Working in the world of commercial electricity, we occasionally hear someone—sometimes a potential client, sometimes another energy broker—talking disparagingly about electricity providers. Retail Electric Providers (or REPs) are the companies that sell power, and both residential and business electricity consumers have mixed feelings about them. After all, energy is a major expense. When a bill comes, it’s the REP’s name that is stamped somewhere on the same page that says how much money you owe.
Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of bad information out there. A surprising number of consumers are under the impression that the above picture is more or less right. There are high prices out there. Everywhere.
The simple fact of the matter, however, is that this impression, while very understandable, is just wrong.
An article from the Houston Chronicle published a couple of weeks ago confirms this. John Fainter, president and CEO of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, reported that “retail electric prices in Texas have dropped steadily over the past few years even as the prices of other commodities, such as gasoline, crude oil and coal, have risen.” In fact, prices are lower now than they were ten years ago, before deregulation. Contrary to some business owners’ fears, commercial electricity rates have gone down, not up.
That said, we understand why some may feel the opposite is true. While business electricity prices have actually fallen, the number of options you have when you make your energy arrangements have gone from a few to dozens. REPs have done a wonderful job of harnessing the potential of deregulated power to make a wide variety of choices available to both residential and business electricity customers. As a result, in today’s commercial electricity market the challenge isn’t finding a low rate. They’re out there. No, the hard part is finding the rate that fits your organization.
Choose wisely, and you’ll see substantial savings. Choose poorly, and it’ll cost you.
The responsibility for finding a low rate rests, not on electricity providers, but on you. When it comes time to compare electricity rates and develop an energy strategy for your company, the important thing for you to know is that there are good, cost-saving options out there. You just have to find them, and that’s where Live Energy can help.
The team here at Live Energy specializes in working with organizations of all sizes helping business leaders lower their commercial electricity costs. How do we do that? We put our experience and our technology to work for our clients. We know the energy market. We know the REPs in your area. We will take the time to learn about your business—how you operate and what your goals are—and then use that information to find a business electricity rate that fits your company. In the last 10 years we’ve helped hundreds of clients lower their costs, and we can help you, too.
The good news is that high prices are not everywhere. There are low prices out there, too, but you have to know how to find them. We do. Give the Live Energy team a call today at 888-341-9155 to find out how we can help you.
