Natural Gas Prices Drop

It looks like the natural gas market

Has shaken off the fears

Of having a cold winter

Once again this year

After beating the drums

For 11 months

Driving up market prices

Now

That winter is here

The market sees no fear

And has been in free fall

Not to say

That things could change

Remember we are dealing

With the fickle energy market

We have heard many times

Timing is everything

Well you can’t say

I didn’t tell you

If you are currently

With the local provider

Or

You are floating with a 3rd party provider

Now’s the time to lock in on savings

Market prices are well below

What you would be paying

For those businesses

Who use gas

To heat their buildings

Statistics show

You use about 60% to 70%

Of your annual natural gas usage

Between the months

November and March

To heat your building

One cold snap

Can push prices thru the roof

It is smart to protect yourselves

During these high usage months

By locking into a competitive

Fixed rate contract

Give us a call

Or shoot us an email

We are here

To help you save money

Natural gas prices rise, benchmark oil up slightly

By SANDY SHORE, AP Business Writer–8 hours ago

Battered natural gas prices are getting a bit of a break as cooler spring weather raises expectations that demand may improve.

Natural gas rose 6 cents to finish at $2.186 per 1,000 cubic feet in Friday trading. That’s up nearly 15 percent from April 19 when the price hit the lowest level in more than a decade at $1.907 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The price has plunged this year as a natural gas production boom created a glut of supply and demand dropped during a mild winter.

Now, some in the market are suggesting demand will strengthen, which help boost prices.

Cooler weather moving across the Northeast, parts of the Midwest and the Rockies this weekend could prompt homeowners to turn up the heat, creating more need for natural gas.

In addition, utilities have been substituting cheaper natural gas for coal to generate electricity. As much as six billion cubic feet a day of natural gas has replaced coal-fired power generation this year, said Ron Denhardt, an analyst with Strategic Energy & Economic Research. Consumption on an annual basis is about 66 billion to 67 billion cubic feet a day.

In addition, some energy companies have cut production because low prices can make it unprofitable to drill for some types of natural gas.

Yet, several analysts believe any rally will be short-lived.

With May upon us, any pick-up in demand for heating will be brief. About 70 percent of the nation’s demand for natural gas comes during the winter to heat homes and businesses.

Natural gas inventories continue to build. Analysts say that underground storage could be filled to the brim by fall without additional production cuts or an extremely hot summer that boosts electricity demand for cooling.

“It’s fundamentally a disastrous market,” Denhardt said. “I can’t see any turnaround of any significance before November, December of this year.”

PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said there has to be an even bigger drop in price to force companies to cut more production. He speculated that the price will test an all-time low of $1.35 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In other energy trading, oil prices rose slightly, as traders shrugged off a report that the economy grew more slowly in the first three months of the year as governments spent less and businesses cut back on investment. But consumers spent at the fastest pace in more than a year. The Commerce Department said Friday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the January-March quarter, compared with 3 percent in the final quarter of 2011.

Benchmark oil rose 38 cents to end at $104.93 per barrel in New York. Brent crude fell 9 cents to finish at $119.83 per barrel in London. Heating oil lost 1.37 cents to end at $3.1807 per gallon and gasoline futures rose 2.29 cents to finish at $3.2062 per gallon.

At the pump, gasoline prices were little changed at a national average of $3.826 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That’s 8.5 cents less than a month ago and 5.3 cents lower than a year ago.

Copyright ©  2012   The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Natural gas costs unlikely to remain low through 2011

David Parkinson – Globe and Mail Update Dec. 31, 2010 5:41PM EST

When Arthur Berman argues that natural gas is destined to have better prices in 2011 than it had in a mediocre 2010, he isn’t talking about technical price charts, or historical correlations, or relative valuations, or even supply-and-demand balances.

No, his view is more down to earth. He’s talking about geology.

“I’m a working petroleum geologist, I’m not a financial analyst,” said Mr. Berman, a prominent Houston-based energy consultant whose controversial views on the North American shale-gas phenomenon have raised eyebrows in the industry. “We probably have a lot less natural gas resource than is commonly believed. “So, what I see is that natural gas prices will not remain depressed. I’m not a price forecaster, but I have every reason to believe that a long position in natural gas [investing] is a smart position.”

