Weekly Energy Market Update

Posted on by

Please visit the Direct Energy Business online customer education center, Energy Insights, to view my Weekly Energy Market Update video for May 20, 2013. Receive weekly updates that are sent right to your email inbox. The following is a summary of last week’s market activity and the market outlook:

• NYMEX futures closed up last week, offsetting the previous week’s declines. Prices were volatile throughout the week, with increases on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that were followed by a large decline Thursday (following a bearish storage report). Prices rose again Friday afternoon and there was uncertainty regarding the reason for the rally.

Continue reading →

.
Reply

Are U.S. natural gas exports increasing? Direct Energy weighs in.

Posted on by

This week, Bloomberg Energy published an article with comments from the White House about natural gas exports. I took a few moments to weigh in on the potential impact.

One key bullish factor in the natural gas markets is the potential for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports. Although such exports are not expected until 2015 and beyond, the discount of U.S. natural gas prices compared to much of the world makes eventual exports a real possibility. And consumers, especially large manufacturing and chemical operations, are fearful that exporting our cheap gas abroad could push prices higher, thereby taking away their energy advantage.

Continue reading →

.
Reply

5 questions to ask when selecting a competitive energy supplier

Posted on by

Picking an energy retail supplier is not as easy as it used to be when your local utility was your only choice. Nowadays the number of competitive electricity retail providers has grown to approximately 200 representing an unprecedented choice for customers in terms of suppliers, products and services. You’re probably asking yourself why switch to a retail energy supplier? What should you ask potential retail energy suppliers? Decisions, decisions.

As mentioned in a previous blog post about the effectiveness of the competitive electricity model, competitive retail electricity account growth has increased for residential by 518% and non-residential by 463%. However, only about one-third of U.S. customers are eligible to choose their electricity supplier.

Continue reading →

.
Reply

Arizona electricity deregulation, Direct Energy optimistic about serving customers

Posted on by

After more than 10 years of competitive energy market implementation throughout the country, we at Direct Energy are optimistic about developing a successful competitive energy market in Arizona to serve retail electric customers – particularly residential and small business customers. Recently, our Government & Regulatory Affairs team submitted a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CC&N) to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to serve retail electric customers in the state. The ultimate goal is to allow more consumers in the state to reap the full benefits of a competitive retail market structure, which may include cost savings.

As you may have heard, we previously expanded our Call Center in Tempe and are currently in contact with a vendor to establish another significant Call Center in Tucson. We were lucky to be a part of the AG-1 pilot lottery system and now Direct Energy Business is serving loads for two large retailers throughout Arizona.

Continue reading →

.
Reply