Beware of Low Cost Energy Providers instead of PSE&G archived

Natural gas is a pass through charge, PSE&G makes their money on delivery. I can't imagine a scenario where an alternate provider could supply gas for less than PSE&G.

Total agreement with the OP. I opted for North American Power for my electric use. Same scenario.
Made the mistake of calling them to cancel service. Got the greatest snow job from their customer service and bought it. Finally months later called PSE&G and had them transfer me back .

File under: If it seems too good to be true, etc....

Exactly RobB. They try to hook you with low introductory rate and hope that you don't notice that the price eventually goes up.

Also, PSE&G has another credit this year for natural gas supply.

I have been getting electricity through Energy Plus for 2-3 years and it's consistently lower. I switched over for gas this summer and it's also lower, though not by quite as much. But I agree, always check your bill to be sure. And don't get yourself locked into a long-term contract.

@TarheelsInNJ, watch your rate per therm carefully with EnergyPlus. After my promotional period ever the rate went up to double what PSE&G was charging for gas.

Additionally, the EnergyPlus charges were not factored into the "Equal Payment Plan" I had from PSE&G, so each month I'd get my EPP charge from PSE&G for, say, $400, and an additional $600-800 from Energy Plus for gas.

By the end of the last (cold, hard, cruel) winter, I was carrying a gonzo *negative* balance from EnergyPlus, but bizarrely had *credit* in PSE&G. When PSE&G finally balanced the bill the credit reduced the negative balance overall induced by falling behind on EnergyPlus charges, but there was still one month where I ended up paying $1600.

I've since switched back to PSE&G, which told me I had to wait 2 months- they will be back as my gas provider December 1st, which allows me to enjoy 2 months of their gas credit.

I've attached a comparison of the therm rates from my most recent bill (10/31).

What is a Balancing Charge?

knowlton said:

What is a Balancing Charge?

I believe that the balancing charge is the amount that makes up the difference between the estimated charges and the actual meter reading once the meter is read by PSE&G.

I have actually had very good results/savings using a 3rd party supplier over the past 2-3 years. They basically undercut the delivery service charge that PSE&G/JCP&L charge and that's where your savings comes from. As a matter of fact, I was considering switching to solar and the rep was very surprised at the NET rate I was getting charged, to the point where the switch to leased solar wouldn't make sense in my situation.

The bottom line is that at the end of your contract with a 3rd party provider you have the ability to shop and get the best rate available in the market. So do your homework, because, as we know, after you're a customer, many of these businesses rely on the fact that you aren't going to be paying attention.

How does an alternate company deliver energy to your house with PSE&Gs lines?

PSEG still delivers it, they just don't supply it.

@njzoo said delivery, maybe that was a mistake.

So ... I just got my renewal letter from Viridian (for electric service.) They say that the fixed rate I will get if I lock in now is 13.99 cents per kwh. How do I find out what the going rate with PSE&G is these days?

My last bill: $0.1131/kwh

My son is a salesperson for a company that markets Direct Energy. I recently switched to them (from PSE&G) and got a price of .1099/kwh

I had a similar bad experience to the OP. By the time I realized what had happened, my Intelligent Energy gas supply rates were approximately FIVE times the comparable PSEG supply rates. And my Energy Plus Holdings electric supply rates were approximately 1.5 times PSEG. When I first noticed the problem last winter, my March bill was about $800 higher from the "discount" suppliers than it would have been from PSEG. I did not look at the previous months to see when the prices had jumped or how much I had lost in those months. I was too embarrassed and too frustrated.

Eventually, after raising enough of a stink, I got a partial rebate from Intelligent Energy. Fortunately, I had saved written materials from Intelligent Energy claiming "Intelligent Energy has provided competitively priced and reliable gas services to its customers since 1994. We are licensed by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities..." When I complained in writing to Intelligent Energy (noting that five times the PSEG rate clearly does not qualify as "competitively priced"), with copies to Assemblywoman Mila Jasey's office and to the NJ Board of Public Utilities, Intelligent Energy agreed to rebate the difference in my March bill and to charge me rates that matched PSEG for the two months it would take to switch my account. I agreed not to press for rebates on prior months.

