Saving $$$ in Deregulated Natural Gas Market
June 28, 2010
The deregulated natural gas market is presenting great opportunities for savings for those commercial accounts that are spending a minimum of $3000 per month.
With the recent drop in natural gas prices over the last year, Hutchinson Business Solutions (HBS) is providing savings from 8% to 20% depending on who your local provider is.
Your local provider currently buys natural gas wholesale and then bills their clients retail pricing. HBS puts our clients in a wholesale position.
When looking at historical pricing over the last year, we show that if you are currently a South Jersey Gas customer, your saving would be about 8%. PSEG and NJ Natural Gas customers would find a 15% savings, while Elizabethtown natural gas clients would be saving 20%.
We are currently advising clients interested in participating in the deregulated natural gas savings to float the market. This will continue to benefit them as long as the market stays flat or continues to go down.
If we were to look at fixing a term contract of 12 to 24 months, we often find that the fixed or locked price is actually higher than the 12 month average you have currently been paying. There are clients that do choose to lock a price, for they do not want to deal with market fluctuations and they are interested in adding certainty to their cost. The only problem that may arise is that if the market remains flat or goes down, they are unable to get out of their contract. Should market prices go up, they will not be affected for the price will remain the same.
Should a client choose to float the market, they will take advantage of the lower market prices and if we see the market start to spike up, they will always have the option to lock a price anytime during the term of the contract.
It has always been our goal to make the client aware of all the options available to them and to ultimately making them comfortable with the decision they choose.
Would you like to know more about opportunities to save in the deregulated natural gas market? Email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230.
We have found that savings is the deregulated natural gas and electric market provide great opportunities to add savings to your company, reducing cost and increasing your bottom line.
PSEG Price to Compare
June 24, 2010
Basic Generations Service (BGS) rates for PSEG electric customers have been established for the new year. BGS rates are the default rate for customers serviced by the utility PSEG who have not shopped for a competitive electricity supplier. The new rates will go into effect on June 1.
PSEG default rates for the supply portion of the bill are divided into a summer term that begins June 1 and extends through the end of September, and the non summer term that begins October 1 and extends through the end of May 2011. The default BGS rates include the entire Supply section on customer PSEG bills. This is often an area of confusion to business customers who look into the benefits of competitive rate shopping. The total price to compare takes into account the generation rate as well as capacity charges. When customers just compare the per KWh rate on their current bill they are not getting an apples-to-apples comparison.
In order to realize the actual price to compare, PSEG business customers should take their total supply charge and divide it by the total amount of KWh they consumed for the bill period. This will result in a KWh rate that can be compared to offers from competitive suppliers. This price to compare will include state taxes of 7%. So if the competive rate does not include taxes (as will be stated on the contract) multiply the rate by 1.07 to get the true comparison rate.
The bottom line is that there are competitive electricity suppliers available for business customers serviced by PSEG. Depending on the size of the customer and the type of electricity product chosen (fixed, variable, green energy, long term), savings can be as much as 25%.
Our perspective:
We found this to be a very informative article. When we are speaking to a prospective client, we alway go into great details discussing the importance of comparing a price to compare.
Things to know
7% Loss factor – In order to deliver 100,000 kwh of electric to a destination a supplier must ship 107,000 kwh. This 7% allowance must be factored into a deregulated electric price received from a provider. This loss factor is already in PSEG price to compare.
Sales Tax – PSEG also has 7% sales tax figured into their price to compare.
We find that many times potential clients are mislead. They are quoted the price for the supply only and told the actual price to compare. As usual, the savings are too good to be true.
Actually, the savings can be very good but you have to define what is the actual price they are offering. Is it fully loaded. Does it inclde the 7% loss allowance plus the 7% sales tax.
To learn more email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230
Natural Gas Deregulation
June 24, 2010
Large market swings offer you big savings.
If you have been following market prices for natural gas, over the past couple of years, you have probably noticed the large market swings.
In 2008, PSEG prices ranged from $1.07 per therm in February to $1.64 per therm in July.
In 2009, prices dropped and we saw $.889 cents per therm in January with a low of $.496 cents a therm in September.
This is good news for those interested in saving money in the deregulated natural gas market. PSEG and SJ Gas buy natural gas on the open market wholesale and sell it to their clients retail.
Should you be spending a minimum of $5,000 a month on natural gas for yor business, there is a big opportnity for savings.
