Constellation Offers New Energy Options for Portland Businesses

When it comes to paying for power, business customers are often captives of their local utility.

If you are a Portland customer currently on Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Cost of Service rate, you will likely see rate increases as the utility plans to expand its electric generation capabilities through 2016.

Are you one of those affected? We want you to know you have options.

According to a recent earnings release, PGE’s prices have increased by 25 percent in the past decade, and they’re estimated to increase by 12-14 percent in the next few years.

Luckily, Constellation has been recently certified with PGE to serve business customers on Direct Access power programs. This means that in addition to already having a presence in the Oregon market through the management of wind farms, hydro power and transmission in the region, Constellation can now provide electric supply to certain business customers.

What Does Direct Access Mean to You?

PGE has a limited or capped competitive Direct Access power program that allows certain business customers to be served by a third-party supplier up to the cap, instead of receiving their supply through the utility’s bundled rates.

To qualify for PGE’s long term Direct Access programs, customers’ individual facilities need to be at least 250 kW or more and have an aggregate load of at least 1 average MW.

If you are a business owner looking for an appealing option for optimizing the total cost of your energy, this is exciting news for you. By electing Direct Access service, customers can choose supply products from other providers like Constellation. This, in turn, may help you manage your power costs in a way that will more closely align with business goals.

But how, exactly, can you manage your business’s energy usage more effectively with another provider such as Constellation ?

Choose Options That Best Fit Your Business

Depending on your business goals, you may select supply options that best suit your needs, such as through fixed rate or index based pricing.

Constellation allows businesses to fix all or a portion of their energy usage costs, giving them the option of price certainty. We also offer other products that allow these customers to buy their energy on a market-based, adjustable rate.

What is my Timeline?

Qualified business customers in Portland can now enroll in Direct Access under two, long-term programs that have three or five years of transition cost payments (depending on the program chosen).

Transition costs are fees that customers must pay when they leave utility service, and they will vary depending on the plan you choose.

If you are a business customer who is looking to choose the five-year program, you are expected to realize the most value because at the end of the five year period you will have no further obligation to pay any transition costs.

To learn more about your options for participating in Direct Access with Constellation as your provider, reach out to us today!

Jay Cattermole is Director of Regional Sales for Constellation.

Photo Credit: Allie_Caulfield