Who to buy electricity other than National Grid??

[GeHmTS]

N.Grid here in Mass has raised there rates to .162 $ per kWh effectively doubling from last year at this time!! Has anyone out there tried buying there power from Verde or Gulf electricity?? They have price around .12$ (4 month term) but I don't know if they are trust worthy. My last bill from NG for 1418 kwh was $ 328.00 (Nov 9 - Dec 8)!!

Any input is greatly appreciated. Happy New Year everyone.

Just Energy has supplied my home for the last 3 years. I am paying 10 cents/KWH, but will be paying 13 cents/KWH starting in January. It's still better than 16 cents/KWH. The best part of the whole thing is that they're doing it when people need the energy the most. Smart move by national grid...

 

[GeHmTS]

N.Grid here in Mass has raised there rates to .162 $ per kWh effectively doubling from last year at this time!! Has anyone out there tried buying there power from Verde or Gulf electricity?? They have price around .12$ (4 month term) but I don't know if they are trust worthy. My last bill from NG for 1418 kwh was $ 328.00 (Nov 9 - Dec 8)!!

Any input is greatly appreciated. Happy New Year everyone.

You should also look into mass conserve. They'll swing by your home and do an energy audit. For me, they replaced all my incandescent light bulbs with flourescent ones. They put in digital thermostats for better control of heat. They gave me a couple of power strip cord that turn off periphery devices when the main unit is turned off. Finally, for a small fee, they will insulate your home for a better R rating.

All in all, I'm saving an ~$250.00/year just making these adjustments. If you haven't done it yet, then do it as it's well worth it.

 

[fire_man]

I know several people who have been burned by extra fees, or by a huge rate jump after the honeymoon period.

Easy Energy of MA moved out of MA last December and their "good by" Christmas present was raising the variable rate from 7 cents to 21 cents/KWH. Attempted calls and Emails to customer service went unanswered. They are doing business in CT last I knew.

 

[Polar Bear]

They pay a butt load of money

 

[tjnamtiw]

View attachment 149020 This is the way we do it up north. Notice I actually used $64 worth of electricity but they charge $84 to get it here! Lol!

That's why I asked the earlier question to Johnny_5. The 'rate' looks great but when you divide your cost by how many kwh's you used, you're paying about $0.22/kwh!

 

[deercamp]

You should also look into mass conserve. They'll swing by your home and do an energy audit. For me, they replaced all my incandescent light bulbs with flourescent ones. They put in digital thermostats for better control of heat. They gave me a couple of power strip cord that turn off periphery devices when the main unit is turned off. Finally, for a small fee, they will insulate your home for a better R rating.


All in all, I'm saving an ~$250.00/year just making these adjustments. If you haven't done it yet, then do it as it's well worth it.

 

[deercamp]

Do you happen to have any contact information for Mass Conserve?

 

[SKOAL MAN]

That's why I asked the earlier question to Johnny_5. The 'rate' looks great but when you divide your cost by how many kwh's you used, you're paying about $0.22/kwh!

Smoke and mirrors my friend! The best thing is within 15 miles of my home there is hydro plant that they are converting to gas, 2 wind farms and about 20 solar farms, one is 140MW, largest in Canada! Delivery charge, I should buy a long extension cord.

 

[guitarjamman]

Do you happen to have any contact information for Mass Conserve?

It is called Mass Save and all the information you need is at the following website:
http://www.masssave.com/

Basically they are a state subsidized company, paid for by the taxes and additional fees in the electric bill you pay every month. If you are paying an electric bill in Massachusetts, it is a complete waste of your resources NOT to call them

And to commiserate, I feel the pain of the recent rate hikes. I work from home so I am able to deduct a portion of my energy costs, but having a bill jump over $70 is sticker shock at its finest. We can all thank those elected officials who are in bed with the green energy movement - national grid tried to build a gas pipeline in western MA and it was denied with the officials wanting to invest more money and time into pursuing green/renewable energy. National Grid made a statement saying that they will have no choice but to raise the rates unless they could build the pipeline to offset the price of rising electrical delivery costs on the outdated transmission system in New England, and it fell on deaf ears. Now here we are, pummeled by higher electric costs when most people can begin to feel a financial recovery on the horizon.

But hey, what do I know? I honestly feel like the booming solar industry has a lot to do with it too. Cut into NG profits and they will find another way to recover it.

 

[deercamp]

Thanks for the information. I agree that the solar boom is part of the problem. It's kind of strange how solar is supposed to save us money and it's actually costing everyone more now because of it. I have to look into solar myself now to help out. My electrical bill here in Mass has almost doubled in the last month. We own a pretty good sized colonial that sits up high and faces south and gets a lot of sun.

 

[Lake Girl]

I know the pain... plus that Debt Retirement fee lol

Burns my butt that Debt Retirement also includes rainforest purchase, sailboat, and the huge overruns on the nukes... Are they sneaking in the extra cost of the gas powered ones that were cancelled?

Delivery fee - what's the difference in fee per density?

 

[bogieb]

18 cents here. Thought about going with one of the two competitors when I moved to this place, but glad I didn't. I hear they are looking at huge increases this year, while PSNH isn't. I think the competitors low-balled to get customers, now they have to make up what they lost.

