Electricity and natural gas checkup: Here's how to make sure you get the best rates
It’s time for another check-in about energy prices.
First, let's talk electricity.
In an unprecedented move a few days ago, NOPEC, the area’s largest energy aggregator (bulk buyer) for communities, announced it was moving 550,000 customers back to FirstEnergy utilities.
Utility help:Check out Betty Lin-Fisher's guide
NOPEC, or the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, is a consortium with nearly 1 million gas and electricity customers in 242 communities, including parts of Summit, Portage, Medina and Stark counties.
NOPEC has some communities that are both natural gas and electric — many Portage County communities and a few in Medina and Summit — but a large majority in Summit are gas-only communities. The village of Richfield and some northern Summit communities, including Twinsburg and Sagamore Hills, have NOPEC electricity.
To see if you're in NOPEC, the easiest thing to do is to check its community map at www.nopec.org/communities/community-map or contact your local community.
NOPEC said it notified the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio of its intention to voluntarily return 550,000 of its electricity customers who are on what’s called the Standard Program Price, or its default price, back to their local utility. In our area that would be Ohio Edison. Customers would get the utility default price, often called the “price to compare."
The reason is that while wholesale natural gas prices have been skyrocketing since last fall, electricity prices didn’t do the same until recently, Dave Jankowski, chief marketing and communications officer for NOPEC, told me during an interview. NOPEC’s default price, which customers are automatically included on unless they had chosen the variable rate or longer-term fixed rate, often changed monthly or every few months, he said.
Why is advice different for electric rates and gas rates?
NOPEC's and other retailers' current electric rates are higher than the utility's "price to compare" because the utility's rate was determined largely in auctions conducted before April, when energy prices were considerably lower, NOPEC said.
This is where it is confusing for us, because my advice for natural gas is to stay away from the utility’s default since it is based on current wholesale rates.
The advice now for electricity is to go with the utility’s default, because the electricity default price is determined through several auctions held at different times that buy ahead and lock in a price. The current default price is largely based on pricing during auctions that happened before the run-up.
NOPEC’s current Standard Program Price would have been almost double Ohio Edison’s “price to compare,” which is currently at 6.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
“As a consumer-focused non-profit, NOPEC is always operating and advocating for what’s best for our communities and customers,” Chuck Keiper, NOPEC’s executive director, said in a press release. “When we looked at the price forecasts, it became increasingly apparent that the Price to Compare rate would be a better place for our customers to be through Winter 2023 to save significant money during these economically challenging times.”
Customers could make their own choice to come off the NOPEC rate, but Keiper said the organization decided “it was in all our consumers’ best interest” to make the wholesale change and temporarily switch its customers.
Current NOPEC customers on the Standard Program Price do not need to do anything and will automatically be returned to their utility within one to two billing cycles, depending on the billing date. There is no fee to leave the aggregation early.
NOPEC customers who are on the variable price, which is 6% off the “price to compare,” and customers who were on one of NOPEC’s 12- or 24-month contracts will remain, though they can also choose to leave at no charge, said Jankowski. Contract rates vary depending on when a customer locked in.
NOPEC is expecting electricity prices to stabilize by next spring and that its prices will be in line with the utility’s default pricing, so the aggregation will send new opt-out enrollments at that time. That means customers in those communities will automatically be enrolled in the electric plan unless they opt out.
If you have questions, NOPEC’s number is 855-667-3201.
What if I'm not in a NOPEC community?
If you're not in a NOPEC community, you should still do a checkup to see if you're getting the best price possible for electricity. You can check your bill to see who your current supplier is or contact your local community to see if you are in an aggregation. Many communities in our area are on aggregation deals with Energy Harbor, the former FirstEnergy Solutions. Those contract rates used to be a certain percentage off the utility’s “price to compare,” but they are now all on fixed rates. If your community was locked in before this spring/summer run-up, it’s possible you are on a better rate than the “price to compare,” so you should stick with it or see if you can get into it.
