Enmax fixed vs. floating rates...

[REDVAN]

Got a call today from Enmax looking to sign me up for a 3 yr on 5.99/kwh... I'm currently on 8c but from what I heard from her all the "extra" charges change as well- so I suspect I would not save any money after all is said and done.

And she mentioned EasyMax rewards were disappearing? Anyone know about that?

[Fuzz]

I've been happily paying close to half that 8c on floating. From my experience, there are very few months were fixed has been cheaper. A few times I locked in for a few months then cancelled. Given natural gas prices being in the tank, and I presume demand being lower with our economy tanking, I don't see how fixed rates could be better in the near term.

I'm not sure what extra charges change...Could she tell you what the old and new fees are?

[Drury18]

What is the current floating electric rate?

Enmax used to have a webpage that clearly showed the amount, however in the last year or so I haven't been able to find it on their site and only the promo prices. I used to consistently watch it to switch between fixed and floating.

[Fuzz]

Ya, they like to move it and change how you find it. Really annoying.
Go here:
https://www.enmax.com/home/electrici...al-gas/easymax
scroll down to RATE OPTIONS
and click the 3-year floating rate link
when that popup opens, scroll down to "View Historical Rates", click that, then mouse over the chart. It is currently 4.2. For gas, scroll back to the top, click natural gas and do the same thing. Currently 2.3.

Really, really convoluted.

[Fuzz]

Oh, you can also go here:
https://www.enmax.com/home/electrici...as/tariffs/rro
and click "view rates" but that only gives you electricity, I've never figured how to get the gas rate in a table...

[HerbalTesla]

Here are historical gas rates

http://ucahelps.alberta.ca/historic-rates-2016.aspx

[The Hendog]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Got a call today from Enmax looking to sign me up for a 3 yr on 5.99/kwh... I'm currently on 8c but from what I heard from her all the "extra" charges change as well- so I suspect I would not save any money after all is said and done.

And she mentioned EasyMax rewards were disappearing? Anyone know about that?

Also trying to decide on this same situation and I am torn since the rate has been below 5.99/kwh for approximately 8 months and floating could be better. However we apparently use lots of electricity so the attraction of a stable rate for 3 years is nice as well and summer seems to usually see an increase in rates.

Is it as easy to change between floating and fixed (vice versa) as Enmax advertises?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

For the last 4 years I never really thought about energy prices. I'd been paying between $40 and $55 per month on my 5 year fixed at 8c.

Recently I started to notice that my prices has skyrocketed to $60-$70 per month. After spending hours trying to make heads and tails of Enmax's crappy website and their confusing plans riddled with fine print and ridiculous fees, I realized that my energy consumption had increased slightly and my fees had gone up. I'm still not 100% sure if it is because fees went up across the board or if they are tied to my energy use. It seems to me on my old bills that my fees are higher when I use more.

Then I had to try and figure out why my energy readings had been spiking for the last four months. Of course there is no way to track energy readings in real time or even on a slight delay. Only way is to check my bill, which is quite far behind. My bill dated March 15th lists Jan 25-Feb 25 as the billing dates.

After some review I think it was my PS4 usage, as nothing else could explain a random $15/mth increase, especially since my habits didn't change and the spike corresponds to when I got it.

Eventually I went to floating since the rate looked more attractive but I won't find out until mid-####ing May because in a few days I'm going to get my bill for my Feb-March usage. It is such a scam. My March-April usage won't be known to me until mid-May. I changed from fixed to floating on March 27th. Just 2 days into the billing cycle. But I won't know if my energy usage decreased or if it was worth it to switch until May 15th. A full 50 days after I switched.

I never realized how much I hate enmax until now. They are a much bigger scam than even telecom companies. At least I can halfway make out my telus bill.

/rant

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by The Hendog

Also trying to decide on this same situation and I am torn since the rate has been below 5.99/kwh for approximately 8 months and floating could be better. However we apparently use lots of electricity so the attraction of a stable rate for 3 years is nice as well and summer seems to usually see an increase in rates.

Is it as easy to change between floating and fixed (vice versa) as Enmax advertises?

Yes you can just call them, or do it online. I did it last year in June because I was on an 8c electricity plan, and went floating. Probably saved me a bunch so far.

