How to take control of your electricity bill and save money

Published: December 7th, 2022

Posted by: Tyler (384)


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Shortly after we moved into our Loudon, New Hampshire home last summer, Eversource (our local electricity provider) raised rates per kWh from $0.08 to $0.11 - leading to an increase in everyone's electricity bills of about 30%.

A few months later, that same company increased that rate from $0.11 per kWh to $0.22 - nearly double! Electricity bills shortly went from costing about the same as a cable and internet plan to a decent car payment.

Now, I just got word that Eversource is due to double rates again in February, to somewhere around $0.40 per kWh. Yikes! And will that be the last major increase? Probably not ...

And they're not the only ones raising rates:

NH increased electric supplier costs

Fortunately, we have solar panels, but for those who don't, it's impossible to keep up with these dramatically rising costs.

Did you know that you can actually choose your energy supplier? It's true, not only for New Hampshire but for the majority of residents in locations across the United States according to the American Coalition of Competitive Energy Suppliers:

NH increased electric supplier costs

Your bill would still come from the same provider (so would the fees), but the supplied electricity would be at the price agreed upon between you and the supplier.

I just performed a quick search for 3rd party electric suppliers in New Hampshire and came up with at least these results:

NH increased electric supplier costs

You'll notice not only the cheapest option being currently 24.7% cheaper than what Eversource charges, but that you can lock it in for 30 months! Remember when I said that Eversource was going to raise rates to $0.4o in February? And there would likely be continued increases to follow?

If someone were to lock in a price of $0.1699 for 30 months, we're talking a savings of a couple hundred dollars or more for the next almost 3 years. Once the contract is up, you can go back to shopping for your next commitment.

Maybe the price would be higher than $0.1699, but at least you were able to save money in the meantime and would be able to shop around again for the next best rate.

How to change your electricity supplier

This is actually a pretty painless process, but you should keep a few basic questions in mind:

  • Is the supplier licensed in my state?
  • What is the length of the contract I'm entering?
  • Will my rate of supply change over time, or stay the same?
  • Are there early termination fees?
  • What if I move or discontinue service in the region?
  • Can I switch to a different supplier?

I've found that most of the answers to these questions are standard across the board, but make sure to research your supplier and learn how they work.

Start by searching online for something like "compare residential electricity suppliers in ____" (adding in the name of your state). You'll most likely see a result for your local government's website (here is New Hampshire's). This should check the first box about the supplier being licenses in your state.

When comparing plans, you might see options for "green energy". This means that, if you choose this plan, your electricity will be generated by renewable energy sources (sometimes 100%, sometimes 50%). That might be of interest to you, or you might be more concerned about simply finding the lowest rate.

Review the rates, contracts and cancellation policies of the various options.

Once you select your plan, you'll need to enter some information about your address, personal details and current electric company account information. Once you populate and submit this information, the supplier will review and get back to you regarding next steps. It might require that you contact your electric company, or at least provide verification as they'll want to verify that you're authorizing changes.

Once you're signed up, your future electric statements will be updated to show these new changes, and you'll likely also get login credentials to review your account with your new supplier.

And that's it! Not too much work to save potentially hundreds of dollars per month!

Then, when your contract ends, you can compare all over again to find the best rates, stick with your current supplier or find a better one.

What other tips or resources you're aware of that could help people save money on their energy bills?

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