The natural gas pricing story has been all about shale gas in 2010, and its fate in 2011 is closely tied to this big wild card, too. Thanks to advances in drilling technology for extracting gas from seams in shale rock, there has been a rapid expansion of drilling in shale plays that were once considered impossible to economically exploit. The resulting boom in production has unleashed substantial new supplies on the North American marketplace, outstripping demand and bloating inventories. Volumes of gas in U.S. storage facilities swelled to record levels last month – 40 per cent higher than they were 10 years ago, almost 20 per cent higher than five years ago – even as gas consumption has rebounded to near pre-recession levels.

That kept natural gas prices low and in decline for most of 2010. Even with the high-demand winter season approaching, prices struggled to stay above $4 (U.S.) per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange well into December – their weakest December prices in nearly a decade.

The majority of industry analysts believe the shale-gas boom will continue to keep supplies well above consumption levels in 2011, weighing down natural gas prices. “The fundamentals of oversupply are not likely to change in 2011,” said Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at ARC Financial Corp. in Calgary. “Since we expect U.S. natural gas demand growth to come to almost a standstill in 2011 and supply growth to stay in positive territory, the inventory glut remains a concern,” said analyst Dominic Schnider of UBS AG in a recent research note.

But a vocal minority – led by the likes of Mr. Berman and renowned long-time oil and gas forecaster Henry Groppe – believe shale gas may be a bubble that could begin to burst in 2011. They are concerned with both the extremely rapid rates at which production from new shale-gas wells drops off, and the high costs of development and production that suggest to them that producers won’t be willing to keep up the high pace of drilling in shale plays at these unprofitable prices much longer. “[Shale] is a great new resource. I don’t dispute for a moment the size of the resource or its importance,” said Mr. Berman, who, like Mr. Groppe, serves as a consultant to Toronto-based fund management company Middlefield Capital Corp. “What I question is, ultimately, what it will cost to produce the resource.” Mr. Berman’s analysis tells him that North American shale-gas reserves have been exaggerated; that “more than half of the commercial reserves are produced in the first year” of each well; and that the full costs for producing shale gas work out to about $7 per million BTU – far above the current selling price.

He believes companies have been encouraged to aggressively drill U.S. shale plays due to regulations requiring producers to either initiate drilling on their properties or lose them – they want to secure the land. But that won’t continue through 2011, he said. “As I listen to the comments of the executives of the companies that are most active in the shale plays in the U.S., they’re all saying that they’re going to continue to hold the land through the first half of 2011, and then you’re going to see a big decrease in [drilling] rig count,” Mr. Berman said. “They’re smart people; they’re not going to continue to do this beyond the time that they have to.” Instead, he said, companies will redirect their drilling rigs to oil properties, where the cost-to-price equation is much more profitable. That will slow natural gas volumes and change market perception of shale’s potential, he said – and that will push up prices. “It would not surprise me to see the end of 2011 start to see a notable recovery of price,” he said.

Mr. Tertzakian acknowledges that natural gas prices must eventually revert to at least high enough to cover “the marginal costs of producing natural gas in North America,” which he pegs at the $5 to $6 range. However, he doesn’t see that happening in 2011 – and he doesn’t envision a major drop-off in shale drilling or a serious hit to supplies over the next year. “There’s no shortage of gas in the ground. We can debate the technical nuances, but at the end of the day, it takes a certain amount of money to exploit these things – the only restriction is the availability of capital.” He expects some slowdown in natural-gas rig count in the second half of next year could moderate supplies, but that won’t do much to make up for what should continue to be a weak market in the first half – making for another year of 2010-like prices.

“Prices in 2011 will be similar to 2010,” agreed Bill Gwozd, vice-president of gas services at Calgary energy consulting and analysis firm Ziff Energy Group. “That’s not a healthy price for producers – but it’s quite nice for consumers.”

