Next 4 Years of Electricity Costs Looking Bleak
Check out the Original Article Here in the Union Leader by Dave Solomon
March. 14. 2015 | Dave Solomon
New England electricity customers, already facing the highest rates in the nation, are in store for some real sticker shock over the next four years, as the price paid to power plant owners just for promising to stay online goes through the roof.
The collective cost to ratepayers of securing this “future capacity” has been around $1 billion a year since 2010. That cost holds through 2016. But when 2017 rolls around, it shoots up to $3 billion and in 2018 will hit $4 billion.
Keep in mind, that is money the power plants will get in addition to whatever profit they make from the actual sale of electricity.
The big spike in the size of these so-called “capacity payments” is one of many factors contributing to the decision by Eversource Energy to sell off its PSNH power plants, after years of resisting divestiture. The plants are worth more than ever, just for being there.
“What you are seeing is the cost of insuring our energy supply,” said Emile Clavet, co-owner of ENH Power, which like all energy suppliers pays the capacity charge then passes it along to consumers. “We’re paying for the insurance of knowing we are going to have the capacity to meet a growing demand.”
Pulled both ways
The increase in that insurance is attributed to the fact that the supply of electricity in the region is diminishing as old plants retire and new projects can’t get off the ground, all while energy demand is increasing.
But critics of the process say demand has not increased nearly enough to justify a doubling or tripling of the capacity rates. They point to the fact that the total capacity needed to meet New England’s energy needs has only grown from 32,200 megawatts in 2010 to a projected 34,100 megawatts in 2018.
They worry that energy market speculators and power plant owners are gaming the system to achieve maximum payouts, while regulators are failing consumers.
A group of New England senators and representatives, led by Rep. Edward Kennedy III of Massachusetts and including Rep. Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, is pressing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take a harder look at these increases.
A split commission vote
The commissioners were split 2-2 last year, which meant the rates for “forward capacity” in 2017 were approved by default. The board was short one member until earlier this year when a fifth member was sworn in. Kennedy, Guinta and others are hoping the fifth member can sway the board in the other direction.
“FERC has an obligation to Granite Staters to insure energy reliability at reasonable rates in an open and transparent way,” said Guinta. “New England generally and New Hampshire specifically have experienced sky-rocketing increases. This is unacceptable. I will continue to press for answers and urge the reconsideration of these filings.”
In late January, Guinta was among 19 members of Congress from New England to sign a letter urging the commission to reconsider its 2014 decision, in light of the confirmation of the fifth member. Commission Chairman Cheryl LaFleur on Feb. 18 responded that the case could not be re-opened and that the rates for 2017 in her view are “just and reasonable.”
Failing to get reconsideration of the 2017 capacity cost of $3 billion, the same group of lawmakers on Jan. 30 urged FERC to closely monitor capacity payments proposed for 2018.
On Feb. 27, the independent operator of the New England power grid, ISO-NE, announced that the payments for 2018-19 would total $4 billion, pending FERC approval.
“These results further underscore the dramatic deficiencies in our region’s energy markets,” said Kennedy in an email to the New Hampshire Sunday News. “By failing to address – or even acknowledge – the painful impact this broken system is having on ratepayers across New England, FERC continues to fall short of its regulatory responsibilities.”
While the 2017 rates took effect without much push-back, the process is likely to be more contentious this time around. FERC is reviewing the 2018 rates submitted on Feb. 27, and is accepting comments until April 13. ISO-NE has asked FERC to rule within 120 days.
Since the 2018 results were released, Kennedy’s office has been in touch with both FERC and ISO-NE to protest and is trying to schedule an in-person meeting between commissioners and members of the New England Congressional delegation.
Cost to consumers
It’s difficult to determine exactly how these charges will affect individual electric bills because there are so many variables.
Eversource-NH, the largest provider in the state, has been in a unique situation. It owns power plants, so it receives capacity revenue for those plants, and uses that revenue to offset some of the capacity costs it has to pay as an energy supplier.
That, of course, will change once the plants are sold.
People who live in parts of New England where supply is severely stressed, like southeastern Massachusetts, pay more than people in other parts of the region, thus Kennedy’s intense interest.
At ENH Power, New Hampshire’s largest independent and unregulated supplier of electricity, Clavet says capacity insurance now represents about 10 percent of the ENH energy supply charges to consumers. That could rise to 20 percent in 2017 and 30 percent in 2018.
According to Bart Fromuth of Resident Power, current capacity expense accounts for 1 cent on an energy supply charge of 10 cents per kwh. In 2017, capacity expenses will add 2 cents to the rate. In 2018-19, the impact to customers will triple to about 3 cents per kwh from the current costs, Fromuth said.
