Overview of electric deregulation in NJ

As reported by Save on Energy.com

New Jersey

Electric:

New Jersey opened its electricity industry to competition in 1999. Each of the four electric utilities (PSE&G, Jersey Central Power & Light, Atlantic City Electric and Rockland Electric) now offer customers the chance to save money by shopping for the supply portion of their electric bill.

The utilities sold off their power plants, and now only own the transmission and distribution wires, while also providing “backstop” power to customers who do not shop for electricity. With the move to competition, New Jersey utilities have separated their service into two parts:

• Regulated distribution of power, which is still only provided by the utility, and     • Supply of the electric commodity, which is open to competition.

Customers can choose to receive their electric supply from their utility, or an alternate energy provider.

Customers who do not choose an alternative energy provider are served on each utility’s Basic Generation Service (BGS). The price for Basic Generation Service is determined annually through auctions held by the utilities.

For large customers above 750 kW, called the Commercial and Industrial Energy Pricing or CIEP class, the BGS price is set at hourly prices in the wholesale PJM market. These prices can be extremely volatile, so most large customers choose an alternate (or third-party) energy provider for price stability.

Customers under 750 kW are known as the BGS Fixed Pricing Class, and receive a flat, annual rate from the auction, although it may be seasonally adjusted.

Customers who choose an alternate energy provider still have their power delivered to them by their local utility, and contact their utility for all outage reporting. Customers can choose to receive either a single bill from their utility for their delivery service and energy supply service, or can receive two bills, one from each company.

Our Perspective:

Natural gas prices are near a 10 year low.  Because 30% of electricity is generated with natural gas  we have seen very competitive in this area also.

Deregulation gives the consumer a choice to buy their energy supply on the open market at wholesale prices as oppose to buying energy from the local provider at default prices that are normally higher. If you are not currently buying energy thru a 3rd party provider, it is something you should take the time to look at. Businesses and now residential clients are finding substantial savings by fixing the cost of their electric and natural gas supply cost.

 

To learn more email george@hbsadvantage.com

 

Your Attention………Please

Residential electric customers

 

 

In…

 

 

 

New Jersey and Pennsylvania….

 

 

 

 

You finally have an opportunity

 

 

 

To lock your electric supply cost

 

 

 

At a fixed price…….

 

 

 

For a

 

 

 

12 month period

 

 

 

 

 

 

This means saving of

 

 

 

Around 15%

 

 

Off your current

 

 

 

Local provider supply cost

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you look at your PSEG residential electric bill

 

 

You will see your…..

 

 

Price to compare

 

 

For electric

 

 

Is around

 

 

 

$.116 cents per kwh

 

 

 

 

Atlantic City Electric customers

 

 

Your bill shows a

 

 

 

Price to compare of around

 

 

 

$.122 cents per kwh

 

 

 

 

We now have a program that will permit

 

 

 

Residential customers in New Jersey

 

 

 

To lock their electric supply cost for

 

 

 

 

 

 

$.0999 cents per kwh

 

 

 

 

For a 12 month period

 

 

 

 

For a typical household

 

 

This provides savings

 

 

 

Of over $300 a year

 

 

 

 

No additional cost

 

 

No transfer fees

 

 

 

No interruption of service

 

 

 

The supply charges will be billed on

 

Your current local provider bill

 

 

 

Best yet…..

 

 

 

Nothing changes…….

 

 

 

Should you have an electrical problem…..

 

 

 

You still will call your local provider

 

To service the account

 

 

 

 

This opportunity is also available for….

 

 

 

All Residential Pennsylvania

 

 

Electric customers

 

 

 

 

(Contact us to find out your rate…….

 

 

 

Your savings are comparable)

 

 

 

 

 

As most of you know…

 

 

 

HBS has been in the deregulated energy business

 

 

Since January 2000

 

 

 

We have been providing

 

 

This service…

 

 

 

For only the commercial market

 

 

 

 

 

 

I get several calls

 

 

Every  week

 

 

From my clients

 

 

Asking……

 

 

 

 

 

Can you help me with my home electric bill……

 

 

 

 

 

Many have faxed or emailed me…….

