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In This Section
Uninsured gain cheaper blood tests
Investors in YRC reluctant to swap
FTC accuses Intel of stifling competition in chips
Bailout banks keep tax breaks as they repay loans
YRC extends swap deadline again because of investor resistance
November housing construction up 8.9 percent
Current account trade deficit widens in third quarter
Most Read Stories
Cattle truck overturns on Akron highway
Robbers split cash with victim
Woman lay dead in bed for months despite visits
Mom sentenced for putting son in boiling water
Drunken driver who killed Akron officer cited for second time
Second-grader sent home for crucifix drawing
DNA clears inmate after 28 years
Holmgren visits with Browns to discuss job
Blogs:
Pets:
Faith the dog inspires with two legs
The Heldenfiles:
Kurt Russell's "Elvis" to DVD
Patrick McManamon:
A quick note on Mike Holmgren
Akron Zips:
Porter staying put
Tribe Matters:
Tribe re-signs Reyes, Miller
Cleveland Browns:
Todd Haley, Mike Vrabel audio clips
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – December 16
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. New Jersey Nets
Buckeye Blogging:
Bucks Meet Ducks for Rose Bowl Crown
Varsity Letters:
Mentor voted in to replace Nordonia in NOC
All Da King's Men:
Spend This, You *!!%$##!ers
Blog of Mass Destruction:
No Change At All
Akron Law Café:
New Differences in Federal and State Court Time Computation May Be Trap for Unwary
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Car Chase:
The AM Gizmo—aPerfect Gift for Collector Car Drivers
Let's Talk Real Estate:
All I want for Christmas…..
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jane is looking for a place for a weekend getaway that would allow a small dog.
Sound Check:
On the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Genetic Discrimination
Akron Gamer:
Trailer: 'UFC 2010 Undisputed'
Published on Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
Here's more information about new electricity rates:
• Customers in Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) communities: This includes mostly northern Summit County and a large number of Portage County communities.
Starting this week, you should get an ''opt-out'' letter detailing the NOPEC offer. If you want to be included, don't do anything. If you want to opt out and choose another provider or stay with Ohio Edison, you need to return the form.
There are two new things with regards to the NOPEC offer since I wrote about it two weeks ago. Because of some questions brought up by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio regarding rules on electricity offers, which require at least a 12-month contract, NOPEC Executive Director Leigh Herington earlier this week locked in a rate for another six months to the contract. It was originally to start in August and go through June of next year.
NOPEC's offer with supplier Gexa is a 22-month offer, but the group had only locked in a rate for the first 11 months. Now the contract lasts through 2010. The contract offers an estimated savings of 12 percent off the generation portion of your bill from August through the end of this year, 8 percent for the first six months of 2010 and 2 percent for the remainder of 2010.
Herington said the rate for the last six months of 2010 was not as good as he'd hoped to get, but he needed to lock in another six months. Herington said there might be other offers ''that are very comparable'' to NOPEC's offer. ''We're happy with all of them. It's an opportunity for the residents of Northeast Ohio.''
A bit of good news, as supplier Gexa has reduced the cancellation fee for leaving NOPEC from $100 to $25.
For those comparing the NOPEC offer to the public offer mailed to many of you by First-Energy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of Ohio Edison's parent company, there is a new difference between the two.
They are now essentially for the same period of time — FES' offer starts in July with a guaranteed 10 percent savings through December instead of August and 5 percent off for 2010. The overall difference between the two plans is 5 cents in savings over the course of the contract for an average residential customer using 750 kilowatt hours (kWh) monthly.
The total savings for the FES offer is $58.86 with a $25 cancellation fee and the total savings for NOPEC is $58.91 with a $25 cancellation fee.
The FES offer was available to the first 10,000 customers who signed up, but the company has expanded it to take another 10,000 customers.
Officials from both companies are saying they believe their offer saves people the most money and that the competitor's offer might not be as good. FES officials say NOPEC's offer is fixed and not a guaranteed savings (NOPEC's numbers are estimated savings) and FES believes some customers might pay more. NOPEC officials say the FES offer would allow the company to pass along some transmission-related increases, if they were to occur, and their offer does not include that.
Customers will have to make up their own minds about this one. Since everyone's usage and bills are different, the savings could vary between the two offers. The bottom line is the offers are not hundreds of dollars in savings apart.
