In a previous article entitled “How to Green Your Electricity Supply,” I wrote about the benefits of changing your electricity supplier from Eversource or your current Utility to a green electricity supplier. Well, one of our congregants took me up on it.
He reported that he signed up for 100% green energy with ENH on a 6 month contract at the price of 12.39¢ per kWh. Previously, he was paying Eversource 20.221¢ per kWh. At an average usage of 500 kWh/ month over six months, that’s a saving of $232. Had he signed up for a 12 month contract with ENH at 14.59¢ he would have saved $338 over the year. (See caveats below.)
So here are some caveats with estimating future savings. When you sign a contract with a company like ENH, you are guaranteed the same price for the entire length of the contract. However, there is no guarantee what the price will be when it is time to renew the contract. It could be higher or lower. But history tells us that it will be lower than the Eversource rate. If it is not, you can simply change back to Eversource at the end of the current contract. There is no fee for changing suppliers.
Looking at the annual contract comparison, say you sign up starting in June. Your monthly rate per kWh with ENH will be fixed, in this example at 14.59¢ through May, 2024. However, we know that Eversource will switch to its winter rate on August 1, 2023. Last year the winter rate was 22.566¢ per kWh. A 2.32¢ jump from the summer rate. This year it will likely be different. It may be higher or lower.
So, yes, there is no certainty about whether energy prices are going to go up or down, but history tells us that Eversource has historically been the highest price electricity supplier in the northeast.
I remind you, we are only talking about the supply charge on your bill. The delivery charge is set by Eversource and will not change no matter who your supplier is. See “How to Green Your Electricity Supply,” elsewhere in this newsletter for a discussion of supply and delivery charges.
Also, there will be someone from the Social Responsibility Table at coffee hour who can explain this.