With so much market fluctuation, we have been advising our clients to float their accounts, based on the market index. If you are a PSEG client and chose to float the index over the past 12 months, you would have saved 12%-15% on your supply bill. SJ gas customers would have saved 8%, while NJ Natural gas clients would have saved 13%
Choosing to float the market index does not preclude you “locking in” on a fixed price at any time during the term of the contract. Conversely, if you choose a fixed price, you are unable to change to a float when market prices go down.
Note: Since the prices of natural gas have been so low, we have also seen this play a large effect on the reduction of electric prices in the deregulated market. Did you know that 30% of the electric generated is made from natural gas?
Want to learn more about opportunities to save in the deregulated natural gas market or deregulated electric market email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230.
Visit us on the web www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com
PECO Completes Third of Four Electricity Purchases
June 24, 2010
Excerps from
PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In preparation for the final transition to a competitive electric market in Pennsylvania, PECO recently completed the third of four planned electricity purchases to serve customers who have not chosen a competitive electric generation supplier beginning Jan. 1, 2011.
Beginning January 1, 2011, the prices PECO and our customers pay for electricity will be based on electric market pricing, after having been capped for more than 10 years. At the same time costs to operate our electric systems also have been increasing. The effect of all of these changes on PECO electric customers will be price increases of about 10 percent. For the typical residential electric customer, the increase is about $8 more per month.
The May 2010 purchases resulted in an energy price of 7.95 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for PECO’s residential customers. When combined with 2009 purchases, the May purchases result in a price of 8.91 cents per kWh for PECO’s residential customers, 8.66 cents per kWh for small commercial customers, and 8.63 cents per kWh for medium sized commercial customers.
Because energy prices fluctuate, PECO is buying the electricity needed to serve customers in 2011 at four different times – reducing the risk to customers of purchasing electricity all at one time when market prices could be high. PECO will complete the remaining purchases in September 2010. The results of all four purchases will determine the exact price PECO’s customers will pay for electricity beginning Jan. 1, 2011.
“We continue to be able to purchase electricity at lower wholesale market prices, helping reduce the prices for our customers,” said Denis O’Brien, PECO president and CEO. “And we have programs available to help customers use less energy and save money.”
Our Perspective:
Now we’re getting there. As Peco begins to release information, we will be better able to determine what opportunities for savings exist in the deregulated market.
All we will need is a copy of your latest invoice and a letter of authorization, which allows us to request annual usages on your account from Peco.
HBS is an independent energy management company. We have been providing deregulated savings to our clients for over 10 years. We represent all the major providers looking to sell electric in the Peco territory.
We will define the right provider at the the right price.
To learn more email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230
Businesses go shopping for electricity
June 24, 2010
By Andrew Maykuth
Inquirer Staff Writer
Brace yourself for power shopping – and we’re not talking about a marathon outing at the mall.
Nearly two dozen energy companies are scrambling to sign up Peco Energy Co.’s biggest, most lucrative customers – the commercial and industrial users – in preparation for electric deregulation at the end of this year.
About 110 customers of the Philadelphia utility attended a seminar Tuesday at the Union League to learn more about the implications of electric choice. The bottom line: Large customers should shop around for power, because their competitors are, too.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for you to save money,” James H. Cawley, chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, told the seminar, sponsored by one supplier, GDF Suez Energy Resources.
The PUC is promoting energy choice as an option for customers to fashion a deal specific to their needs. A school district, for example, might bargain for a lower price because its facilities are closed in the summer, when power costs more. A business promoting its green image might buy from renewable suppliers that generate from wind, solar, or hydroelectric plants.
“You have a choice to get your electricity from somebody else who can be much more attentive to your individual needs, your own risk tolerance, your own environmental desires,” Cawley said.
Under the Electricity Generation Choice and Competition Act, utilities hived off their power-generation units and will now make their money strictly by distributing power on their lines.
The utilities’ rates were capped at 1996 levels to allow them to ease the transition to competitive markets.
For Peco, the rate caps will be lifted at the end of this year. Customers who don’t want to shop around can stay with the utility’s “default rate.”
For large customers, Cawley said, the default rate is likely not the best deal because it contains a significant “risk premium” for Peco to lock in prices now. Alternative suppliers are more nimble in fashioning rates to suit the needs of specific users.
