Why must you Visit Energy Price Comparison Sites?

Posted August 16, 2021

A random survey revealed that most people in the United States do not know the current rate of electricity they pay every month. This is not surprising as most people consider it as a necessity to be paid every month and do not bother to remain updated. The other reasons for not knowing the electricity rate by consumers are:

Most people do not consider knowing the electricity rates to be important or worth spending time on
Many electricity bills are quite complicated to read let alone understand. This makes knowing the electricity rate quite a task for any consumer

Notwithstanding the reasons, it is quite interesting that most Americans know about the price of gas but not their electricity rates. In the case of gas, most Americans visit a gas station once in a while and look at the price before paying. On the other hand, the automatic bill payment for electricity does not need them to look at their bills. In case you need to know about your current electricity rate and that offered by other utility providers, you may visit the energy price comparison sites.

Benefits from energy deregulation

Before understanding the merits of deregulation, let us first understand what regulation of the energy sector means? In many states across North America, energy prices are regulated. In other words, the cost of energy (electricity and natural gas) that is supplied to households and commercial establishments is controlled by a governing body. It is only a local utility company that can sell energy directly to the consumer. Since the price of energy is set by the governing body or the utility company, consumers do not have any say or choice but to pay the billed amount.

However, with energy deregulation, competing energy suppliers can enter the energy markets of respective states where deregulation is implemented. The suppliers can offer consumers a variety of options in power and gas service rates. Here, the energy rates are not controlled by a single entity but are driven by the market. Consumers get the opportunity and freedom to choose their energy supplier by leveraging services offered by the energy price comparison sites. As there are competing suppliers, the cost of energy goes down and consumers benefit from lower rates.

In energy deregulation, nothing much changes for the consumer except the supplier supplying energy at a lower rate. The utility company offering last mile connectivity of power or gas to the homes and business establishments of consumers continues to remain the same. It is only the power or gas supplier contributing to the distribution grid of an area changes. The consumer can choose the energy supplier who would supply power or gas to the local utility company. In some cases, the local utility company continues to bill the consumer while the latter may pay the supplier separately.

Does the service is affected?

Since the consumer continues to get the supply of power or gas from his or her local utility company, there is no change in the service regardless of who supplies. Yes, the consumer gets the same level of service at a better (read lower) rate. This invariably means savings for the consumer.

Conclusion

Energy deregulation has given consumers in many states in North America a choice to select their energy supplier. They can choose between variable or fixed rates depending on their suitability. By visiting the energy price comparison sites, consumers can choose the best rate for themselves and save on their monthly bills.