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Consumer Advocate Warns Customer About Retail Supplier, Tells Them to Switch to SOS
The Maine Office of the Public Advocate issued a news bulletin, "warning customers of North American Power that their fixed rate contracts for electricity have expired, or will soon expire, and they should act now to avoid paying hundreds of dollars in excess electricity costs this winter."
North American Power was the only supplier cited by the OPA in its September 23 release. In March, the OPA had issued a generic bulletin warning customers regarding fixed price contract expirations.
According to the OPA, "Earlier this year, North American Power sent a direct mail solicitation to residential electricity customers across the state, offering a 6-month fixed rate for electricity at a favorable price. Thousands of Central Maine Power and Emera Maine customers signed up for these offers, which have now ended or are about to end."
"When the fixed rate term expires, customers are automatically rolled over to a variable rate, where the price changes each month based on wholesale market prices. Last winter, some variable rates went as high as 25 cents per kWh, or nearly four times the standard offer price, costing some customers hundreds of dollars in excess costs. The Office expects to see similar variable rate pricing, or worse, this winter," the OPA said.
"North American Power is supposed to let customers know their contract is expiring," said Public Advocate Tim Schneider, but Schneider alleged that, "but we know some customers haven’t gotten notice, and we’re concerned that those who have received notice may not understand the potential costs of switching to a variable rate."
"Missing that single piece of mail could cost a customer hundreds of dollars this winter," Schneider said.
Notably, OPA said that if customers are already on a variable rate, they should, "ask North American Power to immediately switch you to the standard offer [default service]. For any switch to the standard offer, there is no need to wait for the next 'meter read' date: the utility must process the change within two business days of being asked."
North American Power provided the following statement regarding the OPA's bulletin:
"North American Power's policy has always been to send fixed rate plan expiration notices to all of our customers. These notices inform our customers of the date their plan is set to expire, that if they choose to do nothing they will move to a month-to-month variable rate, and by what date they should contact us to choose another fixed rate to ensure they move seamlessly to that new plan. Choosing a new plan with North American Power is easy; customers can either call us or access their account and choose a new plan online in minutes.
"With this in mind, and although we appreciate the Advocate's efforts to ensure that Maine's customers are aware of their options, we're unclear as to why the Public Advocate chose to mention only North American Power and not all of the state's electricity suppliers. We look forward to discussing this with the Public Advocate so that they have a full understanding of our notification efforts."
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September 25, 2014
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Copyright 2010-14 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com
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