Veto urged for N.J. power-plant bill

By Andrew Maykuth

Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted Jan. 13, 2011

A coalition of electrical-power interests is encouraging New Jersey Gov. Christie to veto a controversial bill that would subsidize development of a Gloucester County power plant that they say would unsettle the region’s energy markets.

The bill’s sponsors said the legislation approved Tuesday by the New Jersey Legislature would lower energy rates. But opponents, including power generators such as Exelon Corp. and large industrial consumers, call it an anticompetitive sweetheart deal that will cost consumers in the long run.

“We cannot afford an energy surcharge to guarantee billions of dollars of revenue to a few select developers,” said George M. Waidelich, vice president of energy operations for Safeway Inc., which says it now spends about $2 million a year on electricity for its five Genuardi’s stores in South Jersey.

The measure would provide a guaranteed long-term income for developers of several large power plants. The legislation was known as the “LS Power Bill” because its initial aim was to provide guarantees for LS Power Development L.L.C. to build a giant natural-gas power plant in West Deptford, the hometown of state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester).

Tom Hoatson, director of regulatory affairs for LS Power, said the guarantees were necessary to obtain financing to construct the 640-megawatt plant along the Delaware River, which would cost from $800 million to $1 billion.

Hoatson said the bill would provide the New Brunswick company “an opportunity to compete with other generators.” The plant would employ up to 500 people to build and about 25 people to operate.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the bill was under review. Legislative sources said the governor was expected to sign it because his office was consulted in drafting amendments that addressed some of the administration’s concerns.

In the arcane world of wholesale electrical markets, the New Jersey bill has attracted intense attention because its opponents say it would turn back the clock on years of efforts to open electrical-power markets to more competition.

But supporters of the legislation say those markets, which are managed by regional power-grid operator PJM Interconnection Inc., have failed to lower prices for N.J. residents.

And they say that many of the interests opposed to the N.J. legislation are incumbent power generators like Exelon Corp. and Public Service Enterprise Group of Newark, which stand to gain by keeping new power generators out of the market.

“I don’t think it’s a system that encourages building new generation to keep prices down,” said Stefanie Brand, the New Jersey Rate Counsel, the state’s consumer advocate.

“The market is not a true free market,” she said. “It’s a constructed market that was created by PJM, and as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t work.”

N.J. officials complain that the Garden State has suffered more than its western neighbors because it has paid up to $1.9 billion a year in extra capacity and congestion charges that PJM imposes on power transmitted into the state.

Lee A. Solomon, a Christie appointee who is president of the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, told PJM in December that “it is incumbent upon New Jersey to promote new generation in locations where it is needed the most to ensure reliability and to control costs.”

Sweeney, whose West Deptford hometown would host the LS plant, introduced the legislation that would allow the board to sign long-term contracts with several power generators to provide up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity at guaranteed rates. If market rates fall below the threshold, N.J. ratepayers would pick up the tab.

“Consumers have been paying inflated capacity charges,” said Derek Roseman, Sweeney’s spokesman. “This is a chance to reverse that. How can that not be a good thing for consumers?”

The Compete Coalition, a Washington lobbying group that promotes open electrical markets, has appealed to Christie’s antitax sentiments by branding the bill the “Energy Tax of 2011.”

John E. Shelk, president of the Electric Power Supply Association, testified in December that the bill would “artificially depress” rates in the short term, but would discourage other generators from investing in the future.

Shelk said the bill likely would be challenged because it would interfere with federally sanctioned wholesale power markets.

Public Service Enterprise Group, the politically powerful Newark energy company that operates the PSE&G utility, announced its opposition to the measure last week.

Anne Hoskins, the company’s senior vice president for public affairs, said the state’s intervention in the past requiring utilities to enter into long-term supply contracts had “disastrous results.”

In the next six years, PSE&G will pay $1 billion for the remaining costs of the long-term contracts, she said. And Atlantic City Electric recently received approval to raise its customers’ bills 5 percent to recover the costs of its out-of-market contracts.

“Subsidies are a slippery slope,” she said, “and will drive away other nonsubsidized private investment in New Jersey.”

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I Think We Just Dodged a Bullet

I think we just dodged a bullet! Last week the meteorologists were having a field day tracking this massive storm that was supposed to hit the east coast. High winds, heavy rains. Normally, when we get a bye, the storm sweeps out into the ocean. This storm actually went inland, west of the I95 corridor. Sad to say, they did get substantial flooding.

Why am I talking about the weather, you may ask? Because this is my article, I can choose a topic. Seriously! … Because weather plays a very big part of monitoring natural gas commodity cost.

The current natural gas prices are still the lowest they have been in the last 4 years. September’s NY Index price (the price that providers buy gas) was $.39 cents a therm compare this to $1.41 in July 2008. Quite a difference! Why, you may ask?

First of all, natural gas storage levels continue to be at a 5 year high. Add to that, the shale natural gas that been found in western PA. They are saying this could provide natural gas to the US for the next 100 years.

It is the old supply and demand theory, until the market deems it appropriate to ignore.

For now, market activity show that this is a great time to be buying gas in the deregulated natural gas market. Remember, that since deregulation, the local providers are no longer in the supply business. Therefore they charge you a default rate, which in normally higher. They buy natural gas wholesale and bill their customers’ retail.

HBS puts our clients in a wholesale position. Our clients are finding saving from 10% upto 20+%, depending on who your local provider is.

Since 30% of the electric is generated from natural gas, it also plays an important influence to the current market electric prices. They are also at a 4-year low.

To qualify your commercial natural gas or electric bill should be a minimum of $3000 a month each. Many of our clients are finding substantial saving in the deregulated utility market.

Should you like to know more about savings in the deregulated natural gas and electric market email george@hbsadvantage.com or call 856-857-1230.

Deregulated Gas Savings

As reported by Energysop

Deregulation of utilities means that the historical monopolies granted to a few large utilities providing electricity, telephone and natural gas are eliminated. These companies will just operate the distribution systems, the wires and the pipes. Competitors then enter the market with different pricing and service offerings. With the onset of deregulation in all of these industries, it is possible for consumers to realize significant savings by shopping around for these commodities.

 Utility deregulation is complicated since there is a fixed and very expensive distribution system already in place – pipelines, power and phone lines. It’s just too expensive, disruptive and environmentally harmful to construct parallel distribution systems. This is different from deregulation of airlines or financial services where no such fixed infrastructure existed. As a result, only the commodity, gas, electricity or telecom, is deregulated.

Natural Gas Deregulation

Historically, consumers received supply and delivery of natural gas from a single company who had the monopoly franchise for the region in which they lived. These companies bought gas on the wholesale market and sold it to consumers in their jurisdictions according to regulated rates set by the local regulatory agency, an energy board or public service commission.

 Natural gas is being deregulated in many jurisdictions. Examples are, Ontario, Alberta, Maryland, California, Georgia and Pennsylvania. This means that a householder or business can buy gas directly from a supplier at a competitive price — not just from the gas utility. These utilities, however, continue to have the franchise to distribute gas and charge a regulated fee.

Deregulation separates the sale of the gas as a commodity from it’s distribution. The product is available at a competitive price and under competitive conditions but the delivery is a standard regulated charge. This would be similar to a situation where you might buy milk by phone, and it is delivered by a large courier service such as Federal Express. The milk is a commodity, and it would be priced differently between suppliers, but the supplier relies on a distribution system provided by Federal Express trucks. A portion of what you pay would be for the commodity (milk), and a portion for the distribution (Fed Ex). In the case of utilities, the distribution will remain regulated, but the commodity supply will be a free market.

 Experience in Other Jurisdictions

The U.S. initiated deregulation in the gas industry at the wholesale level in the mid 1980s which resulted in gas prices declining about 35 per cent for large commercial and industrial customers, according to a Harvard University study. Prices for residential consumers changed only slightly.

Agents, Brokers and Marketers (ABMs)

Consumers choosing to shop around for their natural gas supplies can benefit from the price swings and variations inherent in a competitive energy marketplace. But where do consumers go to buy natural gas? Deregulation has given rise to a number of sources of gas supply.

 First, you can continue to let your distributing utility purchase gas on your behalf and deliver it to you with no change in the process.