So, if you switch to an alternative supplier, expect your rates to go up as soon as your guaranteed discount period is up (typically 6 months). Be aware that it may take up to two months to switch back to PSEG, or to another supplier. Be aware that the increase in your bill may be enough to wipe out your entire savings from the previous 6 months. So make sure you inquire before the 6 month discount period is up what your new rate will be after the discount promotion ends. Based on some posters above, if you are fortunate in your choice, you may continue to receive a discount relative to PSEG. Or, you can switch every 6 months to a different discount supplier. But, if you are careless like me, you may pay a high penalty.

Here is another point. I needed my gas line upgraded. PSE&G came out and decided that my future use and past history with them made it worth doing the job for free.

FilmCarp said:

Here is another point. I needed my gas line upgraded. PSE&G came out and decided that my future use and past history with them made it worth doing the job for free.

We had ours upgraded for free by PSEG as well. We were putting a generator in, and that was required.

I think PSE&G is required to maintain the gas line up to your gas meter. This is from their website:

"PSE&G operates and maintains all gas piping up to and including the Company’s meter. The Company does not maintain any gas piping located beyond the gas meter."

Right. If it leaks they fix it. But upgrades are a different story. You can ask for one, but they decide if it is necessary.

Completely agree with OP and author. A year and a half ago we had switched to North American Power after they convinced us that their rates were much lower than PSE&G's. But we were never told that after a year we would be switched from the fixed rate to the (much higher) variable rate. Our gas bills became astronomical compared to PSE&G's but NAP refused to adjust the rate. After I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (in Pennsylvania) they not only refunded the difference within a week but even charged us the lower rate for the period during which we switched back to PSE&G.

There was a similar thread not long ago. The conclusion: alternative suppliers MAY save you a very small amount vs. PSEG during their initial honeymoon offers. But their escalations are significant once outside the initial rate period, and you can easily lose more than a whole year's worth of savings with one or two months of inattention. It simply isn't worth it for most of us to save $5-$10 on a monthly bill only to have to spend an hour or two each quarter reviewing bills in detail and comparing rates, not to mention the downside risk if you happen to miss the small window to re-negotiate or change suppliers.

I'm not sure that's true across the board. We've been saving money on our electric supply for years with EnergyPlus. I'm keeping an eye on it for gas, since as I mentioned above we switched within the lat year.

TarheelsInNj said:

I'm not sure that's true across the board. We've been saving money on our electric supply for years with EnergyPlus. I'm keeping an eye on it for gas, since as I mentioned above we switched within the lat year.

Agreed. We've saved at least $10/month for several years. May not seem like much, but I don't like the idea of paying an "extra" $10/month for several years.

I have a billing question as relates to these suppliers. It seems I am being billed for the Equal Payment Plan AND the EnergyPlus gas supply. Is that right? If it's all through PSE&G, does the supply get factored into the EPP as well?

My overall bill was a few hundred dollars higher this month, but the rate still seems lower so I'm trying to understand.

Would anyone be willing to share their gas therm rate this month? For supply the bill doesn't have a "cost to compare," just for delivery.

Hi @TarheelsInNj,

Yes, the Equal Payment Plan does NOT include your alternative energy suppliers - their charges get added on top of your EPP plan.

As I outlined above, that can cause a strange disparity if you go on EPP at the same time you switch suppliers - you continue to pay the amount of the average total bill on EPP, and build up a credit with PSEG, while you continue to pay your alternative energy supplier for the full usage. This effectively RAISES your monthly bill if you pay them both.

I'm in the opposite situation. I'm going off my 3rd party energy supplier at the same time I got my EPP rebalanced. That means I'll have a meager bill all winter, and be building up a deficit since I won't be paying the full, average price of what I've been paying (epp+3rd party). I intend to overpay slightly each month to prevent the drastic swing when we come out the other side of winter.

In terms of my therms- $.45 per therm is cost to compare, and my last month of Energy plus is charging me at $1.05 per therm.

Thank you! I don't know why I didn't think about that. So if you go with an alternate supplier, is it better to stop EPP? Or just use the credit eventually against the electric and gas delivery, I guess...

I would stop EPP at the same time you go with an alternative supplier to prevent the charge disparity from building up. You'll be paying true cost each month, so you don't get the benefit of the cost balancing.

Being on EPP when you've just switch suppliers is especially bad going into a high rate period, because you'll be massively overpaying each month to service both the average of your old bill as well as the true costs of the new supplier. As a result, I ended up being a chronic month behind on my bills last winter, carrying as much as an $800 deficit each month, and routinely receiving shutoff notices, until the credit caught up and rebalanced.

So yeah, I do not recommend.