With gas being so cheap, and no rise in site for the foreseeable future I wouldn't see any point in being locked in at a higher rate.

[DoubleF]

Cecil, call Enmax demanding an explanation of the increased energy usage. On certain rare occasions I've heard of situations where for whatever weird reason, Enmax has to "estimate" your usage.

I really can't imagine you using a PS4 suddenly uses so much more energy. Unless you went from no TV usage to PS4, super large TV and speakers... and even then I think it's a stretch.

Enmax has a smart energy thing they're touting right now which is supposed to compare energy usage between similar sized homes. Supposedly I use nearly 25% less energy than other homes my size. I don't know how they got this info, or if they tweaked the results in a lie to make me accept the cost of utilities. I also swear it's a coincidence my utilities went down after purchasing an installing a Nest, but I can't tell if it's because February/March were warmer than Jan/Feb or if the Nest actually helps.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Cecil, call Enmax demanding an explanation of the increased energy usage. On certain rare occasions I've heard of situations where for whatever weird reason, Enmax has to "estimate" your usage.

I really can't imagine you using a PS4 suddenly uses so much more energy. Unless you went from no TV usage to PS4, super large TV and speakers... and even then I think it's a stretch.

Enmax has a smart energy thing they're touting right now which is supposed to compare energy usage between similar sized homes. Supposedly I use nearly 25% less energy than other homes my size. I don't know how they got this info, or if they tweaked the results in a lie to make me accept the cost of utilities. I also swear it's a coincidence my utilities went down after purchasing an installing a Nest, but I can't tell if it's because February/March were warmer than Jan/Feb or if the Nest actually helps.

I think I may have to call them. I'm at a complete loss to explain it. I checked my usage and I had not gone over 230kwh in the last 2 years. Then I went in the high 200s and even into the 300s for 2 straight months. I'm gonna do a double check when I get my bill on the 15th to see if it went back to normal levels.

In fact looking at my usage, I was over 230 for 5 of the last 6 months dating back to October. But every billing cycle before that back to Jan 2014 I didn't exceed 230 once. Most months I was around 180. That's insane.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

For the last 4 years I never really thought about energy prices. I'd been paying between $40 and $55 per month on my 5 year fixed at 8c.

Recently I started to notice that my prices has skyrocketed to $60-$70 per month. After spending hours trying to make heads and tails of Enmax's crappy website and their confusing plans riddled with fine print and ridiculous fees, I realized that my energy consumption had increased slightly and my fees had gone up. I'm still not 100% sure if it is because fees went up across the board or if they are tied to my energy use. It seems to me on my old bills that my fees are higher when I use more.

Then I had to try and figure out why my energy readings had been spiking for the last four months. Of course there is no way to track energy readings in real time or even on a slight delay. Only way is to check my bill, which is quite far behind. My bill dated March 15th lists Jan 25-Feb 25 as the billing dates.

After some review I think it was my PS4 usage, as nothing else could explain a random $15/mth increase, especially since my habits didn't change and the spike corresponds to when I got it.

Eventually I went to floating since the rate looked more attractive but I won't find out until mid-####ing May because in a few days I'm going to get my bill for my Feb-March usage. It is such a scam. My March-April usage won't be known to me until mid-May. I changed from fixed to floating on March 27th. Just 2 days into the billing cycle. But I won't know if my energy usage decreased or if it was worth it to switch until May 15th. A full 50 days after I switched.

I never realized how much I hate enmax until now. They are a much bigger scam than even telecom companies. At least I can halfway make out my telus bill.

/rant

The best way to not get customers to complain about their bill is to make it really confusing. Paying ahead but billed inconsistently at different dates, readings that only get read every second month, admin charges that change, pay a month ahead or behind, but your paying for for march this year but it will include a payment for august last year etc.

It's a page out of the credit card handbook.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

For the last 4 years I never really thought about energy prices. I'd been paying between $40 and $55 per month on my 5 year fixed at 8c.

Recently I started to notice that my prices has skyrocketed to $60-$70 per month. After spending hours trying to make heads and tails of Enmax's crappy website and their confusing plans riddled with fine print and ridiculous fees, I realized that my energy consumption had increased slightly and my fees had gone up. I'm still not 100% sure if it is because fees went up across the board or if they are tied to my energy use. It seems to me on my old bills that my fees are higher when I use more.



/rant

Wow, this is great for you and extremely efficient, how big is your house?Are you using solar panels for part of the energy use?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Haha I guess in comparison to many that seems crazy cheap. Apartment style condo, baseboard heaters. Only pay electricity and I'm top floor southwest facing so even in the winter I don't need a lot of heat.

other than my tv/receiver/speakers/ps4 I don't really use a ton of electricity though. Lights, fridge. Computer sometimes. I do laundry fairly regularly so my dryer maybe eats up a bunch.

For me a $30 increase counts ask skyrocketing. As does a 50% increase in electricity usage.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Haha I guess in comparison to many that seems crazy cheap. Apartment style condo, baseboard heaters. Only pay electricity and I'm top floor southwest facing so even in the winter I don't need a lot of heat.

other than my tv/receiver/speakers/ps4 I don't really use a ton of electricity though. Lights, fridge. Computer sometimes. I do laundry fairly regularly so my dryer maybe eats up a bunch.

For me a $30 increase counts ask skyrocketing. As does a 50% increase in electricity usage.

What the... 230kWh? Maybe it's just me, but that sounds really high.

I used to live in a 650 is sq ft condo with electric baseboard heaters, North facing so colder. The building for sure is older (built 70s ish) and not very energy efficient. I had all the appliances including ensuite laundry and kept the temperature at probably 20-22C. I averaged around 38-45 bucks depending on season. (125-160 kWh @ .089 at the time). I too only paid for electricity at my place. Condo fees covered everything else.

I recently renegotiated 0.0679 for 3 years and my condo is racking up electricity bills of about $25 a month averaging 25kWh per month while I clean it up and look for a renter. (Admin fees are indeed approx half. Bleh.)

Enmax estimating could be a possibility, though very unlikely (worth asking though, maybe they'll give you a better rate without charging fees?). The other possibility is that the common area heat temp was set lower recently and your unit is using more energy to heat it/maintain temps to compensate? My condo common area is a sauna. I have been tempted to call and ask them to lower it, but since I don't live there any more... no point.

[stampsx2]

Thought it might be a good idea to lock in nat gas because of the ndp making heating homes more expensive starting next year. Turns out the enmax fixed nat gas rate is over five times the floating. 0.8 floating and 4.89 fixed for five years. Who would ever lock in with that kind of margin?

[Fuzz]

I suspect the carbon tax will be a line item on your bill, not integrated with the rate. For gas, anyway. Electricity will have the tax hidden as it will be paid at the gas generators so you probably only need to worry about locking in that.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I suspect the carbon tax will be a line item on your bill, not integrated with the rate. For gas, anyway. Electricity will have the tax hidden as it will be paid at the gas generators so you probably only need to worry about locking in that.

Not sure it can be a line item. The increase is $1/gj.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I suspect the carbon tax will be a line item on your bill, not integrated with the rate. For gas, anyway. Electricity will have the tax hidden as it will be paid at the gas generators so you probably only need to worry about locking in that.

Oh good, so that will bring the total number of line items for gas up to about 10 for me. It always boggles my mind when I look at my Enmax bill. Here are my current line items:

Energy charge - March 1 to March 16
Energy charge - Feb 19 to Feb 29
Administration Charge
Transaction Fee
Delivery Charges
Fixed Charge
Variable Charge
Rate Riders
Municipal franchise fee

So that's a total of 9 line items to bill me for 8.8 GJ of Gas used in a month. What a joke.

Speaking of which, is everyone's bill like this? My actual "energy charge" is $12.00, but when you add all that other crap on it's $70.38. My bill is almost entirely administration/transaction charges. I always assumed that was how it was for everyone, but after typing all that out I'm starting to wonder.

[Fuzz]

Yup, that's about right. It makes your usage not matter all that much because fixed charges make up 3/4 of your bill.

Stampsx2, why can't it be a line item? They can charge tax per GJ, they do it for one of the other fees, can't remember which one. Given how they report usage, I'd suspect they wouldn't want to roll a tax into it.

The reason we have so many line items is because years ago, people complained that their bill was opaque. You got a charge and had no idea what it was made up of. So they "fixed" it and broke out every item.