Please share your experience with switching supplier from Eversource to one of the cheaper ones

Submitted by jackmclrtz t3_11dctmt in Connecticut

Looking through the list, the cheapest suppliers are $0.10/kWh less than Eversource and on some, you can lock the rate for up to two years.

Just seems too good to be true, so I wanted to hear from people that have done it. Any gotchas? Any regrets?

EDIT: One person commented that they applied and had not heard back in two weeks. Can anyone comment on the process? Does it actually take a while? Did you need to pester them or just be patient? Etc, etc...

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EDIT2: One final question; the providers list things like "35% RECs" and "100% RECs".
Does this refer to the rate they will pay/credit you for power fed back into the system by solar, etc, or does this refer to how much of that provider's generation is renewable?

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JustADudeBeingADood t1_ja7uzge wrote

Not too good to be true. The energy companies make the system just convoluted enough and bank on the average citizen to not bother switching suppliers.

Make the switch, it is pretty seamless. Put a note on your calendar whenever your contract will expire.

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja7w2vy wrote

I'd give this comment an award if I had one lying around. Specifically, for the "put a note on your calendar" bit.
I am amazed at the number of people that don't know this little trick. I do this for everything: DL expiration, scheduling annual/bi-annual appointments, etc.

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Snoring-Moose t1_ja84z26 wrote

Personally I will be checking more often than end of contract. I did the change back in November and it's since gone down significantly. Someone said they check every three months or so. There are no downsides to changing suppliers (except your time to switch).

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brownstone79 t1_ja8pic5 wrote

Can you switch to another supplier before the contract ends? I’m looking to switch as well, but don’t want to get stuck with a rate for however many months when something better comes along.

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja8s13t wrote

I have heard multiple times (including this thread) that you can switch without penalty. My understanding is that the "contract" is the suppliers commitment to that rate for that period.

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brownstone79 t1_ja8zzra wrote

This was what I was coming to understand as well. I was interested to see if anyone had this sort of experience, which is in keeping with the spirit of your post. Thanks for posting!

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4Impossible_Guess4 t1_ja8vr25 wrote

Depends if you have a cancellation fee in your contract, you can sign up for not fee contacts and most have this option.

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fprintf t1_ja8yoad wrote

Apparently it is now illegal to have termination fees, so really there is no reason not to switch when the price is going down.

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4Impossible_Guess4 t1_ja92ebs wrote

That's good, didn't know this. I still use no sign up/termination fee when filtering.

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4Impossible_Guess4 t1_ja8vkml wrote

I check end of month when I'm getting ready to do my mortgage. Every dollar helps.

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4Impossible_Guess4 t1_ja8vf8h wrote

They also have to send you/the payer a letter in the mail before your rate expires and goes to whatever the market rate currently is, but 100% calendar it!

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silasmoeckel t1_ja7t6e7 wrote

The only gotcha is when the rate expires.

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singeworthy t1_ja7w1v5 wrote

That's why before this hike I never did it, I figured I would forget and they'd jack up the rate 500%. I set a cal reminder 6 weeks before my rate expires to make sure I'm on top of it.

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traddad t1_ja7x4wi wrote

I've switched back and forth to several companies over the years. My latest switch was from Eversource to Constellation. When I had switched from Town Square back to Eversource, they actually had competitive rates. Not anymore.

There are no cancellation fees in CT, despite what some suppliers may have on their website.

The electricity itself comes from the New England power grid and is generated by a variety of power plants throughout the region.

After that, there are two parts: Supply & Delivery. In all cases, Eversource is the "Deliverer" because they own and "maintain" the lines and infrastructure. They charge for delivery based on how many kWhs you use.

The "Supplier" can be changed. It could be Eversource or it could be a third party such as Constellation, Direct Energy, Town Square, etc. These third parties do not generate electricity - they buy it in bulk from the power plants and resell it to you. Sometimes, their price is lower than Eversource, sometimes it is higher. Short of using less electricity, this is the only place you can save. The resellers offer a certain rate for a certain number of billing cycles. After those cycles end, the rate usually goes up so you have to mark your calendar and change again - although they have sent me an email reminding me that my rate was about to expire.

To answer any question about power going down: You can lose power if there is a problem with the lines or Eversource infrastructure. However, the third party resellers are only resellers - they don't generate power. If part of the NE Power Grid goes down, it switches to a different part of the grid.

BTW, Eversource may have your account listed as "Financial Hardship" even if you did not ask for it. They automatically did that to a lot of people. If so, you cannot change suppliers until you ask Eversource (in writing!!!) to remove the "Financial Hardship" from your account. They have a pdf form for you to do that.

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Kolzig33189 t1_ja7tpzu wrote

I “applied” through energizect maybe 2 weeks ago for one of the lower rates, but haven’t heard anything back yet so I’m wondering what the typical turnaround time is.

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja7znxo wrote

So, given the responses here, I took the plunge with "Think Energy!"

The process was seamless and it does not look like I will have to wait two weeks or anything; according to what I am seeing, it is all done. Specifically, after the last step (click the link in your email to verify...), I got a page that said my bill should be switched within 1-2 billing cycles.

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traddad t1_ja85yv0 wrote

This happened to me the last time when I switched from Eversource. However, a few weeks after I got the verification email, I got another email that said:

"We have received an enrollment rejection from your local utility, Eversource, for ANE- Account Not Eligible. This means that a block has been placed on your account that prevents it from switching to a supplier."