 

 

 

 

All the special offers they have been receiving

 

 

 

 

Problem was……

 

 

All I found was……

 

 

 

 

Smoke and Mirrors

 

 

 

 

 

They had the sizzle….

 

 

 

 

No contract…..

 

 

 

Month to month……

 

 

 

Low variable rate……..

 

 

They also had……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minimal to no $avings

 

 

 

Many have complained to me

 

 

 

They actually paid more

 

 

Than the provider price to compare

 

 

 

 

 

For the first time

 

 

 

We have found

 

 

 

A Residential opportunity

 

 

 

 

That will provide….

 

 

 

 

 

True savings….

 

 

 

 

For your…..

 

 

 

Residential Electric Account

 

 

 

 

Should you like to know more…..

 

 

 

About this saving opportunity

 

 

 

For your home

 

 

Email……..

 

 

george@hbsadvantage.com

 

 

Or call our office 856-857-1230

 

 

 

 

$300 savings

 

 

 

 

For me…..

 

 

It was the equivalent

 

 

 

Of getting 1 month

 

 

 

Free electric a year

 

 

Visit our website: www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com   to learn more about opportunities available to provide savings.

 

Solar returns beat Treasuries, drawing investors from Buffett to Google

As reported By Christopher Martin Bloomberg News 3/21/12

NEW YORK – U.S. solar developers are luring cash at record rates from investors ranging from Warren Buffett to Google and KKR by offering returns on projects four times those available for Treasury securities.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., together with the biggest Internet search company, private equity companies, and insurers MetLife Inc. and John Hancock Life Insurance Co., poured more than $500 million into renewable energy in the last year. That’s the most ever for companies outside the club of banks and specialist lenders that traditionally back solar energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data.

Once so risky that only government backing could draw private capital, solar projects now are making returns of about 15 percent, according to Stanford University’s Center for Energy Policy and Finance. That has attracted a wider community of investors eager to cash in on earnings stronger than those for infrastructure projects such as toll roads and pipelines. “A solar power project with a long-term sales agreement could be viewed as a machine that generates revenue,” said Marty Klepper, an attorney at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, which helped arrange a solar deal for Buffett. “It’s an attractive investment for any firm, not just those in energy.”

With 30-year Treasuries yielding about 3.4 percent, investors are seeking safe places to park their money for years at a higher return. Solar energy fits the bill, with predictable cash flows guaranteed by contract for two decades or more. Those deals may be even more lucrative because many were signed before the cost of solar panels plunged 50 percent last year.

Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. agreed to buy the Topaz Solar Farm in California from First Solar Inc. on Dec. 7. The project’s development budget is estimated at $2.4 billion and it may generate a 16.3 percent return on investment by selling power to PG&E Corp. at about $150 a megawatt-hour through a 25-year contract, according to New Energy Finance calculations. It will have 550 megawatts of capacity and is expected to go into operation in 2015, making it one of the world’s biggest photovoltaic plants.

“After tax, you’re looking at returns in the 10 percent to 15 percent range” for solar projects, said Dan Reicher, executive director of the Stanford center. “The beauty of solar is, once you make the capital investment, you’ve got free fuel and very low operating costs.”

The long-term nature of solar power purchase deals makes them similar to some bonds. And because a solar farm is a tangible asset, these investments also function much like those for infrastructure projects, with cash flows comparable to toll roads, bridges and pipelines, said Stefan Heck, a director at McKinsey & Co. in New York who leads the firm’s clean-tech work. Once a project starts producing power, investors can earn a return that’s “higher than most bonds,” he said. “There are a lot of pension funds with long-term horizons that are very interested in this space.”

Governments remain the biggest backers of the solar industry; President Obama’s administration suffered criticism for investing in Solyndra, a solar manufacturer that went bankrupt last year. Worldwide, the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank was the biggest asset-finance lender for renewable energy companies in the past year, arranging 12 deals worth $11.2 billion, according to New Energy Finance. The Brazilian development bank BNDES, Bank of America, and Banco Santander followed.

