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Alberta Price Alert for Electricity in May

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Uncategorized

AESOAlberta Price Alert for Electricity in May.                                                                                                                                                   RRO Prices for Electricity are on target to increase 32% for May 2014.

This is a message aimed mainly at customers on the RRO (Regulated Rate Option) but is good information for all energy consumers.

The Regulated Rate Option (RRO) is the default rate for electricity. The RRO fluctuates month to month because it is based on short term market prices, just like the regulated rate for natural gas. The RRO provider is the default provider of electricity for a consumer who has not yet signed up with a competitive retailer like Park Power.

RRO prices are set prior to the billing month.  May’s rates will be set soon based on current market prices and are trending towards a range of 8.9-11.4 ¢/kWh rate for May 1st.

If like me you live in the Edmonton Region then your RRO provider is EPCOR.  If you pay your power bill to EPCOR then you have been lucky lately paying just under 7.00 ¢/kWh for the past two months but you can expect to see a drastic jump in your bill soon. The forecasted rate increase for May is based on current and trending market data posted by the AESO.

By signing up for  the current Park Power Residential Value Rate  of 7.75 ¢/kWh you could avoid the 32% jump in price and you will end up paying a rate that beats the 3 year average for the Edmonton Region RRO of 9.06¢/kWh.

Shop Local and Power Our Community.

 

Website Maintenance April 11-13

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Just a heads up that we are doing some maintenance this weekend and the ‘Sign Up’ and ‘My Account’ sections will be unavailable from 5pm Friday April 11 until the morning of Monday April 14.

Thanks for understanding and have a great weekend

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Compare Electricity and Natural Gas Utility Options

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

How should you compare electricity and natural gas utility options for your home? Many Albertans are uninformed about the options available to them when choosing utility services (power and natural gas) for their home.  They may be unaware of how deregulation has affected their choice and how sometimes the regulated option may not be the best one for them.

Since 2001 for Electricity and 2004 for Natural Gas Alberta residents have had the ability to choose to receive their power and gas from a retailer regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) or from a competitive retailer like Park Power.  The AUC reviews and approves the rates charged by the regulated providers, in the Edmonton region these are EPCOR for electricity and Direct Energy Regulated Services for natural gas.  If a customer chooses a regulated retailer, the rate the customer pays will change every month based on the market price for either electricity or natural gas.  If the customer chooses a competitive retailer they will have the option of choosing to pay the floating (market) rate or paying a fixed rate for a prescribed term through a contract.

One of the most important things to understand when considering a regulated or competitive retailer is that your choice or retailer does not affect the delivery of electricity or natural gas to your home, only the price you pay for it.  The delivery to your home will still be made by ATCO Gas or AltaGas for your natural gas service and EPCOR, Enmax, ATCO Electric or FortisAlberta for your electricity service.

Here is a comparison of our current rate offerings to your options from the big retailers operating in the Edmonton region.

Park Power’s current electricity Discount Fixed Rate  – 6.3¢/kWh Guaranteed until Dec. 31, 2020 and free to cancel with only 10 days notice.

Park Power’s current electricity Variable Rate   – May 2017 Rate 3.71¢/kWh  (6 Month Average 3.70¢/kWh). Free to cancel or switch rates at anytime.

Park Power’s current Discount Natural Gas Rate of Market Price + $0.75/GJ. Guaranteed until Dec. 31, 2019 and free to cancel with only 10 days notice

A Sherwood Park, AB company independently owned and operated serving customers all over Alberta.

 

Direct Energy competitive electricity 3 year fixed rate   6.99¢/kWh Cancel for free if you give 30 days notice.

Direct Energy current floating Natural Gas Rate of Market Price + $2.00/GJ

North American head office in Houston, TX and a subsidiary of UK bases Centrica PLC.

 

Enmax 5 year fixed electricity rate – 6.59¢/kWh. Cancel for free if you give 30 days notice.

Enmax current floating Natural Gas Rate of Market Price + $0.99/GJ

Headquartered in Calgary, AB aiming to deliver long term value to its largest shareholder, the City of Calgary.

 

Just Energy 5 year fixed electricity rate             6.59¢/kWh. Pay a $75/year exit fee should you cancel before the 5 year term is up.

Just Energy only offers a fixed Natural Gas Rate of $4.69/GJ

Headquartered in Mississauga, ON

 

To me it seems like an easy decision to shop local and sign up with Park Power but the choice is up to you.

Shop Local Save Money

 

New Community Partner – The Festival Place Cultural Arts Foundation

· · Leave a Comment Community Building

Park Power is a company that is aiming to be a positive member of our community.  Through our Community Partner program we have committed to sharing our revenue with positive, local charitable non-profit organizations and we are happy to announce the addition of our latest Community Partner, The Festival Place Cultural Arts Foundation or FPCAF for short.

In 1999 the Festival Place Society was originally formed to oversee all aspects of Festival Place.  In 2010 the registered charity found itself without a purpose when Strathcona County took control of the entertainment facility.  Between 2011 and 2012 the remaining members of the Festival Place Society decided to continue to keep the organization alive and formed the FPCAF.

The FPCAF works towards educating and increasing the public’s understanding and appreciation of the arts; to provide assistance, both financial and educational, to charitable and not-for-profit organizations; and to advance performing arts in the community.  The group also provides support to local performing artist through scholarships that aim to recognize and support our local talent.

Park Power looks forward to the positive work that the Festival Place Cultural Arts Foundation will continue to do in our community.

Winter Sunshine Can Help Reduce Your Energy Costs

· · Leave a Comment Electricity, Interesting, Solar Power, Uncategorized

Have you ever considered how passive solar energy from the low winter sun can help you reduce your energy costs?

Passive solar is the concept of collecting, storing, and distributing solar energy without the aid of any mechanical devices.  Solar energy is collected during daylight hours through a building’s south facing windows, stored as thermal energy in the floors, walls, and furnishings, then distributed as heat during the later part of the day when the amount of solar energy entering the building decreases.  This concept can be quite useful in the sunny Capital Region where we rank #7 in Canada for Sunny Days During the Winter Months.

How can  you take advantage of passive solar energy to reduce your energy costs?  If you have any south facing windows in your home or office be sure to open the curtains or shades during the sunny hours of the day to capture the solar energy and ensure that those same curtains or shades are closed during the darker hours so as not to waste any of the heat collected.  Other things to consider when trying to capture passive solar energy is that materials with more mass or density (floors, walls, countertops) capture and hold that energy better and release it slower than materials with less mass, so try to expose the denser materials in your home or office to more of the sunlight entering through the south facing windows.  Capturing solar energy passively will help reduce the need to actively heat a building with a furnace thereby reducing both the electricity and natural gas consumption.

So as we carry on through a cold but sunny streak of weather consider trying to capture some of that lovely free energy that shines down upon us.