As I wrote in my other post, Eversource may have your account listed as "Financial Hardship" even if you did not ask for it. They automatically did that to a lot of people. If so, you cannot change suppliers until you ask Eversource (in writing!!!) to remove the "Financial Hardship" from your account. They have a pdf form for you to do that.

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onthelockdown t1_ja8cbq0 wrote

Did they respond to you? I filled out the form emailed it to them and still didn’t hear back and it appears the switch never happened.

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traddad t1_ja98of7 wrote

Yes, I did eventually hear from Eversource.

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja8d58j wrote

That is good to know. I recall seeing something about "apply here for hardship" when I last logged into Eversource.

I will have to go browse around there and see if I can find anything.

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja7vazo wrote

Yeah... I am wondering if there is a huge backlog or something. No idea why suddenly a lot of people might be trying to switch :-)

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bltkmt t1_ja7w2yo wrote

I have done it for 5+ years - easy peasy and saves $$.

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he_must_workout t1_ja8vg7b wrote

Super easy.. login to Eversource to view any bill, and follow the steps on energizect.com

Dropped from .24c/kWh to .10c/kWh

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja9dym9 wrote

The ones I saw at that rate would only hold for 8 months. I chose one that would lock me in for 36 months, though a bit higher rate (0.135).

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he_must_workout t1_ja9fafw wrote

Yeah I'm fine redoing it in 8 months.. I locked 17c at 36months but shrug I'll take the win for now

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja9ogbf wrote

Might not be too late for 13.5/36mo

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he_must_workout t1_ja9rx05 wrote

Norwalk would only go as low as 17c/36months which was no lower than I had

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Chemical_Ad7629 t1_ja89sfj wrote

What list?

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jackmclrtz OP t1_ja8e0s0 wrote

Go to energizect.com and click on "Supplier Rate FInder"

This will show you all of the alternative and their rates, lock-in periods, and REC percentage.

I chose Think Energy, and it was as simple as clicking the Enroll link, and filling out a form. I had to look closely at my bill to find some of the thinks they needed like billing cycle and name key, but it took all of 5 minutes.

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STODracula t1_ja8md2g wrote

Applied as soon as that rate hike was announced. Got a response quite quickly and got switched to Constellation before the hike. My bank account is thanking me. Just have to keep an eye on the contract expiration AND if Eversource's rates at some point are lower than them.

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4Impossible_Guess4 t1_ja8v1p4 wrote

EnergizeCT.com

Set filters (personally I use no sign up/cancelation fee and fixed rate)

Find supplier rate you'd like

Click a couple buttons and enter your information

See rate change on bill in a cycle or two

In regards of "to good to be true," it's not, eversource supplier is just dicking everyone, who hasn't switched over, that much. Many people have autopay and don't see it, just pay it, and many people just don't know you can switch supply companies, hell I used a Texas company two years ago 0_o

Check the deals as well, a couple times I've switched they've done $50 Visa debit cards to refer people, it costs nothing to switch and it's a free $50 or whatever the incentive/promotion is. I've switched suppliers 3 times since October. No issues.

Every time I bring it up my old man gives me hell. At the beginning of last summer when I was paying $0.07 he told me to lock in an .08 cent deal for 2 years and I said that's more than when I'm paying now- why would I do that, I'll wait to see if they drop. Every rate steadily increased from there on out, I currently have 11 cents or there abouts for the next 8 months. I really wish I had that $0.08/2 years ha.

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etwilli1 t1_ja7tyvu wrote

No regrets. From my understanding you can swap suppliers at any time. The bill still comes from Eversource just with a lower supply charge. I manage to walk in for eight months at $.10 per KWh.

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thesbaine t1_ja7x201 wrote

locked in for 3 years at 13.1 per kwh. I could switch to one of the lower tiers, but it's not a huge enough difference at our usage.

If it goes lower, however, I'm all in to another plan.

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as1126 t1_ja85q3d wrote

I was approved or accepted or whatever, but I haven’t gotten my first bill under the new supplier yet. I’m on a budget plan with Eversource for $385 per month. We will see how much that goes down.

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gatogrande t1_ja8e5oa wrote

Took 3 billing cycles to go into effect, otherwise pretty painless

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Krynn71 t1_ja92k1m wrote

It was so ready I thought I must have done it wrong, but I did get a confirmation email saying they got my request. Then I got some documents in the (snail)mail from the new supplier. After applying I still had two months with ES as my supplier still, then on my third bill it was the new one

The funniest part is that the bill (still from Eversource as they're the distributor still) shows me how much I saved that period by not using ES as supplier lol.

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Salvidor_Deli t1_ja9860e wrote

This page alerted me to the issue, told me where to go, and I was able to lock in Constellation at 13.1 cents back in November. January was first bill under new provider.

I did not hear back initially, so I used the chat function on constellation to bring up the issue. It was resolved there. I received the confirmation email I was missing, and I was good to go.

Everything else has been seamless.

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afapracing t1_ja9aj44 wrote

Seamless transition here. Went to constellation. Took 1.5-2 months total. On the next full month statement from Neversource I saw that the next month it would be switched on the bill.

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FutureDot7 t1_jaala6e wrote

Switching is so easy. Do it!

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DeskFan203 t1_jaalux2 wrote

Well my experience was spending over 250K to move to a place with municipal electric. YMMV.

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CumDwnHrNSayDat t1_jabkq9a wrote

It was super easy and I just got my first bill and I'm saving a decent amount of money immediately

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