Energy options?

Motorcycle Mike

Motorcycle Mike

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
Is it ever worth it to go with an energy retailer for electricity and/or natural gas?
Taking a look at http://www.energyshop.com/ there seem to be a couple of retailers that allow you to avoid the time of use billing for electricity, which is rough for me as I work odd shifts.

Anyone have experience with MyRate Energy, Canada Energy, or Direct Energy for example?

What do you guys use?
 
From my experience, its better if you are not on a plan with those guys. When the price of energy goes down you lose and it does not go that high to benefit from the cost.

How do u think they can stay in business? They have to make a profit right? and that profit comes from you.
 
Personal Experience, was with Direct Energy (my folks were), the logo's and names sound so official, they thought it was the regular stuff.

Anyway, after the contract expired, we didn't renew, and lo and behold, our rates dropped. Read the fine print, and you'll see you're over-paying. They try and use snake oil sales tactics to show you how prices will skyrocket next week so you have to sign up today.

never. again.

YMMV.
 
at one time, natural gas resellers could buy and store gas.. in large quantities.. so, they could sell at a fixed price, vs the market price based on demand ..
those contracts are long gone.. those were a good deal.

Electricity can not be stored ... so the resellers buy at the same time you do... so they have to add their mark up.. and get you to believe you're saving for the future price increases...

I have talked to many people on an electricity contract.. and asked them what is would cost to pay out the remaining contract... then I have done the math to prove what they would save.. and everyone who got back to me with the buyout costs... have benifited by getting out of the contract . It might cost you $500 today to buyout,, but in the remaining 3yrs.. you pay almost double that...

I say,, don't go to electric contracts,, and get off them asap if you got fooled into one.

YMMV
 
I will never get myself into a fixed rate plan. I just pay the spot rate for both gas and electricity.

I speculate that if you were to compare the payments between fixed vs variable over a long term (for anything really, not just energy), variable always wins.
 
No magic bullet, you want to pay less--use less! We have our hydro down to less than 400 kwh for a family of four (~$60 per month, most of which is fees and taxes not the actual power consumption).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom