Electricity

Is your Utility, that regulated monopoly that delivers your energy (natural gas, electricity, even water), ready to continue to evolve.

In many states, the local Utility has adjusted to allowing customer to choose their energy provider. In these state; the Utility continues to provide the distribution of the energy while the energy marketer provides the power to the Utility.

Consider if you install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels you are generating electric power (small scale power plant). Multiply a single PV decision by thousand then millions of people installing PV. The power generated by these PV system reduces the daytime energy needed to be distributed by the Utility (reducing their revenues). However what happens if you add a storage battery to each PV site?

The answer could upend the current Utility and energy marketing model. As the storage battery allows the user to decide when to use the power and when to charge the battery. The user could allow the Utility or energy marketer to manage this choice. The result; the user or customer has a lower bill.

PV with battery storage has been around a long time. However, current and forecasted advancements in the technology has made their adoption (due to cost advantages) more likely.

The future Utility, energy marketer and customer relationships will continue to unfold. Hopefully, the regulators allow the markets to find their equilibrium.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM Index, Fixed and PriceAssurance^TM.

Additional Information:

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/how-storage-can-help-solve-the-distributed-energy-death-spiral/421160/

Utilities are monopolies that regulators review to ensure they are spending more to provide the essential service and not collecting more than is needed to do so. 

COMED, Chicago’s electric monopoly, wants more money and is proposing a new way to collect it from home owners.

Currently, you pay based on how much energy you use in any given bill period. 

However, COMED wants you to pay that PLUS what’s called demand based pricing.

Demand based rates have been a component for industry for a long time. When industry start and stops large machines it can draw a lot of power all at once. This type of load can be hard for a utility to manage across many, many industries.

However, homeowners do not start large machines. We start TVs and AC units. Nothing that a large utility cannot handle. So why charge for demand? Because they want additional revenue because we are using less electricity as lighting and homes become more efficient.

Regulators should say No. Demand rates will reduce incentive to save money on energy usage for residential users.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM Index, Fixed and PriceAssurance^TM.

Additional Information:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/05/17/bill-would-drastically-change-way-comed-charges-customers/

Déjà vu all over again. Another manufacturer has lied about its emission and tried to conceal and it’s not Volkswagen.

A first-ever criminal charges brought by the Federal Energy Regularity Commission (FERC) against Berkshire Power.

Berkshire Power operates power plants and manufacturers electricity. In the course of their operation, they have to file with FERC emission data. They knowingly submitted information they knew to be false in order to gain more favorable dispatch (electric production).

FERC alerted the Environmental Protection Agency and state authorities to tipping them off these power plant emission’s looked wrong.

Knowingly submitting false emission data violated the Clean Act Air. Due to their reported “lower emissions” these power plants were dispatch more often which violated the

Federal Power Act (FPA). Essentially the FPA ensure fair trade which relies on accurate data.

Realgy supports the enforcement of both the Clean Air Act and the FPA as ensure a free and fair market.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM and Index, Fixed pricing.

Additional Information:

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/massachusetts-power-providers-pay-85m-in-fines-for-emissions-scheme/416728/

So what does it look like to build a high voltage transmission network (think those large metal structures and wires you see near the highways) in the US vs. China?

In China, it takes the Government declaring it to be built. The Government then acquires the land and hires the contractors.

In the US, private developers or utilities have a longer process.  First, they must gain approval by each state (sometimes each county) along with the Federal Government and each landowner.  Then raise the money necessary to design and build it. Needless to say, China can move faster in constructing such infrastructure.

Both countries are in the process of constructing transmission networks connecting the areas where high wind and solar production are possible to the cities/factories where that power is needed. This is an enormous undertaking by both countries.

The only way that either country can reduce its dependence on fossil fuel generated electricity is first to construct transmission towers to bring the solar/wind generated energy to where it is needed.

China’s approach might be quicker but it comes at a cost of fair markets, environmental consideration and public vs. private economies.

Both countries will pursue renewable energy development and the global environment should benefit by reducing greenhouse gases. The pace of the change will be interesting to watch.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM and Index, Fixed pricing.

Additional Information:

http://www.vox.com/2016/3/30/11332900/china-long-distance-transmission

As previously discussed, private industry is pursuing the development of renewable power and the transmission of that power to where it can be used.

They have gained a formidable ally.

The US Government.

Because the transmission line crosses state boundaries, it can be reviewed and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Recently, they reviewed and approved 1 of 4 transmission projects under development: the Plains & Eastern. This approval means it supersedes state approval process and allows the project to proceed.

