The Benefits of Energy Deregulation

The Benefits of Energy Deregulation

As regulators and electricity suppliers continue to sort out the nuances of deregulation, market forces and climate change combine to make one thing abundantly clear: The idea of a “normal” calendar season is no longer operative. Summer heat waves are longer and more frequent than ever and the last two winters were brutally cold.

So, with summer cooling bills upon us and jitters over what next winter's heating bills might look like, this seems to be a good time to consider the benefits of energy choice and compare traditional utilities with competitive energy suppliers.

Although the infamous polar vortex of 2014 and its high energy costs did not make a repeat appearance last winter, there's no way of knowing what the coming winter will bring.

Before the introduction of energy choice programs, customers had to buy energy from their local utility. The utility set the prices that customers were required to pay. In recent years, however, a number of states have introduced competition for energy supply. In these states, utilities no longer have a monopoly on both energy generation and distribution. Customers in these states may choose to buy from any number of licensed retail energy providers (REPs) or their local utility company.

Just because the energy industry has been “deregulated” does not mean that REPs are “unregulated.” REPs and utility companies are similar in many respects. Both are licensed and regulated by state public utility commissions for service and their relationship with consumers.

So, what's the difference between energy supplied by the utility versus a REP? Unlike utility companies, REPs specialize in procuring energy. REPs rely upon the utilities to deliver that energy. They do not maintain the system of meters, poles, pipes and wires required to deliver it. Customers who choose REPs still have their meters read by their utility, and in most states, receive their bills from their utility. Most important, REPs are not bound by the take-it-or-leave-it rate structure that utilities offer.

The power of choice has enabled REPs to compete for business by offering flexible options that the utilities never could — such as rebate programs, rewards and longer-termed “fixed” or “locked-rate” price programs.

So why did many REPs' prices rise so dramatically in 2014 compared with utilities' prices? The culprit was an unprecedented and unforeseen confluence of weather and market events that caused wholesale energy prices to skyrocket. Unfortunately, faced with those immediate costs, many REPs had no choice but to pass along those sudden price increases without delay. By contrast, sudden cost increases are not readily apparent in utility companies' rate calculations.

Thankfully, many REPs realized quickly that customers could not bear this burden and voluntarily absorbed as much of the cost increases as they could, issuing millions of dollars in good-will rebates to customers.

The path to improvement is not always smooth, and the polar vortex provided a particularly bumpy ride for the retail energy industry. But with the lessons learned and development of smarter and better controls, residential and business energy customers are certain to benefit in the long run.

Michael Stein is CEO of IDT Energy.

Link to Article: TribLive

Throw Back Thursday: Electric Insulators Re purposed

Glass insulators used to be vital to the transmission of electricity along the power lines.  Modern materials make them no longer useful for their intended purpose, but some pretty inventive people have found new ways to use them. Check these out:

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Electric Supply - From Generator to Light Bulb

In the past we have discussed generating energy from wind, sun, water and even garbage , green slime and potatoes. But how does that energy travel into your house and light up a room?

IDT Energy supply is delivered through utility power lines

It's something that could come up in a rowdy game of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" but perhaps not something you have pondered on a daily basis as you flip the light switch and turn on the TV remote.  Energy is harnessed from things like moving water and burning fossil fuels; which turn turbines and unbalance the charges in an atom (simple, right?). But then it must travel, sometimes hundreds of miles in order to be ready for you to utilize that electricity.

Electricity is made when electrons move between atoms. Transmitting wires are made of conductive materials like copper and insulators (like glass or rubber).  Conductive materials allow the transfer of electrons, while insulating material does not allow the electrons to move around.

Electric current is created when electrons move through the conductor.  Electrons need a circuit to move though and cannot move freely through the air. So electricity can flow from the power plant, through the wire, and into your home.  That light switch that magically provides light - a simple switch on the circuit that blocks the electric current from flowing to the light bulb.

Of course this is a simplified version. There are lots of little steps in between - like deciding where your electric supply comes from and making sure a current is always available for you to flip the switch.  Having a company like IDT Energy, doesn't determine the reliability of your supply - but it sure does help the pocketbook when it comes time to pay the bill!