 Or you can look into purchasing it from an agent, broker or marketer. These are independent companies that either sell on behalf of gas producers or purchase supplies of gas and re-sell it to consumers. Securing a long term supply from one of these energy marketers when the gas prices are lower can result in significant savings over the term of your contract.

 Should you choose to buy from a gas marketer, nothing about your service will change. You will still get a bill from your distributing utility which will indicate a regulated Delivery Charge. This is about 1/3 of your bill and a Gas Supply Charge which is the remaining 2/3. The delivery charge will be kept by your distributing utility and the gas supply charge will be forwarded to the gas marketer or supplier you chose. Should you choose some value-added services offered by gas brokers, such as energy cost comparisons, rental gas equipment or an equipment service contract, these will also be added to your bill. If you switch to a gas marketer, there is no interruption of service nor any other additional fee charged.

 This cost split is a key point to remember when you are comparing costs or considering an appeal from one of the gas suppliers or marketers. You have no doubt received promotional materials from one of these either by phone, by mail or from someone knocking on your door. The suppliers, brokers and marketers are only dealing with 2/3 of your bill. The distribution charge, which is 1/3 of your bill, is fixed and regulated by regulatory boards. They have periodic hearings to evaluate and set this rate. The remaining 2/3 is variable depending on which supplier you choose. As a result, when a promotional message claims a 10% saving, it is referring to 10% of the 2/3.

 Take, as an example a fairly typical annual gas bill of $ 1,500. One third of that, $500, is a fixed distribution charge. The remainder, $1,000, is the gas supply charge. A supplier offering a 10% saving is offering a saving of $ 100, which is 10 % of the $ 1000 gas supply charge. The saving on the total energy bill is 6.7 %, ($100 saving on a $1,500 gas bill).

 Gas marketers offer varying contract terms and conditions. In general, however, you have two basic choices. You can sign on for a single or multi-year contract at a fixed price or you can choose a rebate option which means you pay the regulated price set by your distributing utility and will receive a rebate if your marketer can buy the supply for less than that price.

Our Perspective:

I found this article gave a good explanation of the deregulated natural gas opportunity. If your company is spending more than $3000 a month for natural gas, you should be looking at buying natural gas in the deregulated market. Our clients are saving a minimum of 10% to 15% by buying natural gas in the deregulated market.

Currently yor local provider is buying natural gas in the wholesale market and then selling it to their clients for retail prices. Should you qualify, we are able to put your company in a wholesale position and the savings will fall to your bottom line.

Hutchinson Business Solutions provides independent financial solutions in the dereglated energy market. We have been positioning our clients for savings in the deregulated energy market for over 10 years.

To find our more information, visit our website www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

or email george@hbsadvantage.com  You may also call 856-857-1230.

What is Deregulation? FAQ

What is an “aggregator”?
An aggregator is a company or association that buys power at a wholesale price from power generating companies and passes the savings on to its customers. Because the aggregator is buying vary large amounts of power on behalf of all its customers, they can negotiate for the best rates on your behalf.

Does taking advantage of the deregulated electricity market require changes in wiring to my business?
None whatsoever. Your new agreement to buy electricity through an aggregator simply requires your local utility (the company that delivers power to your meter) to utilize electricity generated by the companies that sell power wholesale to the aggregator.

Can I take advantage of the deregulated electricity market in my home?
Not at this moment, in most cases. Aggregators need to acquire the bargaining power of larger electricity users to be able to negotiate favorably for their clients. At some time in the future, aggregators may turn to groups of homeowners.

Is there any service interuption when I change my electricity provider?
The change from buying power from your current provider to your new provider is “seamless”, in most cases simply requiring a reading of the meter at the time your new service takes effect. There is usually no need to replace the meter or otherwise interupt your power service. Your aggregator will take care of all the paperwork, contacting the various utility companies, etc.

Who do I call if the power is out?
Your local utility is responsible for delivering electricity to your business. In case of a storm-related or other outage, call your local utility just like you do now.

Will my local utility put me “at the back of the line” if I report an outage?
No, this is illegal. More importantly, in practical terms, most outages are not to just one address, but to an entire area or zone of their service grid. These repairs restore everybody’s service regardless of where they buy their electricity from.

How does the billing for my electric service work? How do I pay my bill?
You’ll still get just one bill. Whereas you currently typically receive just one bill to cover the generation, transmission, and delivery of power from one company, you now will receive one bill that shows the cost of all of these elements. In order to keep administration costs as low as possible and deliver power at the lowest cost to all customers, most aggregators require automated monthly payment of your bill, in the same safe and reliable manner as you may currently schedule your bank or credit card to automatically pay other regular bills for your business or home.

Who do I contact for questions about my bill?
For questions regarding your bill for electricity contact your aggregator. For questions regarding the delivery of your service such as outages, meter checks, etc., contact your local utility, which is responsible for delivering power (from whatever source) to your business.

Who is responsible for the safety and reliability of my service?
The delivery system is still the responsibility of your local utility and as such, its safety and reliability. The utility will maintain the lines and repair them if there is an outage or storm. The regulatory body overseeing utilities in
your state will help to ensure that the utility continues to provide a safe, reliable delivery system for your use.

Can I buy power from one specific power generating company?
Since saving money is most people’s primary reason for buying electricity through an aggregator, your energy may come from any number of different electricity generating companies at any given time, depending on price. Other options are usually available to purchase electricity solely from a “green” generator, such as solar and wind farms.

Do I have to make a long-term committment to a different electricity provider?
Avoid making long-term commitments with an aggregator or broker, at least initially. A safer option is to choose an aggregator who offers a no-commitment service so you can be satisfied that you are receiving the expected savings and service. If, for whatever reason, you are unsatisfied, you’ll have the option of returning to your previous electric supplier.

What reasons are there to stay with my current electricity company?
If you are a stockholder receiving dividends from your current provider (although the potential savings may cover much more than your current dividends), or if you are not concerned with the amount of money you spend for electricity.

How do I find a reliable aggregator to help cut my electricity bills?
Email George@hbsadvantage.com to learn more of how yo can save in the deregulated Market

Visit or webite to learn more www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

Saving in the Deregulated Market

The Deregulated Electricity Market will SAVE your company money…but only if YOU act.

Just as deregulating the airline industry resulted in more competition and lower airfares, and the deregulation of the telephone industry resulted in slashing service costs, the deregulation of the nation’s electric utilities will result in utility companies competing for your business with better service and lower prices. While it’s not yet truly practical for the average household to utilize this deregulated environment, the “mid-size” to “large” electricity consumers (small to large businesses) are now able to drastically cut their electricity costs through “aggregators” (companies that buy large volumes of electricity at wholesale rates on behalf of their clients).

A Brief History of
Utility Deregulation

Before deregulation, you were ‘held hostage’ by one telephone company monopoly. You had to pay the rates that they decided were ‘fair’ (though they had to receive approval from the government). The phone company owned the wires, switches, even your actual phone which you had to rent from the phone company (you were not allowed to own a phone of your choice and connect it to “their” system.

Then the phone company monopoly was broken up by the U.S. Justice Department and the FTC, and allowed the entry of competition. The competition began with long distance phone calls, and companies like MCI and Sprint set up their own switching systems and wires and leased the use of the old phone company’s lines (this latter part was mandated by government decree to insure competition). Long distance rates started dropping, first by a little, then drastically. Today a long-distance call can cost as little as a penny (sometimes even less), whereas that same phone call 30 years ago would have cost 20 or 30 cents (or more) per minute. The End Result? Consumers of telephone service now have multiple choices for service providers, and the cost of telephone services (especially long distance, but also local service) have dropped dramatically, saving consumers tens of millions of dollars.

THE SAME SITUATION IS OCCURING TODAY WITH
ANOTHER UTILITY: THE ELECTRIC COMPANY.

