New Direct Survey Finds Continued Support for Retail Auction

A new survey by Zogby International conducted for Direct Energy finds that 82 percent of respondents support Direct Energy's auction proposal for default service in Pennsylvania.

The survey, conducted in May, targeted customers at PPL, PECO, and Duquesne Light. Responses were similar to a survey conducted among customers at the FirstEnergy distribution companies last year (10/4).

Informed that Direct Energy's plan would (1) involve suppliers other than the utility bidding on the right to serve customers, (2) not require customers to participate in process, (3) provide that customers could leave any winning supplier at any time without penalty, and (4) could produce customer rebate checks from $150-$500 from auction revenue, 48% of respondents strongly support the plan, and 34% of respondents somewhat support it.

Direct Energy submitted the poll results with its comments in the PUC's proceeding investigating methods of default service. As only noted by Matters earlier this week, Direct argued that Pennsylvania does not currently have a workably competitive retail market and is seeking to implement an alternative method of default service by June 2013 (see 6/6).

Some 34% of respondents said that they had switched to a competitive supplier. Of those that did not, the most cited reason (23%) for not switching was that there was not enough savings to make switching worth the customer's while.

Some 17% of non-shopping customers said that they don't understand the whole shopping process and don't want to be bothered, while 11% said that shopping is too much of a hassle.

Additionally, 15% said that they are loyal to their current company (e.g. the utility) and don't want them to lose business.

Nearly 10% of customers were not aware switching electric suppliers was possible.

Of the customers that did switch, savings was cited as the motivation by 88% of respondents, with no other factor exceeding 3%.