Comments on: Did You Switch to WGES? Your Rates Will Be Higher than BG&E

By: Aleta

Aleta — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:04:00 +0000

I agree! Avoid them at all costs. In the long run it just won’t be worth it.

By: Aleta

Aleta — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:52:56 +0000

I just finished a year long mess with Washington Gas. I know BGE can be expensive but at least you know what you’re getting. Using a 3rd party supplier leaves you – the customer totally at risk. Just really ask questions – is their a penalty if you cancel? If you cancel tomorrow how long does it really take to get them off their bill? Is it one cycle or 2. Then make sure that BGE doesn’t return the bill back so that WGE starts comeing to you for their bill and then you left paying 2 bills. Better yet – i just wouldn’t do business ever again with them. BGE may be bad but this company is far worse to deal with.

By: Enrique

Enrique — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:56:04 +0000

Correction to my previous post. The energy supplier is Constellation Energy (the parent company of BGE) and not BGE Home. BGE Home is a contractor repair company.

By: Enrique

Enrique — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 03:56:15 +0000

All utility suppliers assume that you will renew at the contract expiration unless you contact them to cancel. All suppliers are supposed to send you a notice when your contract period is about to end and tell you about the new terms. I got an offer in the mail for electricity service from BGE Home (not directly tied to BGE utility). The kwH charge is as low as 9.5 cents for a 2 year contract. I am locked into a 2 year electricity contract with WGES which began in Nov. 2009, so the cancellation fee would negate the benefit of switching plans.

By: ladylaughs

ladylaughs — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:16:46 +0000

I just called re omnation’s post about the $480 charge to cancel. The post is partially incorrect. After your contract ends, WGES sends you a ‘renewal notice’ – to cancel you have to ACTIVELY call to cancel, otherwise they assume you’re renewing. Just to clarify.

By: omnatio

omnatio — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:08:43 +0000

Avoid WGES at all costs. They charge you $480 when you change to another supplier, even if your 2 year contract ends, claiming an auto renewal. They try to charge you for terminating a contract you never agreed to!

By: Enrique

Enrique — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:32:08 +0000

I signed up with WGES for both electricity and natural gas service this year after utility rates moderated due to the economic slump. Rates for both electricity and natural gas shot up by a wide margin in 2008. Electricity in the summer of 2008 was as high as .17 cents per kwh and natural gas was close to $1.50 per therm in the summer (due to hurricane fears in the Gulf of Mexico). I locked into a 1 year natural gas contract at .73 per therm and a 2 year electricity contract at .103 cents per kwh. These prices are well above the prices back in the 1990s when summer electricity rates rarely went above .08 cents per kwh and natural gas prices were around .30 cents per therm. WGES has a floating rate option for natural gas, but none for electricity now. But, I didn’t want to chance another big spike in rates, so I ignored the market rate choice even if it was currently lower than the fixed yearly choices.
I am not sure how Clean Currents is related to WGES. I did have a electricity (50% wind energy) contract that ended with them this year. Their renewal 2 year rate was a half cent more per kwh than the standard WGES offer, so I went with the cheaper rate. The CSR was trying to get me to renew with Clean Currents again (being lazy to change my account information), but I insisted that I wanted the cheaper rate. I run several air compressors 24/7 so a small rate drop does result in savings for me. Unfortunately, deregulation has resulted in higher rather than lower prices in Maryland.

By the way, the price to compare on the BGE electricity bill is the AVERAGE price of the overall yearly per kwh charge that BGE charges over 1 year. So in the winter, the price can drop to .08 per kwh during non-peak periods while in the summer it can go up to .16 during peak periods. This overall composite average rate is misleading. It assumes that your electricity use (overall number of kwh) is the same throughout the year. For nearly everyone, that is never the case since you use MUCH more electricity in the summer than in the winter. So, your actual SOS yearly “average” rate is skewed towards the higher summer rate side as a result.