In 2009, solar technology was so unfamiliar that few banks would back projects that required billions in upfront investment and wouldn’t begin producing revenue for years, Klepper said. The biggest financiers for the industry that year were Madrid- based Santander, HSH Nordbank of Hamburg and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria of Bilbao, Spain, New Energy Finance said.

That year, the Energy Department began funding a program to guarantee loans for solar farms and other renewable energy projects that supported almost $35 billion in financing before winding down in September. The government’s endorsement assuaged investors’ concerns and built up a bigger community of people who understand how to make money from solar deals, said Arno Harris, chief executive officer of Sharp Corp.’s renewable power development unit Recurrent Energy.

“Solar is now bankable,” Harris said. “When solar was perceived as more risky, it required a premium,” and now it’s “becoming part of a much broader capital market.”

Long-term power-purchase contracts are the key to making solar a reliable investment, Harris said. Utilities in sunny states such as California, Arizona, and Nevada have agreed to pay premiums for electricity generated by sunshine.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20120321_Solar_returns_beat_Treasuries__drawing_investors_from_Buffett_to_Google.html#ixzz1plWe9SD0
Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else

Tonight’s the Night

Tonight’s the night…..

 

Hurricane Swartz makes his long range winter forecast…

 

 

 

You know the guy with the bowtie?

 

 

How cold is it going to be?

 

How much snow will we get?

 

 

Remember last year?

 

We had that big snowstorm right around Thanksgiving…

 

 

What’s going on with this weather?

 

Here it is mid-November…..

 

Janet and I just got our winter clothes out

 

 

 

Dealing in the energy market

 

The one constant we discuss is temperature

 

 

Back in September

 

We were getting reports saying

 

 

 

The long range forecast calls for an exceptionally cold November

 

 

When will that start……

 

 

November 30^th

 

 

 

Those statements kept pushing natural gas prices up

 

 

We held firm….

 

 

We waited….

 

 

We’ll see….

 

 

Here it is mid-November and temperatures are still in the 60s

 

Natural gas prices keep dropping

 

 

A whole market opportunity has opened up

 

 

With prices so low

 

We start to measure risk

 

 

How much lower can prices go?

 

 

 

Don’t you love this kind of stuff?

 

 

 

 

Can natural gas prices go lower?

 

 

Yes!!!

 

But there is more upside risk

 

 

 

With prices being sooooo low,

 

 

 

One cold snap and …

 

 

The market price can jump up fast…

 

 

 

It’s called the whiplash effect

 

 

 

Prices always go up faster…

 

 

And then they take their good old time coming back down

 

 

 

Now here’s my shameless HBS plug

 

 

For those businesses still buying natural gas from their local provider

 

This is a great time to lock into a very competitive fixed price contract

 

 

 

There we go….

 

I said it

 

 

Now the disclaimer…

 

 

Some circumstances may not allow you to qualify

 

            Your monthly usage may be too small

 

                                          or

           

            We find stop service notices on your bill

 

 

 

 

 

Pick it up Hutch

 

 

Let’s get back on topic

 

 

Ohhhhh…..OK

 

 

 

So……..

 

Hurricane….

 

 

What will you say?

 

 

How cold will it be?

 

 

How much snow will we get?

 

 

 

I just bought a new snow shovel last year

 

 

I’ll be ready

 

 

 

PS: This was written on Wednesday. If you want to know what Hurricane said, you will have to go online and Google it.

Most in Pa. avoid shopping for electricity supplier

By Andrew Maykuth

Inquirer Staff Writer

Pennsylvania electricity customers are skeptical they can save much by
shopping for power.

Although 88 percent of customers say they are aware they can switch to
alternative suppliers, only 45 percent have shopped, according to a statewide
survey conducted by Terry Madonna Opinion Research.

Twenty-three percent of residential customers statewide have switched,
according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. About 1.4 million
customers have switched.

Madonna and several electricity suppliers told the PUC on Thursday that
nearly a year after Pennsylvania’s retail utility deregulation went into full
effect, the public remains wary of shopping.

