Storage Season is here!
The natural gas you have stored starting April 1st running through October 31st will begin to be added into your monthly natural gas usage from November 1st through March 31st.
You have probably noticed your summer bills were a little higher than normal, this is because Realgy Energy Services has been storing 20% of your natural gas annual usage at the lower summer rates, to be used during the winter months when the demand and more importantly the pricing for natural gas historically increase.
You may be asking do I have natural gas in storage, and if so how much?
If you are a customer of Realgy Energy Services and you live in Indiana or Illinois and are services by one of the following Utilities: Nicor, Nipsco, North Shore and Peoples Gas.
You most likely have natural gas in storage.
To find out how much natural gas you have in storage you can either:
Log into your account and view your account summary
Call one of our customer services representatives at (877) 300 6747
Enjoy the saving that the Realgy Energy Services Storage Program provides and have a wonderful toasty warm winter!
Realgy Energy Services has been approved to serve Illinois electric and natural gas commercial and residential markets
At the request of our current Electric and Natural Gas customers Realgy has sought and received approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission to expand our services in the Illinois energy markets.
“This is the next logical step in Realgy’s plan to expand in the Illinois energy market and is the perfect complement to our existing gas services in the Nicor, Peoples, and North Shore markets,” stated Michael Vrtis, President of Realgy.
The Realgy Energy Services Illinois electric service area now includes both commercial and residential customers in Commonwealth Edison, Ameren Illinois, MidAmerican Energy and Mt. Carmel Public Utility. Realgy was previously only approved to serve commercial Commonwealth Edison customers.
The Illinois natural gas service area now includes both commercial and residential customers in Nicor, Peoples Gas, and North Shore. Realgy was previously only approved to serve commercial Nicor, Peoples Gas, and North Shore customers.
If you would like to enroll a residential or commercial account in any of these service areas, contact a Realgy Energy Services Energy Broker, at (877)-300 -6747 X 32 and have your bills ready.
For the full press release please visit the Realgy Energy Services Blog Press Release: Realgy Energy Services Now Offering Electricity Services to all Illinois Customers and Press Release: Realgy Energy Services Now Offering Natural Gas Services to all Illinois Customers
10 Reasons why you should not Budget Bill
Budget billing is a payment plan with your utility company to even out your monthly bills throughout the year. Although it sounds like a great idea, there are some disadvantages.
- Administrative fees – Some plans charge administrative fees which add to the total cost of your monthly bill.
- Fuel assistance – Low income customers who would normally qualify for fuel assistance to help with energy bills may not qualify if they use a budget billing plan.
- Balance due – If your energy bills for the year exceed your monthly payments, you will be required to pay the balance due. This defeats the purpose of budget billing and creates a real hardship for some customers on fixed incomes.
- May not be eligible – All budget billing plans are different but some may require a minimum 12 month billing history with the current utility company. If you recently moved to the area or have a bad credit history, you may not qualify.
- Strict payment rules – There is little patience for delinquent payments under most budget billing plans. Paying your bill late may result in being disqualified from the budget billing plan or having your power shut off.
- Quarterly adjustments – Some utility companies will adjust the monthly budget billing amount on a quarterly basis, so if you were planning your budget on a set amount for the full year be wary, it may change.
- May not get refunded – The hope is that if your payments exceed the amount of power used throughout the year that you will get a nice refund. Depending on your contract, that may not be the case.
- Moving – Depending on the timing and terms of your contract, there could be complications and extra fees if you plan on moving.
- Complicated contracts – Make sure you read the contract very carefully and understand all the terms and conditions.
- No Savings – While budget billing will even out your monthly bills you will still end up paying the same rate for your energy use as you would have if you were not signed up for budget billing.
The only way to truly lower your utility bills would be by enrolling with a Registered Energy Supplier like Realgy Energy Services. Check out Realgy Energy Services rates for June 2012 and see how much you could be saving www.realgyenergyservices.com