RRO Customers are Betting on a Losing Horse

By: Nick Clark

Welcome to Vegas North.

Half of residential consumers in Alberta gamble every month that the government’s Regulated Rate Option (RRO) on the price of electricity will be a winning deal. If you have been to Vegas or your local casino; you know that the house always wins. The same can be said about the RRO, which is a good deal only as “The Supplier of Last Resort” (when a consumer is unable to buy from a competitive retailer).

If you have a losing hand, then ‘fold’.
If the table is tilted in favor of the house, then switch dealers.
If you always lose at the wheel of fortune, stop spinning.
If you know that the deck is stacked against you with the RRO providers, why not start buying your electricity off of an independent local retailer?

Take a look at the numbers:

On December 1, 2019, when the government stopped subsidizing the utilities, the big RRO retailers put up the cost of energy for customers from 6.8¢/kWh by 13% to 7.8 ¢/kWh.
On January 1, 2020 they increased it again and consumers in Edmonton and the rural districts in the province serviced by Fortis are now paying 8.4 ¢/kWh.

Are you one of those Albertans sitting at the card table losing every month? When you know that you are overpaying for electricity by sticking with the RRO utility, why not switch tables and find a new provider offering lower prices and a variety of other services?

Spot Power customers on the floating rate paid 5.8 ¢/kWh in December when many RRO customers paid 7.8 ¢/kWh. That is over a 30% premium charged by RRO Utilities. Over time the savings add up. Best of all, when the variable rate increases, as it is expected to do during the current cold snap, consumers can switch back to a lower fixed price. Zero penalty to switch, with just a simple 10-day notice. Switch back and forth and increase your winnings.

If you are buying off of some of the RRO utilities, then look behind the closed doors and realize that many of the utilities are employing staff in far away countries, like the Philippines, Guatemala, India, and the USA. It is in an effort to cut costs and increase profit margins. Did the extra profits end up in your pockets? Or has the house found another way to win?

Your luck is changing. Pick a winner – and switch over to Spot Power or any other of the 20 independent retailers within our network of local Energy Marketers for lower prices and local customer care.

Stack the Odds in Your Favor

This week we launched our new Internet service offering which allows customers to bundle electricity, natural gas, and internet services. When you bundle your services, administration fees for both electricity and natural gas at Spot Power will be reduced to zero. That’s right ZERO.

Break free from the corporate monopolies that lock you in to long-term internet contracts. Switch from Telus or Shaw to Spot Power to save money on your internet services, get 6 months of administration fees for free, and gain access to lower prices for energy with a locally based small business.

You’ve been dealt the winning hand with no risk and great local services.

“Q Wave” & “Spot Power”

Owned by Utility Network & Partners

Founded in 1978

Here to Stay. We’re Local with Great Prices and Unmatched Services.