“There are a fair number of people who did not look into changing an electric
supplier because they didn’t believe there would be long-term savings in it,”
said Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin
and Marshall College in Lancaster.

The poll results were presented Thursday at a PUC hearing on competition.

The surveys found that price was the main concern driving customers to
switch, but many said the perceived savings were insufficient to make them
switch.

Suppliers said some residential customers have recorded savings up to $300 a
year.

Madonna, who conducted his telephone survey of 801 customers in September on
behalf of Constellation Energy, said 78 percent said they would consider
switching if they could save 10 percent on their generation charge.

Many customers who declined to shop said they were happy with their current
supplier regardless of the cost.

Madonna’s findings were echoed by an Internet survey of 450 customers
conducted by AlphaBuyer, a Paoli group- buyer that markets online.

Forty percent of the customers said the savings were not worth it, said Kevin
McCloskey, AlphaBuyer’s chief operating officer. About 24 percent said shopping
was too confusing or the choices overwhelming. About 15 percent said switching
was too risky or that it was a “scam.”

Under Pennsylvania’s Electric Choice law, customers can choose a company that
markets the power. Billing is still conducted by the incumbent utility company,
which collects a fee for distributing the power.

Customers who don’t switch are still supplied by the utility at a default
rate.

Only 18 percent of customers had visited the PUC’s website for choosing a
supplier. PUC members said more customer education was needed.

“It’s perplexing to us with all the tools being made available to customers
we only see 20 percent of the residential customers shopping,” said Robert F.
Powelson, PUC chairman.

Our Perspective:

HBS has been dealing in the deregulated energy market for over 10 years. I have always been suspect of the proposed residential savings in this market.  Most of the time you are offered a floating rate that may offer minimal savings.

The opposite is true in the commercial market. There are providers offering fixed price alternatives that offer a great opportunity for savings. HBS has found great success in the PA commercial deregulated market. We represent all the major providers selling electric in the PA market.

There is no upfront cost. Deregulated savings in the energy market has been a welcomed windfall for any business in both the New Jersey and Peennsylvania market who willing to look at the opportunity.

 

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20111111_Most_in_Pa__avoid_shopping_for_electricity_supplier.html#ixzz1ddcYbDS5

The Dilemma

Natural Gas prices continue to be very competitive.

 

However…

 

This has presented a dilemma.

 

 

 

When you request pricing for an existing client,

 

Who has been participating in the deregulated market…

 

 

And

 

 

You compare the proposed price

 

vs

 

What the client has paid over the past 12 months.

 

 

Guess what???

 

 

 

The price normally is higher than what they have paid.

 

 

 

The client’s response normally is:

 

 

Why is it more?

 

 

Why can’t I play less?

 

 

 

That’s a good question,

 

 

 

Now what answer do you
want?

 

 

 

 

Let’s just stick to
the facts

 

 

 

The truth is that the natural gas market is a moving target

 

It is a commodity that is being traded 24/7

 

 

 

 

Several years ago (2008),

 

Natural gas prices shot up

 

 

Market prices were $12 – $14 a decatherm

 

Which translates into $1.20 – $1.40 a therm

 

 

That was the commodity cost to the providers

 

 

 

So consumers were even paying a higher rate

 

 

 

Since that time, prices have steadily dropped

 

 

 

You have probably seen me reference

 

That many analyst saw natural gas pricing

 

Reach a floor in

 

Late October / November 2010.

 

 

Problem is….

 

That nobody knows where the floor is…

 

 

Until you pass it

 

 

 

Well guess what??

 

 

Prices may once again be creating a floor as we speak.

 

 

The Nymex continues to drop

 

It has gone full circle over the last year

 

 

What do you mean the
last year?

 

 

It has gone full circle over the past 2 months

 

 

 

I have a friend, who
is a chiropractor,

 

He asked me what is
wrong with my neck.

 

 

I told him I have been
watching the Nymex!!!

 

 

 

The problem becomes….

 

 

There is more upside risk

 

Then there is downside risk.

 

 

Translated……

 

How much lower can prices go?

