How to Shop for an Electricity or Natural Gas Plan
Shopping for energy is a lot easier than you might think. Once you get a few basics down in order to make an educated decision about which gas or electricity plan to choose, the rest is an easy sign-up process. Being able to choose your energy plan not only provides the ability to compare energy companies for their competitive rates, but also allows you to have a fixed-rate plan, customer perks, and exceptional customer service.
What to know before you shop for an electricity or natural gas plan
There are a few important things that, as an energy consumer, you’ll need to know before you start shopping around for an energy plan. Here are a few elements to consider before making a decision about which energy plan to choose:
1. Determine what kind of energy you need
What energy does your home use? Do you have only electric heaters, boilers and stovetops? Or do some of your major appliances use natural gas? Perhaps you have a mix of both. Knowing what kind of energy your house uses should be the first step in picking the best energy plan for you and your family.
2. Check your current contract and plan
Go to your filing cabinet and find your past energy bills. You can also go online to view your current utility or energy supplier contract. You’ll want to see what you’re currently paying per energy unit. This would be kWh for electricity and per therm for natural gas usage.
Once you know what you’re paying for energy currently, you can determine what energy rate you’ll want as you shop for energy.
3. Consider your energy patterns
While you’re looking at your energy bill, try to compare the times your household uses the most energy. Chances are, your energy usage fluctuates from different seasons, or the weekend vs. weekday.
There may be an opportunity for you to practice energy conservation in order to bring down your monthly electricity or natural gas bill. Changing your energy habits can help you budget better!
This can also give you an opportunity to look at how your utility’s rates vary from month to month. With a variable rate plan, you might not know what you’re paying for your energy units until the bill comes. With a fixed-rate plan, you know exactly the rate you’ll pay for each unit of energy you use.
4. Discover whether you live in a deregulated state
Deregulation laws and the energy choice marketplace have been put into place in states across the U.S. to give you, the energy user, the ability to choose who will provide your energy supply.
To learn more about deregulation, visit What is Energy Choice?
How to Start Shopping for Energy Plans
Now that you’ve got the basics of how to choose the right energy plan, it’s time to start shopping. There are many things to consider when shopping for the best energy plan, such as:
1. Choose the right energy rate plan based on your needs
If you don’t know how to shop for electricity or natural gas rates, you might not end up with the best energy plan — especially if you’re only choosing what the utility company offers. Energy suppliers offer different, and sometimes better, options. The most common energy plans for residential energy customers are fixed-rate rate and variable rate plans.
Fixed-Rate Energy Plans
Variable Rate Energy Plans
2. Find an energy supplier in your area
Constellation offers energy plans to 16 states across the United States as well as Washington, D.C.
3. Compare Prices
Once you’ve found an energy company that services your area, review the rates they offer. To view Constellation’s energy rates, enter your zip code, and promo code if you have one, and see what fixed-rate energy plans you can sign up for:
Residential Plans
Provide your zip code and/or promo code to compare rates in your area
4. Research additional energy plan costs
Finding an energy plan is simple, but your energy bill is made up of several costs. Some costs you can control, others you may not be able to. In addition, some of these energy costs may vary state to state. Here are some common costs that are factored into your energy bill:
- Energy units. The amount of kWh for electricity, or therms for natural gas, that homeowners use.
- Delivery. A utility company’s charge of moving energy through power lines, gas pipelines and meters.
- Transmission. Covers the cost of the bulk transfer of energy from power plants to electrical substations.
- Capacity. Charged by electricity companies to ensure that there is always enough electricity supply available on the grid at peak times.
- Ancillary services. Differs from each supplier, but includes cost of services like regulation, black start, voltage control, and more.
When learning how to choose the right energy plan for you, check each energy supplier’s additional costs so you’re able to fully understand your energy budget.
5. Determine the contract length of your fixed-rate plan
How long would you like your rate stability to be? Determining the best energy plan contract length can be dependent upon your flexibility and energy budget. The following are the most common contract lengths for energy plans:
- 12-month energy plan
- 24-month energy plan
- 36-month energy plan
6. Know when you can switch
If you’re currently using a utility for your energy service, you can switch at any time with no hassle. However, if you’re currently with another energy supplier and haven’t reached the end of your contract, you may be subject to an early termination fee. Check your current contract end date to know when you will be able to switch.