Home-Wizard.com Guide to Energy Rate Maintenance including free automatic reminders

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Interactive Home Maintenance Guide

To ensure you are getting the best rates for your home's energy, it is important that your home maintenance program include timely review of your energy prices and rate schedules.

A number of states have been undergoing deregulation of their gas and electric utilities. As such, this is creating more opportunities for energy customers to save money by shopping around to purchase their natural gas or electricity from a supplier other than their local utility. The local utility, however, would still be responsible for delivering the natural gas or electricity that would be purchased from a non-regulated third-party supplier. For more information about electricity deregulation in your state see: www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/chg_str/tab5rev.html See also: Energy Audits, Telephone Rates, Insurance Rates, Mortgage Rates, Garbage Rates, Utility Meter Verification and Tax Assessment.

Shown below are the recommended routine maintenance tasks for your energy rates.

Learn to enjoy managing your home with our free Newsletter or our free Automatic Maintenance Reminders. We can also show you the Recommended Maintenance Schedules for your entire home.


		Maintenance Task: Shop around for better energy rates and service

		How do you shop around for better energy rates and service?
		This task involves exploring opportunities for better prices and service for your energy needs: Electricity Natural gas Heating oil Propane To get started, make a list of potential suppliers of energy that you use in your home. To develop this list, look in your local yellow pages, contact your town or city, talk to neighbors, check on the Internet, etc. For both electricity and gas, find out if your rates are lower at different times of the day. If so, you can schedule to use your high energy-using appliances (dishwasher, shower, clothes dryer, etc) at times of the day that will cost you less. If your state has begun deregulation of electricity or natural gas, you may be able to purchase your energy from a non-regulated third-party supplier with lower prices. Check with your state energy commission to determine if your state has begun deregulation and if this is an option. When you consider different suppliers, your evaluation of suppliers should consider price, reliability and service.

		Why is it important to shop around for better energy rates and service?
		With competition, you may be able to find better prices and better services for your energy commodities.

		How often should you shop around for better energy rates and service?
		You should evaluate your energy supply costs annually (March).

		How does Home-Wizard rate the costs and benefits for this task?
		The cost of this task is relatively high from an investment in time standpoint. It could take several hours to do the appropriate research and analysis.

		The benefits of this task will depend on how energy competition has developed in your particular state.

		Overall Home-Wizard benefit-versus-cost rating (one 'hat' = low and four 'hats' = high):

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS from "Ask-the-Wizard":

QUESTION from "jhielscher":

PG&E California alternative?

ANSWER:

Dear jhielscher:

I assume that by your posting of "PG&E California alternative?", that you are wondering if you can purchase electricity supplies from someone other that PG&E for your home.

The answer is unfortunately no. Because of flaws in the deregulation process, the California Public Utilities Commission suspended direct access in September 2001.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
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QUESTION from "vanessen":

Hi there, we just bought a house with a propane in ground tank. The previous provider wants us to sign a 5 year contract with a min. of $ 1000 per year. He says that the tank belongs to them.
Coming from California, we are quite clueless regarding propane and providers. Can we shop around? Does that mean that the company can dig up the tank?

ANSWER:

Dear vanessen:

Yes, some propane providers who will want to own the propane tank at your house (for example Suburban Propane), whereas others such as Eastern Propane will allow you to own the tank yourselves.

The advantage of you owning the tank yourself is that you will be able to shop around for the best propane prices and service. Since you own the tank, you can choose whichever supplier you want (although some providers may not want to serve you if they don't own the tank themselves).

On the other hand, if the propane company owns the tank at your house, then they will likely not let you purchase propane supplies from anyone else. And as a result, you won't have the benefits of competition.

But what you will have to decide is whether the initial cost of having to purchase a propane tank (either the one currently in the ground, if the existing provider will let you, or a new one) is worth the benefits of future competition. Note that even if the current provider will sell you the one in the ground, you will need to check whether it is in good condition, and whether new providers will allow you to use it for their supplies.

The best thing to do is to shop around and talk to other providers to see what they are willing to do.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
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