 

 

All future indications show prices going up

 

 

 

What are your options:

 

 

 

Float the market while prices continue to remain low

 

 

If you see prices starting to go up

 

You can always turn around and lock your position

 

 

There are various other options…

 

Winter locks…Lock in the price for months with the highest
usage

 

 

Basis locks….Lock in the transportation cost and float the
nymex

 

 

Anyone of these options can be used

 

To be proactive against future price spikes

 

 

 

 

Another issue:

 

 

 

We spoke in the past that natural gas prices

 

Are made up of 2 components

 

Nymex… The cost of natural gas out of the ground in Gulf of
Mexico

Basis…… The cost of transporting the gas from LA to your
local provider

 

Index…….The sum of the 2 or the base cost of the commodity
to the provider

 

 

While the Nymex prices are creating new floor space

 

The basis cost is higher than it should be

 

The result….

 

Adding a low Nymex cost

 

To a higher than normal basis cost

 

Gives you a higher overall cost

 

Then what you were paying over the last year

 

 

 

I find this all very
interesting…

 

(You have to say that
while you are rubbing your chin)

 

 

What should you do?

 

 

HBS presents all the options

 

 

We look at where the market has been

 

 

What are the future projections showing?

 

 

We look to educate our clients

 

So they have a full understanding of how the market works

 

 

We want our clients to feel comfortable

 

 

 

Knowing that they made the best decision

 

For their company

 

When all the facts were presented

 

 

 

To learn more about
deregulated energy opportunities for your business email george@hbsadvantage.com

 

Visit us on the web www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

NJ Energy plan goals debated

As reported in Courier Post 8/19/11

 

New Jersey’s proposed energy policy calls for 22.5 percent  of the state’s power to come from renewable sources within 10 years  a goal that was the subject of heavy debate at a legislative hearing  attended by nearly 100 people Thursday.

Environmentalists said they want a 30 percent target, but business  leaders said that would drive their costs up.

State Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, defended the goal proposed  in Gov. Chris Christie’s draft energy master plan, calling it fair  and an “aggressive standard.”

Only eight states have higher renewable portfolio standards  than 22.5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy website.  The standards are state policies that require electricity providers  to obtain a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy  resources, including the sun and wind, by a certain date.

After Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club made a case for  the higher benchmark, Beck said: “I’ve been told on many occasions  that’s a stretch for us. We know solar and wind are great sources,  but they’re not particularly reliable, and that’s a challenge.  There’s also a responsibility for us to be realistic to set goals  that can be met.”

New Jersey currently obtains less than 10 percent of its electricity  supply from renewable energy sources.

But Tittel noted that New Jersey has ramped up, with more than  10,000 solar arrays installed. Only California has more.

“We’re No. 2 in solar installations. We shouldn’t go back,”  said Tittel, who added that he fears Christie’s policy could jeopardize  funding for renewable energy projects for homeowners and small  businesses and affect more than 200 solar companies in New Jersey.

Corporate executives who testified said the current relative  high costs of solar energy should not be discounted.

Michael Egenton, senior vice president of government relations  for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said the poor economy underscores  the need for an energy policy that loosens restrictions. He praised  Christie’s plan.

“I think you have to look at everything in context,” said Egenton,  who said money spent on higher energy costs by companies would lead  to less money spent on operations and investments. “You have to  look at the bigger picture.”

The joint legislative hearing took place at the Toms River town  hall and was co-chaired by Sen. Bob Smith and Assemblyman John McKeon,  both Democrats.

State energy regulators also are holding hearings this month  and will vote to adopt a final energy policy later this year.

The lawmakers on the panel received an admonishment from Janet  Tauro, an environmentalist who is co-chairwoman of Grandmothers,  Mothers and More for Energy Safety.

With the topic turned to energy conservation, Tauro made a common  sense suggestion:

“We can turn down the air conditioning and turn off lights,”  said Tauro, also of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

Most of the panel members were in jackets or sweaters.

There was little reaction from the panel after Tauro, a Brick  resident, made her comment. Later the room became colder, and more  lights were turned on.