Trash to Treasure

"One person's junk is another person's treasure."  It's something I heard a lot growing up. Meaning just because you no longer want it, doesn't mean that the item won't mean a lot to someone else.  The implication, of course, was meant towards used furniture or perhaps donating clothing.  But how about literally turning someones junk, or garbage, into a necessity - energy?  (Remember - energy cannot be created or destroyed - it can only change forms.)

Yep, your dirty tissue, mismatched sock, even that nasty old ______.

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So who thinks your husbands old gym sock is a treasure? The people of Northern Europe! According to the NYT "Across Northern Europe, where the practice of burning garbage to generate heat and electricity has exploded in recent decades, demand for trash far outstrips supply. "

They are even running short on garbage.  The plants have stated they might even take some from the United States because sea transport is cheap enough.

Can you imagine the US turning our landfills into energy? What turning the garbage at the curb into energy to run your TV?

The good news is all electricity that comes into your home smells the same. It doesn't matter if it's made from garbage or from walking or if you buy it from your utility or an energy supplier like IDT Energy. It all smells and works the same.

Looking for more energy fun fact? Check out the IDT Energy Pinterest!

Vegetable Electricity: Potato Power

Can your everyday vegetable power a light?  How about a clock?  You betcha.  Looking for a fun weekend project with the kids that just might 'jolt' some excitement into learning?  We gotcha covered.

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Electricity generated at power plant is generally generated from burning fossil fuels.  The heat from the fuel heats up water and the water becomes steam.  This steam then spins turbines which turns a generator (or magnet) and unbalances the charges in atoms and supplies a current of electricity. That electricity then flows through the utilities lines and into our homes.

Batteries are able to generate electricity through a chemical reaction between two types of electrodes (like zinc and copper) and an electrolyte.  The connection of these substances creates a circuit that allows a flowing path of electricity.

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Here's how you do it:

Materials
2 Potatoes
2 Short pieces of copper wire
2 Galvanized nails
3 Alligator clips
1 Piece of sand paper
1 Low voltage clock

Directions

1. Remove the battery from the clock
2. Number the potatoes "1" and "2"
3. Insert one nail into each of the potatoes
4. Insert one piece of wire into each of the potatoes
5. Connect one alligator clip to the copper wire in potato #1 to the positive (+) terminal in the clocks battery compartment
6. Connect the other alligator clip to the nail in potato #2 and the negative (-) terminal in the clocks battery compartment
7. Connect the last alligator clip to connect the nail in potato #1 to the copper wire in potato #2

A pretty neat alternative energy supply right? Talk about going green!

Now, of course, this method of electricity is not that reliable. So we suggest keeping your utility and an energy supplier like IDT Energy for a more reliable source of electricity.

Check out more cool energy related projects on our Pinterest.

Sources: Education.com and teachengineering.org/ 

Throwback Thursday: Electricity Insulators

Have you ever seen these little glass beauties? Perhaps sitting atop a pole? Or perhaps at a garage sale grouped with a number of other random things? Or did you see our post on Facebook?

In 1844 the first telegraph line was installed between Baltimore and Washington. Glass was used to contain the charge made of  copper, carbon, or zinc electrodes. When attaching lines directly to the wooden poles the moisture in the wood and air gave poor results.  Hence the glass insulator pictured above. Similar insulators were used to transmit both telegraph and electricity, however the bigger the insulator, the more voltage it could handle.

Of course, there were many iterations throughout the years, but a type of glass insulator like this was used all the way until the 1970s.  (At some points of history they even used ceramic, a wood/glass combination, and  insulators made from animal parts.)

Energy history is neat-o.  But since these little delights are no longer helping to support our electricity infrastructure, what can we do with them? Well some of them are quite valuable - check out this one, it's worth close to $500!! Or look at the IDT Energy Pinterest to see some awesome ideas that other energy nuts (or just regular crafty people) have come up with.

As a supplier of electricity, IDT Energy doesn't have anything to do with the lines and meters to your house (your utility still takes care of that).  But as energy nerds, we sure to find the history fascinating!