In the interest of providing the public with the lowest possible rates and a selection of service options, the U.S. electric utility industry is now in the process of being deregulated. This allows power plants to compete for your business, and as we all know, competition breeds savings for consumers. It also changes the electrical utility industry into two distinct types of services: The companies that transmit power from the electrical generating station to your home or business (they own the poles, transformers, wires, etc…these are called “the distributors”); and the companies who actually operate power plants (“the generators”) and feed electricity into the distributors’ power grids. Of course, some companies are both generators and distributors. Still, deregulation allows you to choose who actually generates the power you consume, and you are free to choose the company that generates electricity in the most cost-effective manner and therefore can sell it to you at the best price.

In 1978, Congress passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act which laid the groundwork for deregulation and competition by opening wholesale power markets to nonutility producers of electricity. Congress voted to promote greater competition in the bulk power market with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) implemented the intent of the Act in 1996 with Orders 888 and 889, with the stated objective to “remove impediments to competition in wholesale trade and to bring more efficient, lower cost power to the Nation’s electricity customers.” The FERC orders required open and equal access to jurisdictional utilities’ transmission lines for all electricity producers, thus facilitating the States’ restructuring of the electric power industry to allow customers direct access to retail power generation.

As a result of the Federal and State initiatives, the electric power industry is transitioning from highly regulated, local monopolies which provided their customers with a total package of all electric services and moving towards competitive companies that provide the electricity while utilities continue to provide transmission or distribution services. States are moving away from regulations that set rates for electricity and toward oversight of an increasingly deregulated industry in which prices are determined by competitive markets. (source: United States Department of Energy)

So how do you get electricity from “Power Company A” when your existing power company is “Power Company Z”?  Envision this example: Suppose your town is served by “Power Company Z”…this is the company that owns and maintains all the wires in your town, and they also happen to have a power generating station as well. This power company also is connected via larger regional or national power grids to 3 other power generating companies (let’s call them “Generator A, B, and C”). 25% of the power users in your town buy their power from Generator A, 25% from Generator B, 25% from Generator C, and the remaining 25% continue to buy from the distributing company “Power Company Z”. If you are one of the 25% that decides to buy your power from “Generator A”, then your distributor “Power Company Z” is required to buy 25% of their overall power from Generator A, 25% from Generator B, and 25% from Generator C. That means that the actual “juice” delivered to your business at any given moment could actually be a combination of electricity from up to 4 different providers, but the end result is the same…YOU, the CONSUMER, dictates which power company provides your share of the total power distributed and used, and you pay for your energy at Power Company A’s rates.

Of course it’s entirely possible that a power distributor has no actual power generating facility, OR that everybody in their service area chooses to buy their power from a source OTHER than the distributing company. The distributing company can not be expected to maintain the poles, towers, lines, transformers, etc. for nothing. Under the new deregulated industry, you will in effect receive two bills: One to pay for the actual amount of electricity used, and another for the delivery of the energy to your business. In actuality, your monthly power bill is consolidated into one payment, but it’s easy to see how much you are paying for electricity and how much for delivery.

In the end the competition between power generating companies will lower your bill by 15 to 20%, based on the experience of electricity users in states where deregulation has already been in place for several years. In the near future this competition will also allow you to make significant social and environmental choices. You may choose, for example, to obtain your electricity from a generating company that produces electricity at a slightly lower level of savings, but uses a cleaner fuel source than another generating company. You might even choose to take a firm environmental stand of receiving very little in savings but purchasing your electricity only from a very “green” power source, such as a producer who uses hydro, solar or wind turbines to generate electricity.

In the past, you could only buy electricity from your local utility, at the rates they set. Today, you have the freedom to buy from a variety of utilities that compete on price and quality for your business.

What’s Up with Deregulated Energy?

I have been getting a lot of feedback recently from many clients. They are all saying the same thing, “ What’s going on with the energy market, seems like everyone is starting to sell energy.”

That’s a good point! Energy prices are the most competitive they have been in the last 4 to 5 years and many people are trying to jump on the bandwagon.

Hutchinson Business Solutions (HBS) has been selling both gas and electric for the last 10 years. We represent all the major providers licensed to sell energy in New Jersey and that puts us in a unique position. We do not just represent 1 company. We are an independent energy broker, able to shop both your natural gas and electric accounts to all the providers, finding you the best opportunity for savings.