Without allowing for transmission lines, the power remains locked in the Midwest where the wind is ideal for wind turbines to generate electricity. The transmission lines being proposed will bring that wind generated electricity to population centers; where it will displace coal and natural gas generation.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM and Index, Fixed pricing.

Additional Information:

http://realgyenergyservices.com/state-sen-kyle-mccarter-opposes-wind-energy-project/

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-dollar25-billion-us-transmission-line-that-no-state-can-stop/ar-BBqVH8Y

New York’s utility ConEd was ordered by their public service commission (PSC) to deploy smart meters throughout its service area. By doing so, the NY PSC follows Illinois in a wide area deployment. However, that is where the similarities end.

In Illinois, ComEd lobbied the legislators and received authority to install meters throughout their territory.

In New York, their utility commission received and approved a ConEd proposal that substantiated the benefits and the costs for installing the meters.

In New York, costs overrun will be borne by the utility not the rate payer like in Illinois.

In New York, if the customer doesn’t get the promised benefits and cost savings the utility commission can deny the cost recovery (price increase to the customer) not so in Illinois.

A public utility commission is vital where a monopoly exists to oversee that expenditures result in benefits to customers. In Illinois, utility lobbyist were able to skirt this protection.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM and Index, Fixed pricing.

Additional Information:

http://www.energychoicematters.com/stories/20160318d.html

When hell freezes over, well actually this year!

Over the last 10 years, the United States will have moved from generating over 60% of its electricity from coal and about 2% from natural gas to natural gas and coal suppling about 33% each.

What caused this shift, the drivers include:

1. Costs
   1. Coal is increasing
      1. Converting coal to electricity is increase (due to emission controls)
   2. Natural gas is decreasing
      1. Converting natural gas to electricity is cheaper than coal
2. Meeting environmental emissions; natural gas produces much less carbon emissions and none of the mercury or metals of coal
3. Cost of mining coal; mountain top mining has been nearly eliminated requiring more expensive underground mining
4. Abundance of natural gas; proven reserve in the US have grown by 400%

What may be lost in this process is over reliance on a single fuel supply. When the next polar vortex hits it will expose the fact that not only is our electric generation tied to natural gas but so is the majority of our heating.

And what really hasn’t increased in these past 15 years; pipelines into our major population centers. The majority of our urban areas still are served by natural gas pipelines that will be fully committed, without capacity for supplying more. So the law of supply and demand will be balanced; and costs will rise and rise dramatically.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings^TM, ManagedPrice^TM, ManagedGreen^TM and Index, Fixed pricing.

Additional Information:

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/natural-gas-to-surpass-coal-for-electricity-20154

The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) action:

The New York PSC has ordered that ESCOs servicing mass market electric and natural gas customers on month-to-month variable rate products must return these customers to default service or “enroll” the customers onto a compliant product under the PSC’s “full stop” of the retail market.

Mass market customers are defined in the order as including residential and small non-residential customers. Small non-residential customers are defined as either a non-demand metered electric customer or a non-residential gas customer with annual gas consumption that does not exceed 750 dekatherms per year or the equivalent.

ESCOs shall only enroll new mass market customers or renew existing mass market customers in gas or electric service if at least one of the following two conditions is met: (1) enrollment where the contract guarantees that the customer will pay no more than were the customer a full-service customer of the utility; or (2) enrollment based on a contract for an electricity product derived from at least 30% renewable sources.”

Energy marketer’s response:

The Commission’s actions today were partly in response to the marketing practices of a few ESCOs. Consumer protection is a key objective for all market participants, including RESA members. The Commission has promulgated myriad rules governing market conduct that can be effectively used to address abusive marketing practices. Rather than exercise its existing authority to penalize rule violations, the Commission instead is seeking to shut down retail competition for all ESCOs, including the majority of suppliers who diligently follow the rules. This action is akin to shutting down the highway in order to stop a few drivers from speeding.

The effect:
The New York PSC has essentially defined what results a business’s product must deliver. Energy marketers must deliver electric/natural gas that beats the utility on price or provide renewable power (something the PSC wants).

So what’s changed?
1. This is not a market place that will allow for customer choice balanced with consumer protection.
2. The PSC has defined the parameters that must be met, therefore defined what can be offered to customers.
3. This may protect consumers from paying above the utility rates (which Realgy fully supports), however, it is a very heavy regulatory action.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM and Index, Fixed pricing.
Additional Information:

http://www.energychoicematters.com/stories/20160224a.html