I was contacted directly by this company approximately April or May. They offered lower energy charges than my current local provider (Central Hudson Energy). They said that their KWH charges were, on the average, lower than Central Hudson - I believe the figure was approximately 3-5 cents lower per KWH. The interesting thing about their service is that they are an energy broker, so they don't provide service, only the electricity itself. And they would bill us through our current provider.
I received my first bill in June. It was much lower - approximately $105.00 - and our typical energy bill is anywhere from $135 - $175.00 during the summer. I, of course, patted myself on the back for making a good decision.
When our bill arrived in August (we get billed every 2 months) the results were unbelievable. The bill was $597.00. I have never paid so much in one month in my entire life - let alone in this house. My highest bill, ever, was under $300.00. I, of course, called Central Hudson immediately.
They said "You realize you are getting your electricity from another provider, correct?". I confirmed that and said that that's why I called. What could have happened? They said that it appeared that Energy Plus misread the meter in June and are making up for it during this billing cycle. I pointed out that even if we distributed the totals over two bills, I'm still paying alot more than normal. They agreed and asked me what my KWH charges were this month. The bill said. 209 / kwh. They said - the current price at Central Hudson is. 130 / kwh. I explained that Energy Plus told me that their charges were on the average, lower than Central Hudson. They responded that Energy Plus, unfortunately, has been telling that to ALOT of customers.
I asked if they would switch me back and they did it immediately. Thank goodness!
My prognosis - Energy Plus lied. Then, in my first billing cycle, they intentionally 'misread' the meter to show big savings on my bill. If the KWH cost was much higher than my old company - it wouldn't be apparent based on the short meter reading. Unfortunately, I can't prove that it was anything other than a mistake, but the charge per KWH tells the story. At the very least, they lied about being lower than Central Hudson and you should all be very skeptical about any energy company offering lower costs.
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