Guys, my company (Fluent Energy) actually manages the Energy Cooperative of New York and I provided Josh with this info. What’s nice is the fact that they are a not for profit, so they just pass their costs directly on to the consumer. They have been operating since 1997, and I have been involved with the whole energy business since 1996.
Every other energy service provider out there is a for-profit, with residential customers having high margins built in.
Once you sign up, you should receive a letter from the utility within 7-10 business days.
It might take a little while on the phone, but call and ask for a manager and see what your balance is (usage vs. Paid) and see how badly they are raping you… Balanced/budget billing is not a good idea.
I’ve been on balanced for 10 years and with the new increases I’ve wondered if they are on the up n’ up. Any other suggestions on what exact questions I should ask? I thought they were taking actual usage into consideration, not arbitrary figures. ???
it’s really annoying… you have to call all around to see who has the best rates or just guess blindly. It’s so hard to to an apples to apples comparison.
the cliffs are that you are better off with anybody other than your base provider and beyond that they are all pretty close (well maybe not the green choices)
Some dude knocked on my door the other day and wanted to “lock in” my gas for something like 1.20 per whatever unit they use, for 5 years, and I didn’t even get into the elect with him. I had to sign a contract with a $300 buyout, wtf, and I looked at my bills and hadn’t payed anywhere near that much for gas for a while, so I told him to gtfo…
If you wanted to do a little research about other marketer rates, it is very difficult to call them up to find out what they would have charged you. ECNY lists their monthly rates directly on their website, which as far as I know, no other marketer does. The reason they do this is simple, they are a not-for-profit, and have nothing to lose by listing their prices. They want to be as transparent as possible on their rates so consumers can make the best choice for themselves.
You can also go the NYS Public Service Commissions (NYS PSC) website and compare gas rates between marketers. ECNY is always either the lowest price, or in the top few.
it’s a false truth to claim that simply being a non-profit means a better price. non-profits are normally smaller and don’t have a good bargaining position.
How does this work if you have budget billing set up? Will I have to pay the balance to National Fuel before switching over, or does the balance transfer to the new company? Also, does company offer budget billing?