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Choose Light from ENMAX Energy, is a light bulb really worth it?

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Uncategorized

ENMAX is currently trying to win over consumers with its Choose Light campaign that rewards consumers with higher rates on electricity and natural gas…and some light bulbs.

You may have seen their advertisements on billboards around town and with large print advertisements (translation – large advertisements = large overhead) hoping to wow you into signing up for a 3 year Fixed Electricity and Natural Gas agreement.  All with asterisks informing you that you will be charged a $228.38 cost recovery fee per device for early cancellations of the agreement. So, if need or want to cancel for a reason you are forced to buy their fancy light bulbs.

With ENMAX is really trying to lock consumers into their services with some fancy light bulbs, I thought I would give consumers a breakdown of whether those fancy light bulbs are worth it.

So when a consumer signs up for a Choose Light plan what are they really getting themselves into?  Here is a breakdown.

A customer must sign up for a 3 year agreement for both electricity and natural gas with electricity at a fixed rate of 6.79¢/kWh and natural gas at a fixed rate of $4.99/GJ with administration fees of $7.10 per site per month.  For demonstration purposes we will say and average residential consumer uses 1000 kWh of electricity and 10 GJ of natural gas per month (which is very close to the Alberta averages).

1000 kWh x $0.0679 = $67.90

$7.10 admin fee

Monthly Enmax electricity usage charges  of $75.00

10 GJ x $4.99 = $49.90

$7.10 admin fee

Monthly Enmax natural gas usage charges of $57.00

Combined total Enmax electricity and natural gas usage charges over a 3 year term $1584.00.

Comparitively Park Power is a smaller enterprise than ENMAX  and we compete by running our business with efficiency in mind.  We maintain a low overhead and use efficient business practices and processes.  Instead of rewarding our customers with some fancy lightbulbs, we offer them lower rates, superior customer service, ease of use, and the good feeling that our profits are shared with awesome local charities.

What could the same 3 years cost a customer who signed up with us?  Keep in mind we would not encourage choosing a Fixed rate for natural gas since supply is high and market prices have been and should continue to remain low.  The average Floating rate for gas is around $3.50/GJ (30% cheaper than the Fixed offering from ENMAX) Here is a breakdown.

1000 kWh x $0.0580 = $58.00

$6.50 admin fee

Monthly Park Power electricity usage charges of $64.50

10 GJ x $3.50 = $35.00

$4.50 admin fee

Monthly Park Power natural gas charges of $39.50

Combined total Park Power electricity and natural gas usage charges over a 3 year term $1248.00

A savings of $336.00 

Delivery, Transmission and Local Access Fees will remain the same regardless of which retailer a consumer chooses.

So if you really want some fancy light bulbs in your home you can purchase them with the money you can save by choosing Park Power.

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TransAlta Power Price Manipulation & Alberta Consumers.

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Uncategorized

The editorial cartoon published Wednesday July 29, 2015  was somewhat disingenuous and misleading.  Residential and small business consumers buying electricity, based on “guaranteed energy rates” provided by competitive retailers like Park Power, are totally shielded from impact as presented in the MSA report of TransAlta with-holding generation with the intent of artificially pumping up the Power Pool wholesale market price of energy.

 

The situation of TransAlta attempting to manipulate the wholesale market happened a few years ago: Nov 19, 23, and Dec 13-16th of 2010 plus Feb 16th 2011.  It is true that some market participants were negatively impacted by spiking Power Pool Prices: BUT NOT those customers who had signed a fixed rate contract.  They were protected.

 

Here are some interesting numbers to put the history of Power Pool Prices into perspective.

 

In the wholesale market the price of electricity changes every hour and during some hours (based on supply and demand) it spikes, but what goes up always comes down.  The average wholesale price over the last 15 years is $64.60 / MW (this is the average of over 125,000 hours of prices posted by AESO).  What does the market look like today?  The numbers are in for July: $23.61/MW.  AESO’s wholesale price last month was 64% below the industry 15 year average.

 

What can you assume from these numbers?  Deregulation is  working for the benefit of consumers.  Since 2001 there have been 5 months where wholesale prices charged by generators have been below $25/MW (3 of which occurred this year).  How does this translate to what consumers are paying?  Those who are buying electricity indexed to the floating rate actually paid approximately 3.5 ¢/kWh this July.  Wholesale prices in July were the 4th lowest month since the birth of deregulation.

Historical Low Pool Prices

 

The Power Pool 12 month rolling trend (to July 2015) is currently running at $36.80 / MW.  This is approaching the lowest prices in Alberta which were posted in 2002 with the pool prices at $36.41.  Over the last 3 years as new generation units have come online – energy prices have been in free fall.

Pool Price 2001-15

One can approach their electricity rates just like they would approach bank interest rates.  When rates fall and if you think that they are near the bottom, it is a great time to lock in.  The average power pool price over the last 12 months are nearing record lows so locking into a fixed rate now is good advice.  As an example, for the senior pictured in the cartoon; the Guaranteed Fixed Rate offered by Park Power to seniors is 6.30 ¢/kWh guaranteed to December 2017.