You will be surprised by some of the disparity of prices we find between the various providers, although they all seem to offer a savings over the current price to compare from your local provider. What needs to be understood is that each provider may have what is known as a sweet spot ie. those markets where they are more competitive.

Electric Opportunity

 We recently presented a proposal to a client where the price to compare from PSEG was  $.1162 cents per kwh. One of our providers submitted a proposal of $.109 cents per kwh, while another one came in at $.103 cents per kwh. By shopping the account we were able to provide more value with greater savings.

 Another thing that you must be aware of, while looking at your electric price in the deregulated market, be certain that the price is fully loaded and includes all the tarrifs and Sales Tax. I have seen where a client has been given a proposal with these items left out. What might look like a better deal can in fact be deceptive for the actual price will include a 7% loss allowance and also 7% sales tax. The loss allowance and the sales tax is already included in your price to compare from the local provider. To make the proposal apples to apples this must be included.

 Should you like to know more about your opportunity for savings in the deregulated electric market email george@hbsadvantage.com  We offer a free analysis of your cost and will present a proposal of the opportunities based on your current demand and annual usage.

 Natural Gas Opportunity

 There are also opportunities available in the natural gas market. If you are currently receiving natural gas from your local provider; remember that they are purchasing natural gas wholesale and selling it to you retail. Each month the price of natural gas changes from the provider based on current market conditions. Should you have floated your account in the deregulated market over the past year buying your natural gas thru HBS, you would have saved from 10% to 20% depending on who your local provider is.

 We also offer the option to lock your price on natural gas from 1 year up to 2 years or more. Some companies prefer this option for it offers certainty as to what they will be paying over the life of the contract and protects their account from market price fluctuations.

 Should you like to know more about your opportunity for savings in the deregulated natural gas market email george@hbsadvantage.com  We offer a free analysis of your cost and will present a proposal of the opportunities based on your current demand and annual usage.

 Hutchinson Business Solutions does not charge any additional fees for our services. As stated, we are an independent energy broker and receive a small residual from our providers during the life of the contract. Therefore, all the savings fall to the bottom line.

 There are minimum usages that may qualify your account to be able to participate in the deregulated market. Normally, if you are spending on average of $2000 a month on natural gas or a minimum of $5000 a month on electric, you should be looking at the opportunities for savings in the deregulated market.

Savings in Deregulated Natural Gas and Electric Market

Years ago, AT&T ruled the U.S. telecommunications industry. However, once deregulation was introduced, it opened the field to competition and allowed customers to shop for alternative carriers.

The same rings true for the energy marketplace, which saw deregulation gain momentum in the late 1990’s, giving customers a choice of energy suppliers, products and prices in their utility jurisdictions. There are approximately 20 states today with deregulated natural gas and approximately 15 with deregulated electricity.

Natural gas market

In the past 20 years, the majority of new electric generating plants have been designed to run on natural gas. When the pipelines were deregulated and the fuel was labeled “clean”, federal, state and local governments pushed for natural gas’s usage and consumers responded by using more gas every year since.

Natural gas has a relatively non-polluting production cycle and poses very little risk when it’s transported in pipelines. There also aren’t the emissions you have with shipping fuel by trucks and ships.

Yor current local utility provider buys natural gas in the wholesale market and then sells it to their customers at retail prices. We put our clients in a wholesale position. 

Expanding electricity

Unlike the natural gas market, it’s trickier to deregulate the electricity industry. Whereas the former has a direct line from well to pipeline to user, electricity comes from multiple sources, including nuclear, coal, oil, natural gas and renewable energies.

Deregulation of electricity allows for competion for the purchase of your electric supply in the local market and this means savings for you. 

Your natural gas and electric is still delivered by your local provider. Should there and be any service issues or disruption, your local provider is still responsible for servicing the account.

Hutchinson Business Solutions is an independent broker reresenting all the major deregulated providers selling natural gas and electric in the tri state area for the last 10 years.

We offer a free analysis of your current annual natural gas and electric supply cost. Our clients are finding savings from 11% upto 48%.

For more information and to order your free energy analysis email george@hbsadvantage.com