No doubt in the past couple of years a friend has approached you and asked; do you want to save money on your National Grid electric bill? Over 30 alternate electric suppliers are available since the deregulation of the NYS energy market. These suppliers are called ESCO's or Energy Service Companies. They all claim to save you money on your electric bill.
National Grid has released a preliminary analysis that shows that most upstate residential customers who have changed to an ESCO have not saved money. I found this story on NewzJunky and can be seen on Syracuse.Com. As a matter of fact the analysis says that 84% that switched to an ESCO spent more on their electric bill than if they had stayed with Nat. Grid. An average of $20.79 per month more over a 2 year period.
The Good News! The other 15.7% saved a whopping $2.09 per month over the same 2 year period. I am sure that the $15% of all the upstate residential customers that saved money all live in Alexandria Bay..... But don't worry the good people that sold you that bill of goods are sitting in a financial nirvana.
You are not alone....last December the Village of Alexandria Bay converted to an ESCO. The change was made without board approval as the new mayor was taking office. The Town of Alexandria changed to the same ESCO at the 9.12.12 meeting. As a taxpayer I am not to happy about our local governments gambling with our money. But keep in mind that Nat. Grid has not yet released an analysis on municipalities, but I would think that it would be similar to the residential analysis.
