You can. However, the question is “should you?” Quick! Tell me what “LMP,” “RUC,” “UAE,” and “RTP floor” mean. Extra credit if you can tell me what a contango market is, or how nodal pricing can affect your bill? Know why a flat block of power is less expensive than a shaped one? Of course you don’t know these answers; why should you? And even if you did, do you really have the time to watch market indicators all day like we do? And another thing: the salesperson with the supplier works for the supplier; we work for you, and will do what is in your best interest.

I’m glad you asked. Here are just a few of the reasons we believe we can deliver the best results:

Integrity – We always hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and honor our commitments. We foster a culture of transparency and ownership in our collective conduct. All our values are “non-negotiable” and will not be compromised for personal or corporate gain. We consistently apply moral and principled behavior in all our transactions, which builds trust in the client-advisor relationship.

Experience – We’ve been in the business of providing energy consulting services since 2006. Our management team, consultants, and analysts are all seasoned professionals and possess extensive energy backgrounds, with some exceeding 20 years.

Results – We have negotiated millions in electric and natural gas commodity contracts, saving our clients an average of 20% with our managed products.

Technology – You might ask, “How do you know how much you’ve saved your clients? Can you prove it?” Yes, we can, and quite easily. That’s because our data management platform tracks contract performance against the market. It also audits bills, interfaces with Energy Star can tell you your carbon footprint, builds budgets in minutes and processes thousands of utility bills to interface with your accounts payable system without you having to lift a finger. That’s just scratching the surface of what our industry-leading technology can deliver.

A broker works to get you the best price available at a given time, and you are not likely to hear from them again until it’s time to renew your contract. A consultant works to establish comprehensive energy management and risk mitigation strategy to not only obtain a great price and contract terms now but keep you positioned to manage overall cost and risk avoidance for the long run. Consultants typically offer additional “value-add” services such as energy data management, demand response, and utility bill processing. SEC, as your consultant, would actually be an extension of your own staff, working closely with you for the benefit of your business.

Most energy brokers or consultants immediately answer this question “YES!” SEC’s answer is “It depends.” Savings can be defined in a number of different ways. Is it a comparison of one price versus another? Does it factor in non-price criteria? Does it account for avoided workload or risk? SEC cannot assess savings until we perform an assessment of your current energy information. We are proud of our track record of providing significant savings and creating significant value for our clients, but we will not promise anything until we analyze your situation. If we can help you, we will tell you. If we can’t, we will tell you that also.

No we cannot; there are too many factors beyond our control. However, with our experience and expertise in retail energy markets, and the leverage we gain through our large client portfolio, we strongly believe we can deliver your business a highly competitive energy price. Plus you don’t have to deal with or worry about a lot of the details and time it takes when you entrust SEC to work on your behalf. We work hard for each one of our clients to achieve the best energy result possible.

SEC currently serves clients in most deregulated markets across the U.S. and is equipped to serve any deregulated market. Click Here are some among the many of electricity and natural gas markets SEC served its clients (Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Ohio, Illinois, California)

We can serve any industry that consumes electricity or natural gas. Some of the common industries we serve include education, commercial real estate, healthcare, industrial and manufacturing facilities, retail stores and chains, and restaurants. Some of our clients are small and some are very large.

This depends slightly on the market or markets your business is located in, but we can usually provide a quick analysis with information on your energy consumption and costs, typically obtained from recent invoices and a Letter of Authorization (LOA) form. Depending on the outcome of our free analysis, we then evaluate your risk tolerance, unique needs, product options, market conditions, and potential retail suppliers to make a recommendation for a strategic course of action.

No. Each supplier has its own product offering, and customers need to ask questions. How much bandwidth is allowed per contract? Are capacity costs included or passed through to the customer? Will transmission costs vary from month to month? We provide each client with an apples-to-apples comparison of each supplier’s pricing and contract terms. This allows our clients to know exactly what’s in each contract and to avoid surprises down the road.

No. The delivery of the electricity is still a regulated function, and the utility is mandated to ensure the reliability of all customers’ electric service within their service territories. You have nothing to worry about if you switch.

There are no physical changes because this is strictly a financial transaction. The only difference is that your monthly invoice for electricity may come from another company.

The delivery of the electricity is still regulated and maintained by the local utility. A customer whose power goes out should contact the local utility immediately to report the outage.

Depends on the state you reside or where is the business is located.

No, we do not. The best way to choose your residential energy provider is to log on to powertochoose.org. There you can educate yourself on the energy-buying process and review the competing rates. We advise searching bids with a fixed rate with a one to a two-year term. Other items to consider are the service charges (set monthly fees) and contract cancellation fees. Also, less energy use can sometimes mean a higher rate – at what point that happens in your kilowatt-hour use and at what cost varies from REP to REP. You can find and compare that information on powertochoose.org.

Customers pay nothing to CEC for bidding out their power. CEC is paid a commission from the winning REP for bringing them the business. The REP could add the CEC commission to the submitted energy cost during a competitive bidding process, but they risk losing the bid to another REP. The REP cuts their own commission to the quick in an effort to win the business. If the customer goes straight to a REP for a quote, the REP will sometimes even throw an inflated price to the customer to see if the customer (usually uninformed of current prices available) will accept it. Even when a REP cold calls a customer, it is sometimes a “third party” to whom the REP has to pay a commission. A competitive bid is always the best way to get the lowest price for energy.

*We have no deal with one REP to give it our clients’ business. After the bidding process is complete, CEC always analyzes the results to advise our clients regarding which REP is offering the best combination of rate and contract terms on that bid.

If you are interested in more about a REP than the net energy rate that it offers – such as a REP’s environmental/social responsibility, history or values – SEC can help walk you through all the possibilities to find the REP that best meets your needs.

No. When Texas deregulated the electric rates in 2002, they separated the pole and wires charges from the “retail energy rate.” The company that services the actual poles and wires in your area will always be the same, no matter which REP you choose. As such, you will get the same utility service to which you’ve been accustomed during storms, downed lines, etc. Your wires company is determined by and regulated by the Public Utilities Commission [PUC].

Once you decide to send your load out for bid to REPs via SEC, we will send you an LOA (Letter of Authorization) request form for you to sign so that we can get your usage information from the wires company in your area. Once we have your usage information from the wires company, we’ll discuss with you the details and set a date to bid your load out to the REPs. We’ll receive bids back that same day – and if they look right – will choose an REP and sign a contract before the end of business on that day. Because energy fluctuates with the price of natural gas, prices from the REPs are only good for that day, which will mean that it is necessary for you to be available to sign a contract during a small window of time.