“Don’t sit there and take the default rates,” he said, without endorsing any specific alternative supplier. “You’re silly to do that.”
Cawley said many customers were still confused over the roles played by the traditional utility that distributes power and those companies that generate it. Peco, as a distribution company, will still provide customer service and billing for most users.
“People don’t understand this distinction between distribution and generation,” he said. “Your electric-distribution company does not care if you shop. . . . In fact, they’d like you to shop.”
Since the rate caps came off on Jan. 1 for customers of PPL Electric Utilities, the Allentown company reported that 32 percent of its total customers have switched to alternative suppliers, according to the PUC.
But nearly 80 percent of its large commercial and industrial customers have switched. All told, 75 percent of PPL’s load – the number of kilowatt hours transmitted through its wires – is now supplied by alternative companies.
Marketing efforts aimed at Peco’s residential customers are not expected to materialize until late in the year – and officials expect only a small percentage of customers will be inclined to switch.
The reason: Though PPL’s default rate went up more than 30 percent this year, Peco’s is expected to increase only about 10 percent from current rates, Peco president Denis O’Brien said in a recent interview.
But commercial and industrial customers – who represent about 10 percent of Peco’s 1.6 million customers – are a different story.
Even a small percentage of savings is attractive to a big customer whose annual electric bill might total millions of dollars.
“The larger customers are keyed into this because it’s such a big part of their costs,” said Tom Petrella, regional sales manager for Hess Energy Marketing, which also had a Center City educational seminar Tuesday.
Many of the 21 suppliers registered with the PUC to supply electricity to large Peco customers are the marketing arms of other utilities with familiar names: Con Edison Solutions, First Energy Solutions, UGI Energy Services, and Allegheny Energy Supply Co.
Exelon Energy Co. is among the competitors selling power directly to Peco customers – both companies are owned by Exelon Corp.
Some suppliers have adopted more public marketing campaigns: PPL EnergyPlus, a sister company of PPL Electric, bought the naming rights to the new professional soccer stadium in Chester this year to help raise its profile.
GDF Suez, the company that held the Union League seminar Tuesday, bills itself as the “biggest company you’ve never heard of.”
The $109 billion French company is the world’s largest utility, has 200,000 employees, according to Forbes magazine, and is among the largest suppliers of power in the United States.
Like many suppliers, it has opened an office in the Philadelphia area.
Our Perspective:
Deregulation has recently presented great opportunities for business to find savings from 10% to 25%. The current natural gas and electric commodity prices are the lowest they have been in the last 4 years.
Remember, savings is a parity of how much you spend. We have small clients saving $5,000 to $10,000 a year, while larger clients are saving $100,000 to $200,000.
Not bad! It is like receiving a gift.
We are currently waiting for Peco to release their price to compare figure. This will serve as the basis to determone what value deregulation will bring to the Peco territory. If Peco’s prices pare to what PPL is currently charging, you will be finding savings running between 15% to 20%.
Who qualifies?
If you are currently spending a minimum of $5,000 a month on natural gas or $5,000 a month on electric, you should be looking at the dergulated market for savings.
The first step is easy. All we need is a copy of your latest invoice from Peco. We will also need you to sign a LOA (letter of authorization), which will allow us to request annal usages for your accont from Peco.
With this information, we are then ready to spreak to the providers looking to sell electric.
Hutchinsson Business Solutions (HBS) is an independent energy management company. We have been providing deregulated saving opportunities to our clients for over 10 years. We have strategic partnerships with all the maajor providers looking to sell electric in PA.
We know the market and we know the sweet spots each provider looks to participate in.
We will validate what you currently are paying. Define what you will be paying, should you remain with Peco. We will present opportunites for savings in the deregulated market.
There are no fees for our services for we receive a small residual from the providers.
To learn more about dergulated saving opportunities email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20100616_Peco_Energy_customers_at_seminar_on_electrical_deregulation.html#ixzz0rnTAXq3t
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NJ Unemployment Rates will be going up!
June 21, 2010
What’s your Rate?
We recently were notified that the State of New Jersey would be mailing out updated unemployment rates to all employers in New Jersey starting August 15th.
Yawn!!!!
Why the announcement? No one looks at the notice.
So our rate may go up .1% from 2.3% to 2.4%, that’s the cost of doing business!
Wrong!!!!
How do you know your rate is calculated properly?