Here are a few of the area Energy Harbor contracts: Akron and Barberton both are on a fixed rate of 4.97 cents/kWh through May 2025; Green is 4.91 cents/kWh through May 2024; and Tallmadge is 4.96 cents/kWh through May 2024. Summit County townships (with the exception of Sagamore Hills, which is in the NOPEC aggregation) are in an Energy Harbor contract for 4.67 cents/kWh through May 2024.
You can call Energy Harbor to find out more: 888-254-6359. If your community is not with Energy Harbor, call your local community or search online.
The bottom line is that if your community aggregation rate is below the current “price to compare” of 6.7 cents/kWh, stick with your current contract. Similarly, if you locked in to a fixed-rate contract on your own that beats the price to compare, stay where you are.
I looked at the PUCO’s Apples to Apples chart, www.energychoice.ohio.gov, for electricity prices and there is one that is close to the utility “price to compare,” but it is laced with monthly fees and hefty cancellation fees. Other rates are 8 cents/kWh and above, so I would not lock in to a public fixed rate and I would go back to Ohio Edison as the default, which just means you cancel your current contract if you have another provider listed on your bill.
OK, so what about gas?
Natural gas prices have been all over the place since last summer. The prices have mostly been way up as the energy markets have reacted to typical gas and storage issues but had the added nervousness from world events.
Last fall, I suggested readers find a low fixed rate — either on their own or through their community aggregation or bulk-buying group — and get off the Dominion Standard Choice Offer, or SCO. The SCO is the monthly rate based on wholesale rates plus a state-approved formula. For years, we enjoyed great prices on the SCO when prices were close to wholesale rates.
The SCO has been all over the map since last fall, as low as $4.17 in January and $9.08 in June. It is $8.87/mcf as of Aug. 11 bills.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, but my advice remains the same to try to find the best rate.
If you locked in to a good fixed rate in fall 2021 before the run-up in prices and you're still on that rate for a while, you are in good shape. I was able to get an excellent $2.49/mcf rate with Ohio Electric & Gas for 11 months in October 2021 with a $50 cancellation fee. My rate is ending next month and my community aggregation rate is not one I want to join, so a few days ago I locked in to the cheapest fixed rate with no cancellation fee on the PUCO's Apples to Apples chart or at www.energychoice.ohio.gov. That was Direct Energy with a $6.29/mcf rate with no cancellation fee for 32 months. You can call 877-698-7551 or go to www.directenergy.com for that rate. Rates can change quickly, so if that’s not available, find a decent rate with no cancellation fee. I probably won’t stay on that for 32 months, but it’s a decent rate for now.
If you live or have a small business in the city of Akron, the aggregation with Constellation Energy moved to its $4.06 fixed rate in May, and that lasts through November 2024. That is a very good price, given where we are now. Last fall, I was not in favor of the Akron rate since it was going to mirror the higher SCO rates through the winter months when people use the most gas, though I said the fixed rate was decent. Akron residents and small-business owners are allowed to opt in. Call Constellation at 833-500-2738. It will take one to two billing cycles to switch over.
If you are still on the SCO or a price that is based on the SCO, see if your community has an aggregation rate that's better and see if you can get in. There are some communities that locked in prices that were only OK a few years ago, but they locked in for several years and that price looks good now. (Stow's rate is $2.84/mcf fixed through 2024.) See if they will let you in; each has different rules. I would not be on the SCO now.
If you live in a NOPEC gas community, which is a large portion of the Akron region, NOPEC's default is called its program rate. That is currently at $7.80/mcf. Its variable is 3 cents below the SCO (too high) and its fixed rates are $8.65 for 12 months and $7.75 for 24 months. None of those prices are great, so I would probably lock in to the $6.29/mcf Direct Energy rate and watch to see if NOPEC rates come down. There is no fee to leave NOPEC. Also, NOPEC gas customers are not being returned to the utility; only the default electricity customers are.
Want to know more?
I have an online Utility Guide, which has a lot of nitty-gritty information that I can’t cover here in this column or that I've covered before, such as details about budget billing and more background information. I try to update the guide when I can. It can be found at www.tinyurl.com/UtilityGuide
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The latest advice on the best natural gas and electricity rates
