Officials in the City of Oregon, Ohio have cautioned consumers about door-to-door solicitors promising favorable electricity and natural rates, reports local newspaper The Press.
Residents and small business customers in Oregon are automatically enrolled in the Northwest Ohio Aggregation Coalition, unless they choose to opt out. According to City Manager Mike Beazley, NOAC negotiated a contract with FirstEnergy that offers customers rates of 6.9 cents per kWh for a term that lasts from 2011 to 2017.
Beazley reports that solicitors are offering rates of 8.8 to 8.9 cents without noting that these are higher than the rates that customers are currently paying, and that some have falsely suggested that FirstEnergy is going out of business.
NOAC was formed to bundle customers’ buying power to better negotiate with suppliers in the 13 communities that it serves. The aggregator offers three programs: residential electric, commercial electric, and natural gas (for both residential and commercial customers). Palmer Energy acts as the program’s energy consultant on technical, market, and legal issues. To date, Palmer claims that the coalition has saved customers a total of $76 million.