Unemployment is the 2nd highest employer mandated tax. It is like having a checking account with the state. They provide the rate, which tells you how much you must deposit into the account during the next year. They also provide a notice telling you how much they have taken out of your account.
Not Bad! Are you sure no one questions this?
Why publicize that employers may be overpaying payroll taxes? They do it willingly, without asking questions.
If your company employs over 150 employees, you should be looking at this rate. If there is a mistake it is not just with one employee, it is on your whole payroll.
Why will my rate be going up?
Since the economy is been a bit shaky recently there are many individuals collectly unemployment and therefore the tax base supporting unemployment has been slowly depleted. In order to increase this revenue base the State of NJ will be moving to a new tax catagory which will automatically increase the revenues to support this base.
Without doing anything, your unemployment rate will be increased.
The State of New Jersey has over a 10% error rate in the payment of unemployment claims. That means they are taking too much money out of your account and that your rate is wrong!!
Been thru a merger, acquisition or restructuring? The US Department of Labor statistics show there is close to a 50% chance the incorrect rate has been assigned to the new company. This stems from the governments inability to properly record these transactions.
Hutchinson Business Solutions has great success reviewing and validating if these unemployment rates are correct. Many of our clients are receiving refunds for overpayments!
The state allows us to go back 3 years to verify if the current rate is correct. The state is not asking you to overpay taxes. The onus however is own you to provide the proper information.
What is your Rate?
What is your Reserve Balance?
How much have you paid out in claims?
Is your Rate correct?
Maybe today is the day to find out!
Call Hutchinson Business Solutions and ask about our no fee review of your current unemployment rate.
Our findings may surprise you.
You too may qualify for a refund!
Note:
This service available for companies with more than 150 employees.
Peco Deregulation Is Here
June 21, 2010
As you may know, with the enactment of the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act in Pennsylvania, customers have the ability to choose who supplies their electricity. With rate caps expiring January 1, 2011, customers in the PECO utility territory should be reviewing their supply options.
PECO will be holding an auction on May 25, 2010 to obtain electric power for the largest commercial and industrial customers – those in the above 500kW customer class. Earlier this year, those customers were sent a letter from PECO requesting that they indicate whether they were interested in having their electrical needs included in the PECO auction. Customers that sent back a response by March 1, 2010 and indicated that they were interested in reviewing the one year fixed price offer from PECO for calendar year 2011, will be allowed to select the fixed price that is the result of that auction process.
Once the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PAPUC) enters a decision that approves the results of the auction, PECO will announce the applicable fixed price rate for 2011, and customers will then have a 30 day window to indicate if they will accept the fixed price offer.
Once PECO announces the fixed price rate on May 25, 2010, you have the ability to compare the rate from PECO to pricing and options from other suppliers. With electric commodity prices at 5 year market lows, and electric generation suppliers (EGS) competing for your business, it could be advantageous to consider your options.
With the transition to a competitive market and the expiration of rate caps, all customers in the PECO service territory are able to have a meaningful choice in their electric supplier and can select service from a licensed EGS.
If your business or organization chooses to receive electric supply from an EGS, you can select a product or term of service now that meets your electric needs in 2011. This allows you the flexibility of reviewing your options in advance and an opportunity to choose from product options that work best for you and your business.
Products offered by EGS differ from that which is available from PECO, such as renewable energy, demand response, and electricity product offerings, and can be individually tailored for you and your business.
Our Perspective:
We have found that the deregulated market can offer savings from 10% upto 25% depending on your usage patterns. We are still awaiting Peco to release their price to compare figures. This will serve as a basis to make your decision. Hutchinson Business Solutions (HBS) is an independent energy management consultant. We represent all the major providers offering opportunities for savings in the Peco deregulated market.
To begin, all we will need is a copy of yor latest Peco energy invoice along with a signed letter of authorization, which will allow us to request your annual usages over the past 12 months.
To find out more about your options in the PECO utility territory email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230.
Time to look at your electric cost
June 18, 2010
As the electricity rate caps expire the Peco territory beginning in Jan 2011, now is the time to start learning more about how your facility can benefit from the saving opportunities in the deregulated utility market.
PECO is conducting auctions on the wholesale energy markets to enable it to set tariff rates for its customers in 2011. Commercial clients fall into three categories: small (under 100 kW demand), medium (100 to 500 kW demand), and large (over 500 kW demand.)
