“full” regulation of brokers…
So, the all stop in New York for Customer Choice (http://realgyenergyservices.com/deregulation-of-a-small-part-of-a-highly-regulated-industry-just-collapsed/) is having ripples. One of the issues emerging is the role and cost of brokers. This may become a rallying cry as it allows marketers (who are already licensed, bonded and have “skin in the game”) to scapegoat brokers as the “bad actor”.
Realgy supports competitive agents. Realgy does not work with or support agents, brokers, consultants or aggregators that do not serve their client’s interest and do so in a honest and open manner. Sometimes, this means we do not serve a customer that is represented by such a broker/agent. Sometimes it requires us to cease doing business with a consultant or broker who puts their own interests ahead of the customer.
Realgy has seen where brokers can and do mislead customers. Realgy has seen where marketers can and do mislead customers.
Each state has oversight over marketers and has enforcement against fraud, abuse or misleading a customer. Realgy supports each state aligning the Customer Choice market to function as an open market and allow fair competition to set service and pricing.
Realgy will continue to provide competitive energy offers, through agents, brokers, consultants and directly to customers, to reduce costs and save as compared to the utility default service.
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:
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
This weeks’ EIA natural gas storage report. Working gas in storage was 2,479 Bcf as of Friday, March 4, 2016, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 57 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 911 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 727 Bcf above the five-year average of 1,752 Bcf. At 2,479 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.
Estimated Storage withdrawal between 55 Bcf and 59 Bcf
Vs
Actual 57 Bcf
Storage rocketing to end-of-season high Analysts are predicting yet another bearish withdrawal from gas in underground storage, which all but ensures stocks will peak at an alltime high when entering injection season later this month. A consensus of analysts surveyed by Platts expects the US Energy Information Administration will estimate a gas storage withdrawal of between 55 Bcf and 59 Bcf for the reporting week that ended March 4 A withdrawal within expectations would be substantially less than the 174-Bcf withdrawal reported at this time in 2015 and less than the 118-Bcf five-year average withdrawal, according to EIA data.
Realgy, LLC
We ARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE.
West Hartford, Connecticut, our corporate office home town, has recognized Realgy as it’s BEST of 2016 award for Professional Services.
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:
Realgy, LLC has been selected for the 2016 Best of West Hartford Awards for Professional Services. http://westhartford.carefuge.org/sttyndfc_REALGY-LLC
Best Regards,
West Hartford Business Recognition
Hemenway Turns on Solar Power
154 years young! Hemenway United Methodist Church turned on the first solar photovoltaic plant (PV Plant) in Evanston at a church. Another milestone reached in the rich history of the church.
The PV Plant is owned by Realgy which leases the church’s roof. Hemenway receives the energy from the PV Plant supplemented by any excess demand from Realgy. The arrangement reduces the Church’s utility bill as compared to COMED by about $1,250 / year. The PV Plant consists of about 50 panels which are not visible from the street. The PV Plant will produce about 18,250 kWh each year for the next 25 years. This replaces about 50 pickup trucks worth of coal generated electricity.
The PV Plant was installed by Eco Solar and developed by Terry Black.
Pastor Richard Mosley was a gracious host and is excited to plow the savings from the PV Plant back into the community.
Realgy is proud to continue our service of providing clean, renewable power in Illinois.
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.evanstonroundtable.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=11668&SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&S=1
Michigan solar industry set to increase 14% this year, long term not as clear.
Michigan solar is gaining, currently Michigan ranks 18th in the Country in terms of solar jobs. However, Michigan is in the top 10 states for good to great wind resources (steady strong winds). So, it would seem possible to have more jobs.
Most of the current solar growth has come from small projects developed and installed by smaller businesses.
With the change in Federal tax policy approved for 5 years; utilities and large entities can propose must larger projects. Michigan utilities have begun proposing investing in larger solar projects and want policy changes to favor them.
The policy changes mean eliminating net metering and allowing larger projects favorable treatment.
Michigan will be reviewing their energy policy and should strive to following successful states that favor local midsize and small projects over utility size projects. This means keeping net metering and expanding customer choice programs.