By: Charles Rogers

Charles Rogers — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:34:42 +0000

Hi Jum,
What, if anything do you know about WGES?
Apparently, Clean Currents is a privately held Canadian company who owns WGES. Is that correct?
Thanks,
Charles Rogers

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:42:06 +0000

It’s definitely 2008…

By: Charles Rogers

Charles Rogers — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:19:17 +0000

The date of WGES comment says 1/27. Is that 2008 or 2009. If it is 2009, what is your current experience with WGES? Are they honest or is this a bait and switch outfit? If they are straight forward, I am very interested, but I am not the least interested in being scammed with dishonesty or a lawyer standing behind them with a mask and gun. How does one determine their veracity, except by longitudinal experience, especially since they are not regulated? Please provide a method of contact for further discussion. You may contact me at: clr22182(at)juno.com
Thank you,
Charles Rogers

By: WGES Rep

WGES Rep — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:34:12 +0000

OK, obviously, you guys dont understand the WGES program of ENERGY CHOICE!! Ok, let me explain, if you all look at your BGE bill for the past 6 months, you will see that even if you USE the same amount of energy, your bill is never the same and as long as you let BGE control YOU, your bill will never be reasonable!! NOw, if a WGES rep told you that your bill will cheaper, they mislead you all…. BGE has fluxuating rates causing y BILL TO BE HIGHER AND LOWER AND BACK AND FORTH so, WGES offers PRICE PROTECTION, under the new laws, You lock into a fixed rate and in turn, your yearly average of your bill paymnts will be lower, notice I said average!!! I have been a subcontractor for WGES for 2 years, and sice the change has been made availible in MD I have been a customer, for myself, MY BILLS MAKE MORE SENSE NOW!!! NO ONE CAN FORCE YOU TO SAVE MONEY………..YOU GUYS ARE RICH, SO BLOW YA DOUGH!!!!

By: Fould, Charleston

Fould, Charleston — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 03:00:47 +0000

Maryland, and Delaware, the vacation is not over yet. Your utility generation rates will recieve a minimal decrease for Winter generation. If you have not yet enrolled in a choice program you will still see an impact on your power bills. On a commercial level, your rates are still higher than ever. On a residential level, you are not yet seeing the burden. You are being temporarily credited with a deferred price. By 2008 you will be getting the full slap. Unfortunatley in the meen time starting Jan 2007 you will begin to pay an extra 2-4 dollars a month for ten years. If you choose a supplier like WGES, you can still make out with a better price. Currently, if I am not mistaken, a winter price of only .087 cents per kwh is available through Wges. I spoke to a rep recently who informed me that prices will be coming down just a bit, however not back to normal. The rate he offered is still substancially lower than utility SOS rates. If you do not believe me call 18667963795 ask for Mr. Villani at x5879. This man knows his stuff and will not mislead you. I signed up my home and my four business locations and I am saving over a utility, when before I simply had no choice. When my new business opens up in May next year I will be certain to call Mr. Villani, up and except his professional recommendation when it comes to my energy procurement.

By: Darrell Mak

Darrell Mak — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:31:23 +0000

I just received my first electric bill with WGES, and WGES’s rates are NOT higher than BG&E’s, as the original poster warned; in fact, it comes out pretty close to the 10% discount that WGES had been advertised all along.

My summer BG&E rate was 11.871 cents/kWh (the electric generation charge only). My summer WGES rate was 10.715 cents/kWh.

The rate stabilization deferral applies regardless of who your electricity provider is, so you will not be paying the full rate increase all at once.

By: Darrell Mak

Darrell Mak — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:32:59 +0000

If I understand it, BG&E’s 15% increase will automatically include a deferral of the remaining rate increase (which will eventually be paid back over time). If you go with WGES, won’t you just be paying the full blow of the 72% hike upfront and avoiding any deferrals? darrellmak@yahoo.com

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:12:30 +0000

I just switched to WGES today. The discount is off of the new BGE rate increase of 15%!
I verifed this with two phone calls before I switched. You will, however, still pay the 10 years worth of fees to BGE, but you will pay that no matter what. I really no longer want to do business with Constellation Energy.