Enmax on the prowl.......

[Xtrema]

Enmax seem to have released some aggressive door to door type salemen to get you sign long term energy contracts.

During the scare tactic session, a few point interested me and want to see if any of you can prove/disprove them.

1) "Electrcity will be charged by the clock. Say off peak would be $0.060/kwh and 5pm-8pm would be $0.150/kwh. They were gonna implement this Janurary but postponed til next year due to election year."

I think this is BS because is our meters equipped to poll this? I think this will happen eventually but at least 3-5 years away or in new neighborhoods.

2) "Next year, all energy cost will be doubled when government release the control on pricing to market."

I thought government will also stay in control what company can charge for energy. That's why Enmax and others have been increasing delivery charges and admin fees to increase profit.

Any truth to these points? Any insiders can enlighten me/us?

The contract rates are not that great on first glance. Roughly about 10% less the highest rate for the year. Will there be an energy crisis in 3-5 years that make locking rate viable?

Your thoughts would be appreicated.

[topher91]

Well.....I work for billing dept for Enmax.....now, we havn't been told any of this at all. The methods that the sales reps use to sell contracts I think are very very shady. Don't get me worng, there are some "honest" sales rep for Enmax but I get tonnes of calls about the sleezy ones that get customers to sign.

As for the "electricity by the clock" that would be impossible with the meters used today at every home. To my understanding, meters only register what KWH was used from one reading date to the next. So say one day it reads on Jan18 1000kWh, then on Feb18 it reads 1600kWh, you only pay for the diff of 600kWh.

The electricity market is already "de-regulated" meaning that you as a consumer have a choice of who to purchase Electricity from. In Calgary, Red Deer, and Lethbridge, Enmax Power Corp owns and maintains the electricity lines so Enmax Energy is the Defult provider for electricity services which means you can get svc from Enmax on a month to month basis w/o any contract. You would be billing on what is called the regulated rate which will fluctuate every couple of months as set by the AEUB (alberta Energy and Utilities Board). Ex: Prior to Jan01/05, billing on a non-contract rate means you pay 6.08 cents/kWh, after Jan01/05 the regulated rate changed to 5.8 cents/kWh.

When you want to get svc for electricity from another "retailer" or supplier, you will need to sign up on a contracted rate locking you in for a min of 1yr depending on the retailer. Contract rates will vary from company to company and this is where de-regulation takes place. Ex: Enmax has contracts to sell ele for 6.8 cents/kWh on a 3 yr contract. So for 3yrs you will pay the same rate and not have to worry about the fluxuating market price of ele on the Regulated Rate. Who knows what the regulated rate price will be 6mths from know, it could be 10 cents/kWh!! but if you had signed a contract, ur saved, but on the other hand, the regulated rate could drop dramatically lower than the regulated rate..... then ur

you can visit this site for more information:customer choice

I hope my mess of thoughts help you a little.

[FiveFreshFish]

As topher mentioned, existing meters do not have the capability to read when the energy was consumed. Only large industrial customers have such "electricity by the clock" contracts.

Glad I never answer my door unless I'm expecting someone.