Recently, Dominion Energy has been soliciting Massachusetts homes offering attractive electricity rates, up to a 10 percent savings, for those willing to switch suppliers. Customers are able to lock in rates, which vary depending on the local utility, the entity that maintains energy delivery, through December 2010.
But is it worth the switch?
It can be confusing for customers like me who don't easily understand how electricity is magically delivered to lights and coffee makers. I called Dominion's national telephone number, and customer service told me that if I'm with National Grid and I'm willing to switch, I can have electricity at a rate of $10.99. If I'm with NStar, it's $11.43. My National Grid rate is now $12.66.
Consumers' overall rates generally increase when suppliers purchase large amounts of fuel when costs are high, as they were for most of 2008. Suppliers often buy quantities of fuels to provide electricity for a particular number of customers for a fixed period of time.
According to Dominion's customer service, my current supplier/utility company must purchase fuel every six months, and because Dominion was able to make a better deal last year for a longer term (two years), they are able to offer electricity at a lower fixed price than my utility.
However, if prices on fuels are lower now than they were in 2008 when Dominion made its deal, then won't NStar, National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Cape Cod Light, Danvers Municipal Light and others be able to offer better rates in a few months, too?
Only time will tell, and some consumer groups in Massachusetts are advising the public to be wary.
Tangles with switching:
Many customers accept deal terms, but when better offers come along, decide to pull out. The booted supplier may recalculate all of the monthly bills for the term to reflect a variable rate and said consumers could end up owing money for previous months.
Even though consumers may opt for new suppliers, they still call the local power utility — which is still the monthly bill collector — when there are problems. That situation could lead to confusing customer relations queries.
There is no guarantee actual energy sources will be greener or cleaner.
With most suppliers, energy sources are a mix of natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear and some green, such as wind turbines. Many offer customers green tags or carbon offsets to purchase, which fund renewable energy projects, but actual electricity is mostly fossil-fueled.
In our region, Dominion's grid includes Salem Harbor Station, a coal- and oil-fired plant, and Brayton Point in Somerset, a notoriously polluting coal-burning plant that Dominion purchased last year and is said to be installing $500 million worth of clean-coal upgrades to.
NStar and others rely on coal-burning, oil- and gas-fired, and nuclear plants, as well. Though NStar has green suppliers in New England.
The company has a 195-strong wind farm at Maple Ridge in upstate New York and 44 towers under development at Kibby Mountain, Maine. Customers in Massachusetts can — in theory only — tap into this power by getting on a special plan with NStar that may cost more. Dominion also has wind in its portfolio with a 50 percent share in a 200-plus turbine farm in Indiana, which feeds the company's Midwest grid.
Dominion's offer is online at http://retail.dom.com.
NStar's Web site is www.nstaronline.com.
National Grid is at www.nationalgridus.com/.
To keep tabs on wind power development in New England, bookmark the Department of Energy Web page showcasing current and proposed projects, a map, and New England Wind Forum newsletters: www.windpoweringamerica.gov/ne_projects.asp.
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Andrea Fox, a Beverly resident, has been writing about environmental sustainability and eco-topics for eight years. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a watershed protection advocate in Salem Sound Watershed.
