National Grid Utility Increase (heat pump, buy, school)

[Louisville Slugger]

Massachusetts Home Energy Audit | Free Home Energy Audit for MA Residents

Signed up for the audit.

[massnative71]

Watch out for those third party getchas. They may promise "immediate savings"...but only for a year (when then it could go higher than you were originally paying. No personal experience, but I'd need some sort of guarantee to make that switch.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I believe you can actually select an alternative vendor for electricity so long as you have your own meter. Someone once told me about a website where you could compare rates among your choices. I believe the site was whitefence.com. Check it out.

I shopped around and almost every supplier wants you to lock in the same supply rate for at least a year. NG has a habit of dropping the supply rate dramatically during the summer months.

Basically with an alternative supplier at best you pay the same over the course of the year as you would if you used NG for your supply and at worse, you pay more because NG gives you a cheaper rate during the summer than the alternative supplier.

[CaseyB]

I just got an email from National Grid this morning:

An Update on Winter Electric Rates
As you may know, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities recently approved an increase for electric supply prices for the period of November 1 through April 30. This means that, starting in November, residential electric customers using 500 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month will see an electric bill that is 37 percent (about $33 per month) higher than last winter. We asked for this increase because of higher energy supply prices. Energy supply prices are set by the commodity market, not National Grid. When we purchase energy on your behalf, we pass on those costs directly without a markup.

With the chance of another cold winter on the way, National Grid is very concerned about what these higher energy costs mean for our customers. And though we can't control energy supply prices, we can help in other ways, which is why we urge you to take advantage of the various solutions we offer that can help lower bills, including:

Payment Options - We have a variety of options including our Budget Plan which lets you spread out those high winter bills over the course of a year.

Payment Assistance - We have consumer advocacy programs to help low-income eligible customers pay their bill.

Energy Efficiency - From simple no-cost tips to more comprehensive programs we have the energy saving solution to match your individual needs.

We know how concerning this may be for customers and we encourage you to take advantage of these programs during this very difficult time. To learn more, please visit nationalgrid.com.

National Grid
Here with you. Here for you.

[Dm84]

I got the same email yesterday. I have a hard time accepting that an increase is necessary let alone an increase this steep.

[Louisville Slugger]

I may consider purchasing one of these:



My entire unit is electric. If this thing saves me 5% off the total kWh usage per year I should make back the cost of this pretty quick.

The VCG is a passive energy savings product that reduces daily kWh consumption in commercial, residential, and light industrial applications. The VCG captures and restores unused energy from any electrical system decreasing overall demand. Unused energy is in the form of harmonics or “electrical noise.” Harmonics represent energy losses or unusable power. The VCG returns harmonics or “system noise” back into a consumable 60Hz signal, enabling a customer to use more of the available power they have already purchased. The VCG works best when applied in electrical panels that have leading power factor and/ or non- linear loads.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Dm84

I shopped around and almost every supplier wants you to lock in the same supply rate for at least a year. NG has a habit of dropping the supply rate dramatically during the summer months.

Basically with an alternative supplier at best you pay the same over the course of the year as you would if you used NG for your supply and at worse, you pay more because NG gives you a cheaper rate during the summer than the alternative supplier.

Perhaps if one locked in their rate now they could dodge the upcoming price increase for a year or at least mitigate the impact. Sure, energy prices go up and down all the time but there's a big spike coming our way.

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I just got an email from National Grid this morning:

An Update on Winter Electric Rates

I haven't heard boo from NStar. Good to know they're on top of things.

[Louisville Slugger]

I get why people are leaving New England now though.

[Mr. Joshua]

Another fail by our awesome governor.

But I'm sure Martha is on the case.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by Mr. Joshua

Another fail by our awesome governor.

But I'm sure Martha is on the case.

Notice the obsession with green energy has not lowered prices.