So while the impact may vary from state to state and within each state, the upward pricing pressure from the capacity auctions has affected all ratepayers, with limited impact on new power plant construction. Despite two rounds of skyrocketing capacity prices, the region will only see three small power plants debut between now and 2018, adding 1,000 megawatts of new generating capacity.
Relief could be years away. According to the grid operator’s annual report on 2014, “The region could see high prices in future (capacity) auctions because of additional resource retirements, particularly if new generators or transmission projects face siting and permitting challenges that cause significant delays.”
dsolomon@unionleader.com
To save on your electric bill, Sign Up with Resident Power either online, or call us at 603-232-9293, we want to help you keep money in your pocket!
Resident Power Celebrates Three Years of Savings
Manchester, NH | April 3rd, 2014
Resident Power, New Hampshire’s first electricity aggregator celebrates their 3rd birthday this week. In the Spring of 2011, Resident Power burst into the New Hampshire scene offering residents and small businesses their first ever alternative to PSNH and other utilities. Since then the company has grown to over 15,000 customers.
As part of their third birthday celebration, Resident Power has launched three brand new websites, and peppy new brand colors. All of the websites were designed with the customer in mind, with a special focus on usability, and easy to find information.
The market place has certainly grown since Resident Power first launched in 2011. New Hampshire Residents can now choose between multiple independent electricity suppliers. Resident Power has helped to shape and grow the consumer electricity market in the past three years, while saving customers hundreds of thousands of dollars on their energy costs, and continues to serve as a customer advocate and source of information. Resident Power now offers a contract review service, in which they will review and answer questions for customers looking into competitive suppliers, for free.
Megan McLaughlin, Director of Customer Relations at Resident Power, is very excited about the new service. [quote style=”boxed”]“The new contract reviewing process allows Resident Power to share our expertise with customers and aid in creating a well-educated market. We truly want to help residents gain trust in a brand new market with terms and conditions that have a reputation of being a bit confusing.”[/quote]
Resident Power has also expanded their local outreach efforts over the past years. Some of those activities include sponsoring youth soccer teams at both the Manchester Junior Soccer League West, and the Bedford Athletic Club. Resident Power is also sponsoring a million word challenge at Gossler Park Elementary School in Manchester, NH, a program that helps kids get excited about reading.
Resident Power is a member of the Manchester, NH based Freedom Energy Logistics (felpower.com) family of companies. The company’s management team has nearly 100 years of energy market experience and is widely recognized for its market intelligence and informational transparency.
Resident Power Launches New Customer Focused Website
Manchester based local electricity aggregator, Resident Power launched a fleet of new websites complete with updated brand colors and customer focused features on Friday March 28, 2014, just in time for their third birthday. The new corporate website www.ResidentPower.com, is focused on creating an easy to use and pleasant way for residents and small businesses to save on their electric bill. The site features a clean, fresh, mobile friendly, easy-to-read design. The navigation structure has been designed with the customer in mind, with bright visual links to www.ResidentPowerNH.com and www.ResidentpowerRI.com where customers can find information with more of a local appeal, including up to date energy news for their area.
Director of Customer Relations, Megan McLaughlin loves the new site design specifically for its customer centric design. “Customer service is the heart and soul of this company, and something that we take great pride in here at Resident Power. Our stellar service is the biggest thing separating us from our competitors. We genuinely love to help our customers find great electric rates, and more importantly fair contracts for these rates”.
Signing up with Resident Power has never been easier, due to their zip code search feature, which displays current rate offers based on customer location and updated convenient sign up forms. Even the Resident Power terms and conditions have received a facelift, in an effort to make them easier to understand and read. Have a question? Clients can now effortlessly submit questions through the new contact us feature on the sites, or through the chat feature on the local state pages.
The new Resident Power websites also features a fresh and up kept new blog, where clients can come to find news about their local utilities and information about electricity, written in a fun and upbeat manner. Have an idea or topic you want to see in the Resident Power Blog? Simply email Info@residentpower.com or contact them through facebook (www.facebook.com/residentpower). Resident Power can also be reach at 603-232-9293.
Resident Power is a member of the Manchester, NH based Freedom Energy Logistics (FELPower.com), family of companies. The company’s management team had nearly 100 years of energy market experience and is widely recognized for its market intelligence and informational transparency.
Resident Power Now Taking Enrollments in Rhode Island
Resident Power is now officially taking enrollments from Ocean State, providing residents with an opportunity to save on their electric bills and enjoy the freedom to choose their supplier; a benefit that large commercial business have been privy to since 1999. Resident Power’s entry into RI couldn’t come at a better time, as National Grid, the state’s largest utility, raised their rate 12.1% effective January 1st, 2014.
New England Residents and Small Businesses have had the opportunity to save on their electric bills and choose their supplier for over a decade. Rhode Island has been vastly under-served in this regard with projections as high as 95% of households still with the rising prices of National Grid. Enrollments are being accepted through www.ResidentPowerRI.com, a freshly launched website chock-full of information on the energy industry and the benefits of retail energy choice.
