SWITCH YOUR ELECTRIC SUPPLY TO GREEN/RENEWABLE POWER

(one of many ways YOU can save money, AND help the environment)

(harder) INSTALL SOLAR CELLS:

• THE GREATEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT:  if money is available, pay up-front to install solar panels on your roof and become your own electrical supplier.  Payback might be 4 years, due to lower electric costs,  solar federal tax credits and receipt of annual NJ SREC credits (annual solar dividends from NJ).  
• OR, FINANCE for as little as NO money up front.  The solar company installs and owns the panels installed on homeowner’s roof.  The homeowner signs a 10 or 20 year contract for a lower electric rate with the solar company. The investors in the solar panel company  benefit from fast payback. See the supplier list: Viridian Energy appears to be using this process.

(easier) SWITCH TO A GREEN/RENEWABLE ELECTRIC SUPPLIER  This is the lowest complexity option that provides ~SAME environmental benefits as installing solar panels:.

• Search for the lowest cost renewable electric supplier among those licensed in NJ:
  
• Compare prices to JCP&L "price to compare": https://www.firstenergycorp.com/customer_choice/new_jersey/price_to_compare.html
• The lowest cost supplier, fall, 2016, was https://www.greateasternenergy.com ; On 3/25/2017, 4 suppliers have roughly equal lowest price
  Rates for renewable electric were (and continue to be) ~1.2 cents/KWH less than electric rates for JCP&L polluting fossil fuel

HOW DOES THIS WORK?  Great Eastern Energy likely follows a similar process as other sustainable providers in NJ:

·      General information is provided at http://www.nj.gov/bpu/residential/ ; Renewable Energy Certificates and http://www.renewablechoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Guide-To-RECs-White-Paper.pdf

·      Great Eastern Traders buy contracts from nation-wide Brokers of “sustainable” certified electric sources. 

• The contracts are audited, to ensure compliance to NJ license requirements (separate audits ensure compliance with license requirements of each state in which Great Eastern does business).
• A US government high level view is provided at https://www.eia.gov/

HOW DO YOU PROCEED?  On-line signup takes only minutes. 

• With your latest electric bill in hand, fill out the form at the chosen vendor's website
• Enter your choice of 1 or 2 year contract
• The new electric supplier (at a new lower price) will be shown on your monthly JCP&L bill, ~ 2months after signing up (delay may be 3 or 4 months for small commercial business).  It will be labeled "current consumption"  (~66% of the total bill)
• JCP&L will continue their customary charges for "delivery service" (~34% of the total bill)

RENEW AT CONTRACT END.  (using Great Eastern as a model) You receive a letter 1-2 months before contract end.  Follow the letter's directions.  You will have a limited time to call Great Eastern  to renew your sustainable electric contract at a special low rate.  If you do nothing, you will be switched to a month-to-month variable rate for your sustainable electric. (This variable rate, on 2/17/2017 was ~JCP&L rate).  While you are month-to-month, you can call Great Eastern and switch back to JCP&L fossil fuel electric (might take 2 months for the switch). Once you have returned to JCP&L as the supllier, you can then switch to another low cost suppliers of non-polluting renewable energy.

REFERENCES:  Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (a "small business/commercial" customer) has switched to Great Eastern Energy, and presently saving ~1.8 cents/KWH.  Church members (Residential customers) have switched,  and are presently saving ~1.2 cent/KWH

BACK TO OVERVIEW: http://www.electric.smiller.org

This report was updated by S. Miller 4/1/2017; Disclaimer: All data and observations are believed accurate. Suppliers and prices vary with time; customers should do their own research.