Solar makes sense

As reported in Philadelphia Inquire May 30, 2011

With Pennsylvania
boasting the nation’s second largest number of solar-industry jobs, state
officials would be foolish to let the sun set on such a nascent but promising
industry. But that could happen due to a temporary mismatch between solar-energy
financing and market demand.

The construction of more than 4,000 solar projects has been a roaring
success, responsible for generating several thousand jobs at 600 solar
businesses. Growing that industry from scratch, with state and federal aid, also
boosted the use of nonpolluting and renewable energy. That will be particularly
helpful in meeting summer’s peak demand.

Yet, the boom in solar projects has outpaced the amount of solar energy
utilities are required to buy under the state’s alternative-energy rules. That
has depressed the value of solar-energy credits needed to provide a return on
photovoltaic solar systems, which have a steep, up-front price tag.

The best way for state officials to spur solar to new heights would be to
boost the modest solar-energy standard – now far lower than neighboring states,
at only 0.5 percent – by 2021. But last year, that idea ran into strong
opposition from Exelon and other utilities, coal producers, and business groups
- and a certain Republican candidate for governor.

Fortunately, a fellow Republican, State Rep. Chris Ross from Chester County,
unveiled a legislative proposal Tuesday that should be more to Gov. Corbett’s
liking. Ross would accelerate the amount of solar energy utilities are required
to purchase for the next few years, but leave the overall standard at just 0.5
percent. He would also follow other states by barring out-of-state solar
producers contributing to the solar glut in Pennsylvania.

The Ross proposal amounts to a tweak, but one that could be critical to
maintaining the state’s foothold in solar energy. Corbett and Republican
legislative leaders could fall back on tea-party ideological antagonism toward
so-called government mandates – or they could prove themselves progressive
enough to embrace a modest plan that makes sense for the state’s 21st-century
economy.

Sungevity, Lowe’s Cut Deal To Bring Solar To The Masses

The California-based solar leasing firm Sungevity announced a deal on Monday with home improvement giant Lowe’s that could make obtaining a personalized estimate for installing solar panels a push-button affair at Lowe’s outlets.

The deal gives Lowe’s just under a 20 percent stake in Sungevity, according to a solar industry source, though neither company would discuss specific dollar figures.

Under the agreement, scheduled to launch in 30 Lowe’s stores in California in July, customers will be able to access kiosks equipped with Sugevity’s iQuote system, a Web-based application that allows homeowners to simply enter their address and receive a firm installation estimate within 24 hours, eliminating the expense of an on-site visit.

The system combines aerial and satellite image analysis with research by Sungevity engineers at the company’s Oakland headquarters to assess the geometry of a home’s rooftop, its disposition to the sun at different times of day and year and any potential occlusions presented by nearby vegetation or built objects.

In addition to an installation estimate, customers can also get a visual rendering of their home with solar panels installed. And if interested parties provide information on typical power usage, such as an account number or past electric bills, the iQuote system can estimate potential savings expected from using the equipment.

The iQuote system can already be used online, and the company’s founder, Danny Kennedy, estimated that roughly 25,000 users had taken it for a test drive, though only about 1,500 of those had been converted to sales.

The deal with Lowe’s, Kennedy said, could help Sungevity — a petite player in the solar leasing market compared to bigger players like SolarCity of San Mateo, Calif., or San Francisco-based SunRun, which raised $200 million in financing earlier this month — significantly expand its reach.

“This will help us to get in front of thousands more customers, in front of middle America,” Kennedy told The Huffington Post. “We’ll be taking it to the ‘burbs, as it were.”

Despite tough economic times and often uncertain economic incentives, a number of analyses predict a boom year for solar power in 2011.

A report published in December by IDC Energy Insights, a market research firm based in Framingham, Mass., estimated following a healthy 2010, the solar market in North America could well see two gigawatts of solar power installations this year.

Jay Holman, the report’s lead analyst, told The Huffington Post that those numbers had been revised somewhat, but that 2011 was still expected to bring in 1.6 gigawatts of new solar installations, roughly double the 2010 total.