“Our management team has been involved in the growth and expansion of the Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire residential electricity markets and now it is time to bring serious competitive choice to Rhode Island as well,” says Managing Director Bart Fromuth.
How does Resident Power offer savings that the rest of New England is experiencing?
Through their successful and proven aggregation model. A model that groups residential and small business electricity usage together in order to negotiate rates with willing competitive suppliers. Resident Power is able to meet the needs of both competitive energy suppliers in terms of consistent usage demand and the residential customer’s appetite for savings.
Resident Power further promotes its value by monitoring customer contracts for end dates and providing excellent customer service. With electricity prices across New England rising due to natural gas constraints, Resident Power is expecting customers to be more in tuned to electricity and savings.
When asked about the entry into Rhode Island’s residential market back in August, Fromuth stated, “Rhode Island has been a big part of my life. I’m excited to finally open our doors here and get to work saving people money.”
Resident Power was the first electricity provider to offer competitive electric choice to households in New Hampshire back in early 2011, since then the market has grown to over 90,000 customers making the switch. Fromuth hopes that the program proves to be just as successful in the Ocean State.
Resident Power Provides Cheaper, Greener Electricity and Prompt Customer Service
Manchester, NH (PRWEB) August 23, 2013
With suppliers purchasing off of the ISO New England mix, sources such as wind, hydro, solar, and natural gas have become much more common and cheaper than the coal fired plants belonging to PSNH. For residential consumers, the difference between $0.0862/kWh and $0.0749/kWh may not be much, but it adds up quickly over time.
For many New Hampshire residents, cheaper electricity is becoming a common commodity to shop for. With several suppliers being in the market, consumers are being left relying on more than just rates to decide who to sign up with. Many companies have resorted to offering new enrollment incentives such as gift cards and referral programs.
However, for some, it’s more than just what you’ll get upfront that can make a decision on which company to switch to. Bart Fromuth, Resident Power’s Managing Director, stated that “Being able to call an in state office, and speak to the same service representative really does make a difference to the customer”. In addition to emails, letters, and phone calls, Resident Power has been the first and only electricity provider to introduce an online chat. The online chat allows current and potential customers to directly communicate with a service representative without having to wait for an email response or having to place a phone call.
In many cases, customers have called Resident Power expecting to be placed on hold or to have to go through an automated system, but that is not the case with Resident Power. With the many possible ways to communicate with Resident Power, customers have been amazed when they can call and speak with a knowledgeable customer service representative almost immediately. Megan McLaughlin, a Customer Service Representative, explained that [quote style=”boxed”]“being the Home Town Team, we enjoy having the ability to make a personal connection with the customer. We’re not just a faceless company; we work and live here in New Hampshire.”[/quote]
Resident Power was the first to offer competitive electric choice in New Hampshire and has been serving customers since March of 2011. It celebrated its second birthday earlier this spring and is now able to offer rates to both PSNH and the New Hampshire Electric Co-op customer base.
Resident Power is a family owned business and is part of the Freedom Logistics family of energy companies. Resident Power is the official electricity partner of the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire, and the state’s largest residential electricity aggregator.
**Authors Note- All rates noted in article are past offers and do not apply to current conditions- **
Resident Power Celebrates its Second Birthday Providing New Hampshire Residents Cheap Electricity Rates
Manchester, NH | April 12, 2013
April 1st marked the second year of Resident Power’s involvement in the New Hampshire residential electric marketplace. In the Spring of 2011 Resident Power burst onto the New Hampshire scene offering residents and small businesses their first ever alternative to PSNH and the other utilities.
Managing Director, Bart Fromuth, recalls Resident Power’s very first customer. “We were on our way to the New Hampshire Home Show to unveil the new start up and the folks in the office down the hall from us, asked if they could sign up. I’ll never forget it since they were our very first customer. I still have the enrollment form in a display case next to my desk.”
Today, Resident Power has over 15,000 customers across the Granite State and continues to grow. New Hampshire has recently seen a significant influx of competition in reaction to the state’s largest utility charging one of the highest electricity rates in New England. “We might not be the only game in town anymore, but we were the first, we are the cheapest and we are the only New Hampshire based provider,” said Fromuth.
Resident Power credits much of its first two years of success to their aggregation model. As an aggregator, Resident Power has the choice to find the best options available for consumers, and believes this will be the key to their continued success for the years to come.
Resident Power projects that by their third birthday they will have grown to over 30,000 customers and expanded their services to include other energy products such as wood pellets and potentially natural gas. “It’s an exciting time to be in the energy business and we want to offer as many services to our customers as possible.”
Resident Power is a registered aggregator with the New Hampshire PUC. Resident Power specializes in providing low cost aggregation services to residential and small commercial customers throughout New Hampshire.