Demand information can be found on your electricity bills. For small and medium PECO customers, the final PECO tariff rates will be set this fall and will be in effect from January 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012. Large commercial customers’ rates will be set based on a Spring 2010 auction. These rates will be set for one year, beginning January 1, 2011.
Now is the time to seek competitive supply options for your business. You need unbiased, up-to-date information. Do not be rushed or feel compelled to choose any solution until you have all the market facts. A well-reasoned business decision that fits your specific business’s needs is the goal.
Hutchinson Business Solutions (HBS) is an independent energy management consultant. We have been providing deregulated saving solutions in both the natural gas and electric market for over 10 years.We have strategic partnerships with all the major providers selling electricity in Pennsylvania.
Currently, Peco is buying electric on the wholesale market and billing their clients at retail prices. HBS puts their clients in the wholesale position. There are no up upfront cost and all the savings fall to the bottom line.
To get started all we will need is a copy of your latest provider invoice along with a signed letter of authorization which will allow us to request the annual usage on your account(s) over the last 12 months.
Working on behalf of our clients, HBS will define which providers are best suited to both service your account(s) and provide the most competitive pricing.
For more information email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230
Let the savings begin!!!
How much of the world’s electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?
June 16, 2010
As reported by EIA’s Energy in Brief
Worldwide wind power generation exceeded 200 billion kilowatthours in 2008, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 18 million average households in the United States. Wind generation increased by about 25% from 2007 to 2008, and has more than tripled since 2003. This growth is mostly due to capacity increases in the United States, China, India, and Western Europe. Despite this growth, the world still generated less than 1% of its total electricity from wind power in 2008.
Did You Know?
A feed-in tariff is a financial incentive that encourages the adoption of renewable electricity. Under a feed-in tariff, government legislation requires electric utilities to purchase renewable electricity at a higher price than the wholesale price. This incentive allows the renewable generator to achieve a positive return on its investment despite the higher costs associated with these resources.
Did You Know?
Because the wind does not blow 24 hours a day and because the timing of it cannot be controlled, electricity from wind is not available on demand. Although wind makes up a significant portion of Denmark’s generation capacity, the intermittent nature of wind has been mitigated by the connection of the Danish electrical grid to the grids of Germany, Sweden, and Norway. These interconnections allow Denmark to export electricity when wind power generation exceeds demand and import electricity when there is not enough wind.
The United States Generated the Most Wind Electricity in 2008
Overtaking the previous leader Germany, the United States led all other countries in wind power generation in 2008. The remaining top-ten wind power generators, listed in descending order, were Spain, India, China, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, and France. Although about 60 countries reported significant wind power generation in 2008, these top-ten countries accounted for more than 85% of all wind generation worldwide. Wind generation in China has grown an average of 70% annually since 2003, in spite of delays in bringing some of its new capacity online.
Denmark Generates the Highest Percentage of its Electricity Supply from Wind
Nearly 20% of Denmark’s electricity generation came from wind in 2008. The next highest levels of wind penetration are found in Portugal at 13%, Spain at 10%, Ireland at 9%, and Germany at 7%. No other country surpassed 5% penetration, including the United States, which generated over 1% of its electricity from wind in 2008.
Less than 2% of Global Wind Capacity is Offshore
According to the World and European Wind Energy Associations, installed global wind capacity reached 159,000 megawatts by the end of 2009, with only about 2,000 MW of that total located offshore. Offshore development lags behind onshore generally due to higher costs and technology constraints. Western Europe is home to nearly all existing offshore capacity — although prototype turbines for China’s first offshore farm were connected to the grid in 2009. As of June 2010, there are no operating offshore wind farms in the United States, although the 420-megawatt Cape Wind offshore project off the Massachusetts coast had secured local, State, and Federal approval as of April 2010.
Wind Power Generation is Expected to Continue Growing
Over the lifetime of the plant, electricity from wind power generally costs more than electricity from power plants burning fossil fuels.1 However, wind power is expected to continue to grow worldwide because of favorable government policies. Multiple types of government support exist, including a production tax credit and State renewable electricity portfolio standards in the United States, a feed-in tariff (see the “Did You Know” box on the left) in Germany, and wind capacity targets in China. According to EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2010, wind generation is expected to account for more than 3% of total world electricity by 2020.
Hutchinson Business Solutions 