Deregulation and Electricity: More than Just A Headache?

May 30, 2006 1:52 PM

EnergyPurchaseFilter: What is the deal with non-regulated electric purchasing? Who's had experience with this, and was it all the [highly suspect] awesome hoopla that it's played to be by the companies/government? Bonus points if you live/have lived in New Hampshire, where I'm trying to figure out this whole mess.

Having grown up and lived in typical southern locals, I was baffled when I discovered that there is no "official" power company in Concord, NH - just a "distributor", and then multiple power suppliers.

I'm seriously confused by this. I'm moving to Concord in about 8 weeks, and I'm trying to get my ducks in a row about what utilities I need to get turned on (or transferred) in my new apartment. While everything else is straightforward, I just can't wrap my head around the limited information given on the websites I've found.

Just to let everyone know, I've found the Public Utilities commision website, along with the websites of some major providers. While giving me the basic information, they haven't imparted anything outside of the 'So You Have Choice Now. Isn't that neat?' realm.

Can someone tell me what's going on, and if it's a good thing that I have to track down how much I'm paying for electricity? It's never been something I've though was inefficent or overpriced, so perhaps this will be a good experience.

posted by plaidrabbit to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

It's a sort of new thing in New Hampshire, and they are ahead of the curve compared to most of the rest of the country, so that's why you haven't found much.

Choosing an electricity supplier is optional, so you don't have to think about it if you don't want to. Unitil (or NHEC, or whichever utility operates in your area) will buy electricity for you (like you are used to) if you don't choose a supplier.

Once you are ready to, you can contact a supplier, make the arrangements, and they will take care of the rest though your utility. You can choose based on lowest price, or generation method ("green" electricity is typically a bit more expensive), or whatever critea you choose.

I found a good overview of the system at NHEC's website (look under "Rates & Tariffs" for more pages).
posted by ewagoner at 2:20 PM on May 30, 2006

I believe that the distribution company in Concord is Unitil. They are who you would call to start service. Your rates can be found here. These are what is referred to as the "transition rate", or a rate that NH has negotiated for customers who do not sign with a compeitive supplier.

Though the market is deregulated, this effects commercial customers more than residential. In fact it doesn't look like there is much choice in the residential market since there isn't much "headroom" between the transition rate and what a competitive supplier would charge for residential service.
posted by SteveInMaine at 2:45 PM on May 30, 2006

Having multiple competitive energy supply companies is pretty much the norm in Europe - they're nothing to be afraid of. I've been trying to find you a website that compares suppliers on price/service, google suggests www.powerischoice.com for NH but I can't get it to open, contact the regulator (the PUC) and ask if they can recommend any organisations who might offer comparison data. My experience in the UK suggests that staying with what was the monopoly supply company is usually a more costly idea than the alternatives, however, don't just switch without accurate data, a high percentage of people who switch in the UK actually switch to more expensive suppliers.
posted by biffa at 2:01 AM on June 6, 2006