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://midwestenergynews.com/2016/02/23/advocates-say-policy-changes-could-stunt-michigans-solar-job-growth/
http://realgyenergyservices.com/go-michigan/
http://realgyenergyservices.com/michigan-energy-overhaul-wont-happen-in-2015/
Will Ameren Gas Customers get Customer Choice like the rest of Illinois?
Ameren Gas customers have NOT benefited from the $37 Billion dollars that Illinois customers have saved since Illinois Customer Choice began. http://realgyenergyservices.com/competition-work-tune-37-billion/
However the Illinois Commerce Commission could decide that soon enough.
Every other utility in Illinois has implemented Illinois Customer Choice EXCEPT for Ameren Gas customers. Why is that? In a word, cost.
Ameren Gas said it would cost too much. Given the savings that could result, isn’t it worth it!
So the ICC has ceased taking comments and will decide what to do next.
Three possible scenarios are thought possible:
- The proverbial; nothing.
- Order Ameren Gas to implement Illinois Customer Choice and allow its customers to have a choice from the utility default service
- Order a committee to study it further
Realgy support Illinois Customer Choice in that every gas customer should have a choice other than default service and share in the $37 billion in savings (and growing).
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:
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 2,584 Bcf as of Friday, February 19, 2016, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 117 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 615 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 577 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,007 Bcf. At 2,584 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.
EIA estimate 146 Bcf withdrawal
Vs
Actual 117 Bcf
A consensus of analysts surveyed by Platts expects the US Energy Information Administration will estimate a natural gas storage withdrawal of between 144 Bcf and 148 Bcf for the reporting week that ended February 19. The EIA plans to release its weekly storage report at 10:30 am EST (1530 GMT) Thursday. A withdrawal within expectations would be less than the 205 Bcf withdrawal reported at this time in 2015 and in line with the 144 Bcf five-year average withdrawal, according to EIA data. The wider range of analysts’ expectations for this week called for a withdrawal of 131 Bcf to 162 Bcf
Deregulation of a small part of a highly regulated industry … just collapsed
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:
Why are Illinois municipalities putting fees ahead of their residents?
If your electric bill is too high, you might want to call City Hall and opt OUT of their aggregation offer.
Municipal aggregation in Illinois allowed municipalities to enter into deals with energy marketers to serve as their residents power supplier replacing COMED or other competitive energy marketers. The concept was that municipal aggregation would lower costs; the reality was that municipalities saw it as a way of increasing tax payments. See previous article: http://realgyenergyservices.com/chicago-electric-bills-rise-18-june/
The result: under municipal aggregation residents have paid about 8% more than they would have under COMED!
That is: you paid more than the local Utility, however, the municipalities earned more in fees.
During the same time; Realgy customers paid about 5% LESS THAN COMED.
Competition works in energy like everything else. However, you must pick an energy supplier directly and not one that serves the municipality in collecting fees.
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:
“I am NOT a crook!”
If you recall President Nixon’s infamous quote…. I am reminded of it when WEC Energy denies any culpability in Peoples Gas ‘misinformation’ case.
As life goes in a circle, let’s recall the other adage of that time…follow the money, so lets.
In 2014 Illinois Commerce Commission approved $4,600,000,000 ($4.6 billion) for Peoples Gas to replace gas mains.
June 24, 2015 WEC Energy buys Peoples Gas for $9,100,000,000 ($9.1 billion)
July 7, 2015 Peoples Gas updates its estimate for gas main replacement to $8,200,000,000 ($8.2 billion)
So NO one in Peoples Gas was aware that the gas main replacement, the largest project Peoples has undertaking in some time, was costing X2 what it was approved to spend. Yet, about 2 weeks later they had detailed information of what those costs were and asked the ICC for approval to spend it.
The Attorney General’s Office is investigating Peoples Gas executives for what they knew and when they knew it……as I said the circle goes round and round.
Recall: Peoples as a regulated monopoly can only earn money when it spends on expenses approved by the ICC. If they are not approved by the ICC, Peoples gas runs the risk of having to have their investors pay for it.
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: