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Look Before You Switch When It Comes To Electric Providers
By: Fred Kight
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Here in Ohio we have electric choice, which means you may choose the electric supplier that provides the generation of your electricity.
WOUB's Fred Kight is in that position right now and wanted to get some more information on his options.
He has just a few days left to make a decision.
Does he keep his current provider of electricity at home or switch to another?
It's a question prompted by an offer he got in the mail.
Perhaps you got one, too.
"Over the past years or so we've seen quite an increase in the amount of marketer activity," says Matt Butler with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Fred called him to help him understand this new electric supplier offer.
"Whether or not you choose a new supplier, your local utility would continue to deliver that electricity to your home and would continue to respond to customer service calls and send you the bills," he says.
Butler says each customer needs to decide what's best for him or her.
"When you receive an offer, you'll want to go to our website — go to our apples to apples rate comparison charts and compare the offer you received to the others that are out there."
Some people simply focus on the lowest price.
Others may have other considerations.
"You're also going to want to think about things like, what's the contract term?"
And, says Butler, "Is it a variable rate or a fixed price? You want to make sure you made an educated choice."
If you decide to change your electric supplier, be prepared to sign a contract.