 

[fmsm]

Easy Energy of MA moved out of MA last December and their "good by" Christmas present was raising the variable rate from 7 cents to 21 cents/KWH. Attempted calls and Emails to customer service went unanswered. They are doing business in CT last I knew.

I was with them for years,they lost their license in MA and we all got screwed.

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

I have National Grid, but the electricity itself is supplied by a different company. We used to use Dominion, but it is now "NRG Retail Solutions." It makes a little difference (I think), but National Grid will collect their pound of flesh however you source it. In my case, the electricity itself cost $76.17 last month, and the various delivery charges (all National Grid) came to $43.84. Last year's bill was $87.60, for a 37% increase. The electricity is .137 per kwh.

The rate hike was announced in October. At that time, our Attorney General "protested" the hike but apparently that was the end of it. She was occupied with other matters in October (running for governor), and that didn't work out any better than her rate hike protest.

 

[Pellet-King]

Go solar, there pushing here bigtime solar conversion's, as of today were up to 12 cents, I locked in at 9.99 cents but has gone lower, Ct has had deregulation for several year's, year ago i was paying 6 cent's, I use over 1000kwh a month

 

[JDenyer236]

It's only gonna get worse as they start retiring dozens of coal plants in the next few years. There's even talk off rolling blackouts on the east coast because they will lose a lot of base load generation. In 2015 alone the U.S. is gonna lose 86 gigawatts of generating capacity. More people powering more devices with less supply,
where do people think the price is gonna go? It's not gonna be pretty

 

[bebop]

$70 last month in Idaho, regulated public utility, no other choices for electric service. Normal has been $60/mo unless we use the air conditioning. 3200 sq ft home with 6 people.

 

[peakbagger]

Mass used to get a portion of their power from biomass plants. The former governor didn't want a biomass plant built in the Berkshires so they declared biomass generated power non renewable. The utilities now have to scramble to replace that lower cost dispatchable power with non dispatchable more expensive other forms of renewables. The region shut down many coal plants and VT yankee plus the shortage of gas due to not enough pipelines has added up to make power rates high in Mass with no relief. Basically either spend the money the utilities are willing to pay to reduce your usage and install renewables or pay for someone else to.

 

[skibumm100]

This should come as a surprise to NOBODY. As stated above, the retirement of coal fired power plants (that had no real restrictions on fuel delivery and extensive storage) in exchange for gas fired base load plants in a region with limited gas transportation pipelines was a recipe for high rates. A diverse energy portfolio (gas, clean coal, nuke, wind, solar) is the way to go. Anybody who has been paying attention knew we had limited capacity for gas transmission as they have been injecting propane in the gas system during cold spells for a long time. Gas is relatively inexpensive for the comodity but it's not cheap to deliver to the NE. And people wonder why manufacturing has left NE. Our energy distribution systems suck. The Northern Pass project is highly debated, but it's hard to argue the point that we don't need more energy supply in the northeast. Conservation is great, but you can't grow the economy with undersized grid and gas supply infrastucture. I'm not a big fan of the People's Republic of Massachusetts but they are head and shoulders above NH in consumer energy conservation programs.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Ouch that hurts just reading it!

At that price my kids would be running on a treadmill powering a generator!

I still can't believe your BOTTOM LINE cost is $.06/kwh

 

[tjnamtiw]

Mass used to get a portion of their power from biomass plants. The former governor didn't want a biomass plant built in the Berkshires so they declared biomass generated power non renewable. The utilities now have to scramble to replace that lower cost dispatchable power with non dispatchable more expensive other forms of renewables. The region shut down many coal plants and VT yankee plus the shortage of gas due to not enough pipelines has added up to make power rates high in Mass with no relief. Basically either spend the money the utilities are willing to pay to reduce your usage and install renewables or pay for someone else to.

Once again "You reap what you sow". The governor doesn't like biomass or his 'contributors' don't so that's gone. Gotta get rid of that nasty coal, according to his 'contributors'. "No, we can't run those pipelines through my 'contributors''' neighborhoods. Good ole boy Mass. politics at its best.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Been reading along and I come to one conclusion. I'm glad I live west of the Delaware Water Gap, way west.....Between the cost of utilities, the lack of choice in biofuels, gasoline prices and prevailing anti-gun sentiment east of the Gap, I'll stay out here in cob kicking country. I might visit ocassionally, but thats about it. Live, no way. I can't afford it and I'm not giving up my guns either.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Been reading along and I come to one conclusion. I'm glad I live west of the Delaware Water Gap, way west.....Between the cost of utilities, the lack of choice in biofuels, gasoline prices and prevailing anti-gun sentiment east of the Gap, I'll stay out here in cob kicking country. I might visit ocassionally, but thats about it. Live, no way. I can't afford it and I'm not giving up my guns either.

AMEN BROTHER!! Got my guns, carry them concealed when I feel like it, and just filled up at Kroger for $1.89 a gallon

 

[Deromax]

If anyone need it, our province have a gross surplus of cheap hydro-powered electricity to pawn to the highest bidder!

 

[tjnamtiw]

If anyone need it, our province have a gross surplus of cheap hydro-powered electricity to pawn to the highest bidder!

Hell, we can't even make up our minds to get OIL from you! You might as well send the electrons to China too We're beyond help down here!