Friends Don’t Let Friends Overpay for Electricity
If you’re a residential customer on the Government’s Regulated Rate Option (RRO) and looking at your winter electricity bills, you’ve probably gotten a bit of a shock (no pun intended). The solution to lowering your monthly utility invoice is just one phone call away. It’s simple, easy, and it won’t cost you anything. AND you could save money today if you call.
You Don’t Even Have to Switch Retailers
If you’re on the government’s regulated rate and want to stay with your current utility provider, then a single phone call can get you off the RRO over to their competitive rates. You’ll save money immediately.
RRO prices have surged in recent months and are now double what they were this time last year.
Source: Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
In 2016, the government announced the Regulated Rate Option (RRO) Rate Cap Program that “capped” the RRO at 6.8¢/kWh. Sounds like a good deal, right? It wasn’t a good idea, and here’s why the government should not do this again.
The “cap” was brought in to mitigate high prices. “So, what happened when the price of energy was above 6.8¢/kWh?” The government had to pay RRO providers the difference between the capped price and the cost. In reality, the cap was a subsidy. The RRO Rate Cap Program cost taxpayers $108 Million (Government of Alberta Annual Report on Energy 2019-2020, pages 54-55), with an estimated total cost of $303 Million had it continued for the entire four years.
Let’s not go down this path again. Each of the regulated utilities has a competitive and deregulated retail arm of their business. If you’re on the RRO, you and hundreds of thousands of consumers in Alberta can immediately reduce your utility bills today simply by calling your utility provider to switch from their RRO over to their competitive rate. You’ll save money, and the government will not need to use tax dollars to subsidize utilities to falsely cater to individuals by implementing an expensive “cap” scheme.
The competitive rates offered by the big utilities today compared to the January RRO will help you immediately save money on the cost of the electricity you consume.
There are many other options available, and we commend the Alberta Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA) for the various advertising campaigns they are running to help consumers find lower prices. You can check out their list of competitive retailers by visiting their website. You can also find a couple dozen more retailers offering rates lower than the government’s RRO providers here.
Shop Local
Of course, as a LOCAL and independent retailer in Alberta, we at Spot Power offer competitive rates that are also lower than the government RRO. We have customers in over 400 Alberta communities, and we welcome the opportunity to help you switch off the RRO. Visit us today!
As a locally-owned and operated business, we are also dedicated to giving back to the communities that have been supporting us for over a decade. When you sign up for electricity, natural gas, or Internet service with Spot Power, we donate 10% of the profits to deserving organizations in Alberta like the Calgary Seniors’ Resource Society and Spinal Cord Injury Alberta through our Spot Cares initiative. You’re paying for your utilities anyway; why not support vulnerable Albertans at no extra cost?
Lastly, let’s not forget that some of the biggest retailers in Alberta are also local. You have lots of options. Pick up the phone and call ENMAX (310-2010), EPCOR (310-4300), or ATCO Energy (1-844-687-2826) and get off the Government’s Regulated Rate Option. It’s time to take control of your utility bill. Join the 60% of Alberta customers who have chosen competitive rates to save money on electricity.