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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