In Response to “Analysis: Arctic chill exposes weakness of U.S. natural gas system”
Written by Michael Vrtis President of Realgy Energy Services in response to the Reuters article Analysis: Arctic chill exposes weakness of U.S. natural gas system
As Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet said about the financial crisis; “You don’t know who’s naked until the tide goes out.”
Same goes for any extreme event; with this current arctic blast the need for heat has exposed how market forces and planning work in the natural gas market.
Nobody did without gas, but some had to pay more. The alternative is to build pipelines and storage to provide for gas to accommodate such very extreme weather (last time was over 20 years ago) and incur the cost of that infrastructure in higher transportation and delivery rates.
Realgy provides fixed pricing and our ManagedPriceTM and PriceWatchTM services to shield our customers from the sudden price risk of such events.
Supply and demand worked and the price is already moderating with the temperatures and everyone stayed warm that had gas; doesn’t sound like a very weak system to me; but certainly improvements are warranted in places.
Stay warm
Check out The Reuters article: Analysis: Arctic chill exposes weakness of U.S. natural gas system
In Response to Chicago can’t beat ComEd price. So raise it?
Written by Michael Vrtis President of Realgy Energy Services in response to Chicago can’t beat ComEd price. So raise it?
Realgy DOES NOT support changing how the Illinois Power Agency buys power, so that our prices can be more competitive.
We already are:
- Realgy has been below ComEd monthly pricing since January 2012, Twenty-one straight months in a row!
- Our average commercial customer has saved $3,741.41
- Our average residential customer has saved $90.02
We compete in serving our customers, not just with lower priced energy but smarter buying strategies.
This price question is a result of municipal aggregation, where cities like Chicago want to be able to raise money by adding a surcharge onto the electric rate customers pay, and still show savings compared to the utility!
Municipalities select an energy marketer as their preferred vendor and require they add a surcharge to their cost which they pay to the city. The surcharge provides no value to the customer or the energy marketer.
Perhaps instead of looking to raise everyone’s price of power they should just get out of the aggregation business or look to actually add value for their surcharge.
Check out Crain’s article: “Chicago can’t beat ComEd price. So raise it?”
Indiana Natural Gas Services
If you live or work in Indiana, your local gas utility offers a CHOICE program supported by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, in which you may voluntarily elect to have your natural gas provided by a supplier other than your local utility!
Realgy Energy Services serves natural gas customers in the Nipsco and Citizens Energy service areas of Indiana.
INDIANA NATURAL GAS CHOICE PROGRAMS:
- Nipsco: Choice
- Citizens Energy: Energy Select
Call today to find out how Realgy can save you money on your natural gas bill!
|
Illinois Natural Gas Services
If you live or work in Illinois, your local utility offers a CHOICE program supported by the Illinois Commerce Commission, in which you may voluntarily elect to have your natural gas or electricity provided by a supplier other than your local utility!
Realgy Energy Services serves natural gas and electric customers in the following utility markets of Illinois.
ILLINOIS NATURAL GAS CHOICE PROGRAMS:
- Nicor Gas: Customer Select
- North Shore Gas: Choices For You
- Peoples Gas: Choices For You
ILLINOIS ELECTRIC CHOICE PROGRAMS:
- Ameren: Electric Choice
- ComEd: Customer Choice
- MidAmerican: Customer Choice
Call today to find out how Realgy can save you money on your natural gas and electricity bills!
|
Michigan Natural Gas Services
If you live or work in Michigan, your local gas utility offers a CHOICE program supported by the Michigan Public Service Commission, in which you may voluntarily elect to have your natural gas provided by a supplier other than your local utility!
Realgy Energy Services serves natural gas customers in the Consumers, DTE, Michigan Gas Utility and SEMCO utility service areas of Michigan.
MICHIGAN NATURAL GAS CHOICE PROGRAMS:
- Consumers: Gas Choice
- DTE: Gas Choice
- Michigan Gas Utility: Michigan Gas Choice
- SEMCO Gas: Customer Choice
Call today to find out how Realgy can save you money on your natural gas bill!
|
Realgy Energy Services
Realgy Energy Services was founded in 1999 by individuals who worked for many years with large utilities, energy service companies and energy marketers. Within these organizations they saw bureaucracy, the limitation of systems, software and in some cases poor management that prevented individuals from doing their job. They were determined to be different, and still are.
Two Characteristics set us apart:
First, Realgy Energy Services has invested in information technology that enables us to use our knowledge.
Second, is our ability to develop, negotiate and implement energy purchasing strategies.