Part of the reason for America’s interest in solar energy may be a decline in the robust incentives the once drew a deluge of equipment and installations to the European market, particularly countries like Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy, Holman said. Those countries have begun to scale back their subsidies, forcing companies to look to other markets.

Meanwhile, federal tax incentives, including a 30 percent tax cash grant extended through the end of 2011, have helped keep solar alive. Several states have healthy incentives in place as well, including the eight states where the Sungevity/Lowes deal will eventually be rolled out: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

Holman also said solar leasing companies like Sungevity, SunRun and Solar City, which retain ownership of the equipment while reducing or, in many cases, eliminating the up-front installation costs, also help drive the expansion of solar power.

“Obviously, we’re obsessed with being customer-focused,” said Kennedy. “We hope that this deal will make going solar as easy as shopping for light bulbs.”

Online Auctions

The deregulated energy market is causing a big buzz in this area. In the spring of 2010, NJ opened up deregulated opportunities to the residential market.

In January 2011, PA opened up the Peco territory to deregulation after a 5 year moratorium.

As the result, the market has been flooded with companies and individuals trying to capitalize on these opportunities.

Online Auction opportunities are now available. All you have to do is type buying deregulated energy online into your Google page and you will have multiple selections.

Also many companies have been promoting a Multi-level marketing approach to set up a grass roots effort in hopes of gaining penetration in the market.

.

As more consumers have grown more comfortable with on line purchasing, it seemed natural that this avenue would be an effective marketing option.

The only problem we see is that when buying energy in the deregulated market, you are dealing with a commodity. This puts a whole new spin on the opportunity.

This week, we would like to take a look at on line auctions.

Below is a plus-minus list we have developed to help you make an objective decision about purchasing energy on line versus using an independent broker.

On Line Auctions:

Plus

• Feel like you are getting a good deal by participating in an ecommerce transaction
• Potentially lower price by doing the ecommerce transaction 
• Potentially easier transaction since there is limited contact with 3^rd party energy suppliers
• Electricity is a commodity and customer’s management feels this is best process for doing transaction

 

Minus

• Can be more challenging to negotiate terms & conditions  
• Potentially less leverage with suppliers since there is no personal interaction
• Difficult determining what factors are included in the price.
  •  Is it fully loaded? (contains 7% loss transmission and sales tax)
  •  Is it a fixed rate or variable rate?
• How do you know when is the best time to buy
• Online auctioneers are brokers approaching the same providers we would be using.
• Many on line auction companies do not have any information on their website regarding the management of the company

 

Dealing with an Independent Broker (Hutchinson Business Solutions)

 

Plus   

• We represent all the major 3^rd party providers selling energy in deregulated sates
• We offer personal service, individually marketing your account to these providers
• We monitor market fluctuations and discuss timing with our clients
• We offer fixed price solutions (Other options available for large volume users)
• We make sure all prices received are fully loaded and are an apples to apples comparison to your local utility’s price to compare
• Due to our business relationships, we bring leverage to the deal
• We assist with customer’s legal team in negotiating the business terms of the contract as they may apply
• We provide options, defining the best terms and conditions and service the account throughout the term of the contract, addressing issues as they arise
• We have been advising customer risk management strategies in the deregulated markets for over 10 years.
• Opportunity to outsource many of the tasks involved with the energy procurement process while retaining the control and final decisions on any potential transaction

 

Minus

• The energy market is in a growth mode, many new faces and the information is sketchy.
• You must be sure to deal with a reputable company who will represent your best interest
• Many of the new companies are offering variable rates

 

At first glance you may think this overview is biased.

Yes, we are an independent broker. We take pride in the value we have brought to our clients in the deregulated market.

We have just seen too much abuse. The deregulated energy market is an unknown.

We take time to explain how the market works with each client. We want you to understand this concept and feel comfortable with your purchase.

Each account is unique. There is no one size fits all solution.

There are great opportunities for savings in the business market.

Know the facts!!!!

Look to ask the right questions.

Let HBS be your eyes and ears….

While you continue to do what you do best….

Run your day to day business.

To learn more about deregulated energy opportunitiews for your business email george@hbsadvantage.com

Visit us on the web www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com