen. Just looking at the amount of the fine print on the back of the flyer gave me enough reasons to no consider CE. And the gift card is just a gimmick IMO. But certainly hearing from those who decide to switch would be a better way to judge the worth of this offer.
JCP&L has 2 prices on their invoices. One is for the per kWh electricity usage, and the other is for delivery, so no matter who I buy my electricity from, JCP&L still delivers the service and charges the delivery price, while Constellation's per kWh electricity usage price is less than JCP&L. I'm sure that PSE&G does the same thing, that is having 2 prices on the invoice.
It appears to me, and my personal situation, that going with Constellation would save me some money, and a lot more than the $7 a month that another poster mentioned.
I haven't made the switch yet, as I really want to get into the fine print of all these offers. They always look good on the surface.
Lo and behold, just a few moments ago, I got an email answer to a couple of questions I sent to PSE&G. I had a couple more questions, but I'll give them another few days to get to them.
Anyway, cut & pasted below are my questions, and the answers they gave:
1) If I decide to use CE as my supplier, does this, in any way, affect the transmission/distribution charges I would see? No, your Distribution Rates would remain the same. Does PSE&G charge more for Transmission Services if they are not the supplier? No.
2) Can you advise me of the likelihood that PSE&G’s Electricity Generation rates will drop by a significant amount (12%+) over the next two years?Unfortunately, we can not determine the future costs as there are many key factors that play into the pricing.
3)CE is very clear that their proposed rate does not include fees and taxes. Would my acceptance of their offer have any affect on the fees and taxes I would otherwise see if I stayed with PSE&G as my supplier?Not necessarily, with the acceptance of CE as your Energy Supplier, CE would therefore be responsible for the collection of the State Tax and/or Sales & Use Tax if applicable instead of PSE&G. Please see your Supplier for further clarification regarding the collection of these fees.
So, a couple of answers, anyway, transmission charges should stay the same, and taxes/fees SHOULD be about the same, since both suppliers need to pay the state taxes, and I guess we can assume that it's the same for an equal amount of power.
Anyway, I'll post back again if/when I find out anything new.
I decided tonight to look at my offer from Constellation Energy, to make a decision now, and look at all my JCP&L electric bills for the last 8 months. Constellation has different offers of fixed prices per kWh depending on your area, and for my area they are offering 10.4 cents per kWh. My last JCP&L bill was 12.5 cents per kWh. I used 1941 kWh last bill. JPC&L charge (not including taxes or delivery) was $243.07.
Thru Constellation, that price would be $201.87. If the delivery and taxes are the same, and they should be, I would have saved over $40 last month, but that was my highest usage of the year. Really hot weather and 2 central air units/2 zone.
One other thing for some people to consider - there is no budget payment plan, so for me, my electric bills are way higher in the summer and I'd have to pay that higher amount for 6 or so months, and then have a lesser amount for the rest of the year.
BTW-my winter rate last year was 11.9 cents. the bill said 11.2 cents, but then when adding up the extra electric charges (not delivery, only usage charges), it came out to 11.9 cents, so you need to really check the numbers and not just look at the number on the page.
I also noticed a $2.20 Customer charge on top of energy cost and delivery. I don't know if that would go away.
Of course, if energy prices fall, you are locked in for 30 months with Constellation Energy. At their 10.4 cent price, how much lower would JCP&L fall from their 12.5 cent price if they had a reduction? I'm thinking I could save enough in the first few months with Constellation to offset if there ever was a price drop, plus the addition of a $150 Target gift card also offsets if there was a price reduction from JCP&L. I could be wrong, but I never expect energy prices to drop substantially.
Thanks a lot for this rundown, maestrosteve. I also took out many months (18 in my case) of PSE&G bills. I entered the pertinent information into an excel spreadsheet, so that I could look for trends or patterns. Unfortunately, while my electric usage follows a pattern with the seasons (as expected), the monthly rates seem to be all over the place. It's very hard to make any kind of judgement from them, outside of adding a column that calculates the rate at the difference between the PSE&G Rate and CE's posted rate for my area (I think it was 10.5 cents). Then multiplying that times the usage to estimate how much each of the 18 months bills would be. Using this method, I was only seeing about $7-$8/month in savings.
Regarding your expectation that energy prices don't fall substantially, while I basically agree, we are in new waters with this new ability for folks to shop around. I imagine if PSE&G and JCP&L lose a lot of customers, they will drop THEIR rates accordingly. Supply & demand, you know?
I'm still sitting on the fence. I know ... I'd better move fast if I'm going to do it. I think the deadline is Sept 30th.
I have jumped ship. I don't see any con in this. $150 GC, 15% cheaper and guarantee fix rate for 30 months. I see energy price go up shortly, so in my book this is a great plus.
I only moved in Jersey for 6 months and I already have bad experience with PSEG customer services. Within a month after I moved in, I was hit with a electricity bill for $1300. I called them and asked wth is going on, and they said I haven't pay my bill for 9 months. I was like didn't the record in your system show I've only activated the services 3 weeks ago? They said yes, but they said I still have to pay it.
I only moved in Jersey for 6 months and I already have bad experience with PSEG customer services. Within a month after I moved in, I was hit with a electricity bill for $1300. I called them and asked wth is going on, and they said I haven't pay my bill for 9 months. I was like didn't the record in your system show I've only activated the services 3 weeks ago? They said yes, but they said I still have to pay it.
Took so much work to get that off my bill
Wow, they did that to me, too. Not as much money in my case, but the same type of (what should be illegal) antics. IIRC, my landlord got involved and told me not to pay it.
Too bad, but switching to CE isn't going to do anything about your customer service. That will stay with whatever company you have now.
On a related topic, I got the following email from PSE&G today:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PSE&G lowers natural gas bills Decrease takes effect in time for the winter heating season
Effective September 16, 2010, PSE&G residential gas bills decreased by an additional 6.8 percent, or about $14 per month for the typical residential customer. Including this most recent reduction, PSE&G has lowered gas bills a total of approximately 28 percent since January 2009, when wholesale prices started to drop. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If their gas prices are beginning to waver, I feel it's possible that electricity generation rates might follow.
So, fwiw, I have made my decision. I'm going to stick with PSE&G for my electricity. I'm gambling that PSE&G's rates are going to drop, possibly even lower than what CE wants us to lock-in at. Possibly even enough to eat away that entire $150.00 Target Gift Card over 2 years. I am not tied to a contract now, and I don't think I want to be, especially at a time when prices might begin to fluctuate.
I'll post back in to this thread in the future and advise the group what PSE&G is currently charging. Hopefully, some of you who switched to CE will report your numbers. It'll be interesting to see which way this goes.
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