• Wadsworth municipal electric customers: Last week, I reported on average residential customer bills for municipal electric customers compared to Ohio Edison. For the most part, municipal customers have paid lower rates than Ohio Edison customers. But with Ohio Edison's recent rate reductions, the gap has gotten a little smaller.
The original number I reported for Wadsworth, which was $74.03 a month for an average customer using 750 kWh, should actually be $86.
Wadsworth Service Director Chris Easton said an employee erroneously left out a portion of the bill.
So that puts Wadsworth slightly above Ohio Edison's average bill of $84.87. Cuyahoga Falls' bill is $63.22; Hudson's is $82.56.
• If you missed my recent columns about electricity rates: You'll want to read columns from June 21 and June 28 or you can find all of my energy-related stories at http://www.ohio.com/energy.
/> — Betty Lin-Fisher
Here's more information about new electricity rates:
• Customers in Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) communities: This includes mostly northern Summit County and a large number of Portage County communities.
Starting this week, you should get an ''opt-out'' letter detailing the NOPEC offer. If you want to be included, don't do anything. If you want to opt out and choose another provider or stay with Ohio Edison, you need to return the form.
There are two new things with regards to the NOPEC offer since I wrote about it two weeks ago. Because of some questions brought up by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio regarding rules on electricity offers, which require at least a 12-month contract, NOPEC Executive Director Leigh Herington earlier this week locked in a rate for another six months to the contract. It was originally to start in August and go through June of next year.
NOPEC's offer with supplier Gexa is a 22-month offer, but the group had only locked in a rate for the first 11 months. Now the contract lasts through 2010. The contract offers an estimated savings of 12 percent off the generation portion of your bill from August through the end of this year, 8 percent for the first six months of 2010 and 2 percent for the remainder of 2010.
Herington said the rate for the last six months of 2010 was not as good as he'd hoped to get, but he needed to lock in another six months. Herington said there might be other offers ''that are very comparable'' to NOPEC's offer. ''We're happy with all of them. It's an opportunity for the residents of Northeast Ohio.''
A bit of good news, as supplier Gexa has reduced the cancellation fee for leaving NOPEC from $100 to $25.
For those comparing the NOPEC offer to the public offer mailed to many of you by First-Energy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of Ohio Edison's parent company, there is a new difference between the two.
They are now essentially for the same period of time — FES' offer starts in July with a guaranteed 10 percent savings through December instead of August and 5 percent off for 2010. The overall difference between the two plans is 5 cents in savings over the course of the contract for an average residential customer using 750 kilowatt hours (kWh) monthly.
The total savings for the FES offer is $58.86 with a $25 cancellation fee and the total savings for NOPEC is $58.91 with a $25 cancellation fee.
The FES offer was available to the first 10,000 customers who signed up, but the company has expanded it to take another 10,000 customers.
Officials from both companies are saying they believe their offer saves people the most money and that the competitor's offer might not be as good. FES officials say NOPEC's offer is fixed and not a guaranteed savings (NOPEC's numbers are estimated savings) and FES believes some customers might pay more. NOPEC officials say the FES offer would allow the company to pass along some transmission-related increases, if they were to occur, and their offer does not include that.
Customers will have to make up their own minds about this one. Since everyone's usage and bills are different, the savings could vary between the two offers. The bottom line is the offers are not hundreds of dollars in savings apart.
• Wadsworth municipal electric customers: Last week, I reported on average residential customer bills for municipal electric customers compared to Ohio Edison. For the most part, municipal customers have paid lower rates than Ohio Edison customers. But with Ohio Edison's recent rate reductions, the gap has gotten a little smaller.
The original number I reported for Wadsworth, which was $74.03 a month for an average customer using 750 kWh, should actually be $86.
Wadsworth Service Director Chris Easton said an employee erroneously left out a portion of the bill.
So that puts Wadsworth slightly above Ohio Edison's average bill of $84.87. Cuyahoga Falls' bill is $63.22; Hudson's is $82.56.
• If you missed my recent columns about electricity rates: You'll want to read columns from June 21 and June 28 or you can find all of my energy-related stories at http://www.ohio.com/energy.
/> — Betty Lin-Fisher
