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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_j9yp4p8 wrote

Uh. Don't stick with them. This is the danger of 3rd party suppliers - They give you a teaser rate and then people don't tend to read letters like this and then next thing they know they've been paying exorbitant prices for months. Switch back to Duquesne Light. It'll be cheaper.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_ja0ugio wrote

I have yet to hear of one of these 3rd party suppliers not being a bait an switch scam.

PA needs to either fix the regulations, or not allow it at all.

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its-saute t1_j9yr2e6 wrote

This exactly happened to my friend. He switched to a “green” third party supplier as a feel good move and noticed after a few months that his bill had gone from $300 a month to $1200 with zero changes in use. Highway robbery.

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Accomplished-Pen4934 t1_j9ys3b1 wrote

Gotta read the fine print

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babyyodaisamazing98 t1_j9z86oc wrote

It’s not really fine print. It’s in giant letters all over the web site and they are required to send you 3 separate mailers informing you.

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mira_lee2 t1_j9yxpiz wrote

I had something similar with green energy suppliers. I did keep them for two years, because I try to be more environmentally friendly. Eventually it was just too expensive to keep paying the rising electric costs.

Maybe when I own my own house, I can put in solar panels and be more energy friendly that way.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_j9z6tu3 wrote

Just so you know the vast majority of energy suppliers on the pa power choice website don't actually make gas or electricity. They're brokers. The ones that are green buy and sell green energy but don't actually, for the most part, own anything.

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Minute_Helicopter_91 t1_j9yqnyx wrote

It’s typical for these 3rd party suppliers to hike your rate after the introductory period. I just stick with DLC as my supplier. I believe they charge .12 per kWh. Just easier for me to not have to continually check my 3rd party supplier price to save $10 a month.

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SWPenn t1_j9ytb6h wrote

This has turned into a huge mess. Years ago when they started allowing this, the idea was that "competition would bring the price down for everybody." Didn't really happen that way.

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The_Wkwied t1_j9yz6yr wrote

They are faux competition anyway. Just like with cell plans and MVMOs.. You can have your cell phone through boost mobile and pay less, but you are still going off of Verizon or T Mobile's towers, and the first party customers will get priority and more/unlimited data..

With power, the lines are still going through DLC. You're still getting power from DLC, just with a third party on top. There literally isn't any way the third party can profit because they are literally using DLC's lines and power. The only way they can make money is with these shady upselling tactics.

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enraged_hbo_max_user t1_j9z36m3 wrote

Your post should be pinned to the top of this sub. And probably any Pennsylvania city sub too.

To all: hang up on these guys if they call you. Throw away their letters if they mail you. Avoid them at giant eagle if they have a stand and say hello to you.

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tesla3by3 t1_j9z547i wrote

DLC no longer owns any power generation plants- they buy the power. The difference is DLC's rates are regulated. The third party rates are not.

When you choose one of these third parties, they essentially go to anyone of a number of generators on the grid and buy the electricity on your behalf. So they may in fact be getting the power from a different source than DLC gets it, and maybe at a cheaper rate than DLC pays. Of course, they'll mark it up a little or take a loss for a few months, and once the initial term expires gouge you.

There used to be some good green suppliers out their; the original Green mountain was one. They've since changed ownership though.

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babyyodaisamazing98 t1_j9z9sxv wrote

I really don’t understand how they could possibly make it any easier to understand. They tell you the rate and length of term in giant letters on the sign up page. They are required to send 3 separate warnings starting three months before your term ends. They have no early cancellation fees, and you can switch at any time.

Do people just pay no attention at all to their mail, their finances, or their utility bills?

I honestly can’t understand how anyone could be confused or shocked by this.

A yearly signup for 30% lower rates is like the simplest thing possible.

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thatburghfan t1_ja156hs wrote

Can people request bills to be sent via email? And do the rate change notices come that way too? I wonder if that's a factor in people not noticing.

On a side note, I get electric through , my supplier is called Energy Harbor and the rate is 11.0 cents per kWh.

0

weavs13 t1_j9yvp91 wrote

That's why you don't use the third party suppliers. I had to threaten to call the cops on one to get them to leave my property. Then they threatened to keep coming back until we switched and told me how my elderly neighbors already switched to them. They're nothing but predatory companies that bank on people (especially the elderly) not noticing the hike.

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X_PRSN t1_j9ywao8 wrote

My eyes have been opened.

So I opened this account early last year when I moved to the area, and I recall being transferred to another person to be asked questions about energy suppliers that I honestly didn't fully understand, since I've never had an electric company that asked me such a thing. So through my ignorance I ended up with this supplier somehow, completely oblivious to the fact that I could have just said no, fuck off, I'll stick with DLC.

I'll be calling DLC first thing Monday and ditching Nextera.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_j9z72k5 wrote

For either electricity or people's natural gas, you can switch back on the website. One of them you need to call and one of them you can do on the website so it might be worth checking out the website and seeing if you could just do this today.

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mmphoto412 t1_j9zuorg wrote

So Nextra is going to increase your rate by roughly 150%, and you’re not convinced to switch??

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