Howard Ain, Troubleshooter: Alternative energy supplier alert - WKRC TV Cincinnati

Updated: Tue, May 12 2015, 10:09 AM

CINCINNATI (Howard Ain) -- How would you like to save money on your electric bill?

That's the claim made by a lot of alternative energy providers under Ohio's Deregulation Plan. But, people have to be careful before signing up. Some alternative energy providers call people on the phone, some send letters or pitches in the mail, while others will show up at people’s front door. No matter how they approach, people have to know how their electric bill is calculated before they sign up.
    
That's what Ben Frisby of Lebanon said he learned after a salesperson came to his door one evening, “First thing she said was the average cost of electricity in this area is 8 cents per kilowatt hour. I said that's the cost cost? She said yeah, we're offering 7.69 rate."

The salesperson told Frisby the rate was fixed for two years… so he thought, “That might be a good deal over the next two years if that 8 cents happens to go up."
 
Frisby said he checked with his wife then agreed, “I signed off on it and signed up for it.”
           
So he said he was shocked when he found his next bill was much higher, “It was like $150 higher for the same kilowatt usage as the previous month."

Why? Because that 8 cent price he was quoted was for both Duke's generation cost about 6.04 cents and distribution charge about 1.96 cents. People need to know they’ll still have to pay Duke's distribution charge no matter who they choose to provide their electricity.

Frisby said the main thing he learned was if somebody comes and says they're going to offer you cheaper electricity, check to see what the price is and compare it to Duke's price. Duke will tell people it's 6.04 cents per kilowatt hour.

Frisby said, “I said look, I felt I was misled 8 verses 7.69 and actually I got like it was 12 cents."          
                   
That's why it's always good to compare apples to apples, which people can do at the Public Utilities Commission website.

The Better Business Bureau's Sandra Guile said just tell the salesperson, “Let me go back and check it out. Let me go to the PUCO’s website. Let me check my current provider's website. Let me make sure what I'm paying for is exactly the same."
 
Frisby said after repeated complaints to workers at the energy company they agreed to drop a $95 early cancellation charge. Remember, if someone wants you to change providers, always compare the rate they give you the 'price to compare' rate on every Duke Energy bill. That's the price all other companies have to beat if they are going to save you money.
        
CLICK HERE for the PUCO’s Apples to Apples website to compare offers in the area.

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