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Archives for January 2020

Compare The Electricity Rates of Park Power and the RRO.

· · 2 Comments Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

In response to some customer inquiries, I would like to provide a short report and comparison of the electricity rates from Park Power and the Regulated Rate Option (RRO).

Starting in December, the provincial government subsidized rate cap on the RRO was no longer applicable to the electricity bills of Alberta power consumers. As the RRO is a market based rate, it fluctuates up and down with the Alberta wholesale electricity price, similar to Park Power’s Variable Electricity Rate. The RRO differs in that it is set at the beginning of the month and is based upon 3 month cycles of pricing while the Park Power Variable Rate is a monthly average based upon historical price performance during each month.

From the AUC website, the RRO electricity rates from 3 geographically mandated
providers in Alberta.

In the image above you can see the RRO rates for nearly the past year. When you see the (actual), that is the rate that the RRO providers would charge based upon market conditions but were forced to cap. The differential between the rate cap and the actual rate was subsidized by the Alberta government to the RRO providers.

In comparison, the below image shows the performance of Park Power’s Variable Rate for the past 6 months. The average of these 6 months (in EPCOR territory) was 6.474 cents/kWh. Lower than the capped rate of 6.8 cents/kWh.

While a variable style rate has its up and downs that customers must weather (see below for an example of some major ups), a Fixed Rate is something Park Power can offer, that an RRO provider cannot, that can protect consumers from such price volatility.

See below for an example of 24 hours of wholesale electricity pool pricing, taken from the AESO January 17, 2020 14:00hrs at the back end of a week long cold snap.

If Park Power’s Fixed Rates are compared to the recent performance of the RRO, they seem to be a great choice. Both the 3 year and the 5 year flexible Fixed Options from Park Power are lower than the RRO for December 2019 and January 2020. Plus the recent weather driven high demand and expensive pricing could drive the RRO up even further.

Park Power’s electricity rate options, January 2020.

I hope this comparison helps inform Albertans further about their choices for electricity providers. Keep in mind that switching providers does not affect the delivery of electricity to your home or business, only the price you pay for it. With Park Power you can choose an independent provider that offers low rates, awesome service, and shares is profits with local charities.

Will You Pay Too Much For Electricity in 2020?

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity

If you pay your electricity bill to EPCOR, Enmax, or Direct Energy Regulated Services and you are paying the Regulated Rate Option (RRO), you’ll be paying more for your electricity in 2020 than you have to.

The RRO is the rate choice for nearly half of Alberta electricity customers. It is a market based rate that moves up and down with the wholesale electricity price. Up until November of 2019 there was a rate cap in place of 6.8 cents/kWh but now that rate cap is gone and RRO customers are exposed to the volatility of electricity pricing once again.

As you can see from the image above, with rate cap removed Albertans on the RRO are paying higher rates for electricity than they were for all of 2019. January’s EPCOR RRO Rate is 23% higher than the capped rate. The current RRO rates (and all the actual RRO rates for 2019) are all higher than Fixed Rate options available on the market from competitive, non-RRO providers.

So, if you are paying your electricity bill to EPCOR, or Enmax, or Direct Energy Regulated Services, it’s time to switch off the volatile RRO and switch onto a Fixed Rate Plan.

Many of the Fixed Rates for electricity available to consumers in Alberta are all lower than the RRO and come with the peace of mind that the rates on your electricity bill won’t jump up when market forces cause the wholesale price to jump up.

So as we enter 2020, why not indulge that resolution to be smarter with your spending and get off the RRO for your electricity bills and onto a great rate from Park Power? You can save yourself some money on your electricity bills while also being able to get your electricity and and natural gas from the same provider.