Again, don’t believe all the negative hype about the utilities industry.  Some of us are actually working for the consumer and saving them time and money while offering options to protect themselves against drastic price changes in the market.

 

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Park Power Representing at Capital Ideas 41

· · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Interesting, Uncategorized

On Wednesday July 15th I had the privilege of representing Park Power at Capital Ideas 41 “Doing Good in the Neighbourhood”.  Capital Ideas is about business owners helping business owners by sharing what they know in the Edmonton Journal Business section and at live events.  At this particular event I was speaking about why making positive contributions to our community is part of Park Power’s business plan.

Our Community Partner Program is something I am very proud of.  In an industry with small profit margins, the fact that we will share 10% of our profits from your power bill with awesome local charities may not seem like a competitive advantage but I believe that it is.  Park Power positions ourselves as a local independent energy retailer offering a better choice to consumers for their energy needs.  We are not a foreign conglomerate who sends pushy sales associates door to door only concerned with closing the deal.  We are concerned about what is happening in our community and aim for Park Power to be a positive entity in our community.

Check out the recap of Capital Ideas 41 below and then ask yourself if your energy retailer invests in your community like Park Power does.

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Better Electricity Rates in Edmonton

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity

Better electricity rates are available in the Edmonton Region if you choose Park Power.

Many Edmonton area consumers who are unaware that they can make a Better Choice for their energy needs still choose the Default or Regulated Rate Option (RRO) from EPCOR.

The RRO changes every month and is a fair market price set up by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to help transition to a fully deregulated utilities market.
The RRO for May is 4.229 cents/kWh
The 12 month average is 7.2078 cents/kWh
In today’s electricity market you can capitalize on soft market conditions and beat the RRO on a significant and consistent basis by choosing a Park Power as your electricity provider.
Park Power’s current Floating Rate is 3.528 cents/kWh – 17% cheaper than EPCOR’s RRO
Our 12 Month Avg is 5.396 cents/kWh – 25% cheaper than EPCOR’s RRO
Below is a cost comparison for an average residential user who uses 1000 kWh/month.
RRO ELECTRICITY RATES PARK  POWER FLOATING ELECTRICITY RATES
Electricity Rates – cents/kWh USAGE CHARGES kWh/month Electricity Rates – cents/kWh USAGE CHARGES for kWh/month
1000.00 1000
​May 2015 4.229 42.29 3.528 $35.28
​Apr 2015 5.689 56.89 3.555 $35.55
​Mar 2015 5.328 53.28 3.563 $35.63
​Feb 2015 6.422 64.22 5 $50.00
​Jan 2015 7.139 71.39 5.164 $51.64
​Dec 2014 7.376 73.76 3.975 $39.75
​Nov 2014 6.942 69.42 5.207 $52.07
​Oct 2014 8.493 84.93 3.95 $39.50
​Sep 2014 7.774 77.74 3.654 $36.54
​Aug 2014 7.827 78.27 6.089 $60.89
​July 2014 7.032 70.32 15.323 $153.23
June 2014​ 5.857 58.57 5.739 $57.39
12 Month Avg 6.67566667 5.395583333
Annual Usage Charges Annual Usage Charges
$801.08 $647.47

For an average customer who switched from EPCOR’s RRO onto Park Power’s Floating Rate we saved them $153.61 last year.

The deregulated electricity market is working for Alberta consumers now and you should take advantage of it and Switch to Park Power.

Get on “board” with the savings.

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Park Power Is Offering Cheap Electricity Rates.

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity

Pool Prices-1

The deregulated electricity market in Alberta is working for consumers and saving some over 50% on their electricity rates.  That is a significant amount of savings that consumers who have switched to Park Power have been able to benefit from.

Some consumers ask how we are able to beat the big utilities on price and by such a large amount. Firstly, with our lower overhead and efficient business practices we will always be able to beat the big utilities.  Secondly, as a smaller independent energy retailer we are able to react faster to the low prices on the wholesale electricity market in Alberta and offer big savings to consumers who switch to our Floating Rate.

Our Fixed Rate plans are still a great deal for those who like to protect themselves from the ups and downs of the electricity market.  Head to our Sign Up Page to take advantage of the our Value Rate of 6.5¢/kWh.

Here are some rate comparisons for you to consider.

 

It is mid April 2015 and the current Floating Rate for our customers is averaging about 3.7¢/kWh

EPCOR’s RRO Default Rate for April is 5.689¢/kWh – 35% Higher

Enmax’s current Fixed Rate is 6.99¢/kWh – 47% higher

Direct Energy’s current Fixed Rate is 7.37¢/kWh – 50% higher

Just Energy’s current Fixed Rate is 8.69¢/kWh – 58% higher

 

#LocalPower is working for those who have taken advantage of what we can offer.

Switch now to take advantage of the savings offered by Park Power.

Plus if you are a Park Power customer by April 30, 2015 you will be entered in the draw to win the awesome Electra Townie courtesy of Mud, Sweat, & Gears.

Win this bike by signing up for Park Power during the month of April 2015
Win this bike by signing up for Park Power during the month of April 2015

Be Awesome

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