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Comcast Starts Selling Electricity In Pennsylvania

Earlier this year we noted that Comcast was toying with the idea of getting into the electricity business in their home state of Pennsylvania. That effort has now gone live, with Comcast teaming up with a unit of NRG Energy to effectively bundle electricity with Comcast's suite of phone, cable, broadband, and home security services.

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The program, dubbed Energy Rewards, offers users who sign up for Comcast's new energy services prepaid Visa cards and three free months of HBO, Showtime or Starz.

You can check out the Comcast energy plans here. There's two options: a six-month, "Guaranteed Savings" plan that provides a 10% discount from the utility's variable price, or a fixed plan that locks in a price for power for the next 12-month period.

It's obviously too early to tell if this promotional effort will see expansion into additional states. Comcast is already the nation's largest cable TV provider, largest broadband provider, and third-largest phone company. Perhaps getting into dental hygiene is next?
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Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

Forget to pay your TV bill this month? There goes your electricity.
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

...

I'd be concerned too. Talk about having you by the cohonies. I won't even keep my savings in the same bank as my checking. Car insurance and house insurance are at different companies.
thomasrelee
join:2007-02-01
Winston Salem, NC

1 edit

thomasrelee

Member

Re: ...

said by Millenium:

... Car insurance and house insurance are at different companies.

Here in good ole NC, politicians and the insurance industry have worked together to make sure you can not do this anymore.

Your options now are:

- Carry all of your insurance needs through the same company.
- Have no insurance at all.

If you carry insurance on your home with one company and your vehicle with another - you run the risk of being caught by one company or the other and will then be greeted with cancellation of both policies. Lawmakers here can be quoted as saying there is nothing wrong with this practice.

I would be more concerned that this trend of lumping services is not new! We will all be faced with this "all or nothing" approach in every industry moving forward as single corporations are allowed to control/own so many aspects of these industries.

(edit) - We are the guinea pigs as our elected officials keep letting these mega-mergers/acquisitions of single corporations proceed.
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

Re: ...

said by thomasrelee:

Here in good ole NC, politicians and the insurance industry have worked together to make sure you can not do this anymore.

Your options now are:

- Carry all of your insurance needs through the same company.
- Have no insurance at all.

No kidding? I wonder what's on the state's mind to force people to bundle.
intok (banned)
join:2012-03-15

intok (banned)

Member

Re: ...

Something like this:

»youtu.be/tb0ylZHHY08?t=1m16s
thomasrelee
join:2007-02-01
Winston Salem, NC

thomasrelee to Millenium

Member

to Millenium
Just one link on the topic, we've been living under this practice a few years now. Caused a lot of people a lot of grief...

»www.wbtv.com/story/16491 ··· ompanies

and another:

»www.newsobserver.com/201 ··· -by.html

and another from just last week - highlighting the audacity of the insurance industry in action here - the state has lost control when they feel they could not win against the industry in a trial setting IMHO:

»www.charlotteobserver.co ··· tes.html
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband to Robert

Member

to Robert

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

It takes much more to disconnect power service- still a regulated product as far as disconnects and not done with a computer like most people think- still requires a truck roll.
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

They're not the utility anyway. They don't have trucks or control your meter. They just sell you the electricity you use through the local utility - who still bills you for the pleasure.

Frank
Premium Member
join:2000-11-03
somewhere

Frank to TBBroadband

Premium Member

to TBBroadband
said by TBBroadband:

It takes much more to disconnect power service- still a regulated product as far as disconnects and not done with a computer like most people think- still requires a truck roll.

maybe where you live.....

Some electrical companies have remote disconnection abilities. Think about it, if the electric company can connect to a smart meter to get usage details they can probably send a signal to flip a switch on newer meters that will disconnect you from the power grid.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

Those still fall under state regulation and are different than a cable disconnection. The OP said that if you don't pay your cable bill - you could get your power disconnected- the point being is power is regulated- cable is not- falls under something totally different. and those who companies who use smart meters are far less than what you really think. Many of the largest power companies do not use them.

Frank
Premium Member
join:2000-11-03
somewhere

Frank

Premium Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

said by TBBroadband:

Those still fall under state regulation and are different than a cable disconnection. The OP said that if you don't pay your cable bill - you could get your power disconnected- the point being is power is regulated- cable is not- falls under something totally different. and those who companies who use smart meters are far less than what you really think. Many of the largest power companies do not use them.

I think eventually most companies will be replacing regular meters with smart meters as smart meters are a part of the plans for the smart grid.

»www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid

The link below shows how smart meters can be used to disconnect and reconnect service remotely for non payment/payment.

»www.smartgrid.gov/docume ··· nect_v30
intok (banned)
join:2012-03-15

intok (banned)

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

The problem is that the smart grid is a terrible idea from a security standpoint. But then again so is powering the whole country on fossil fuels.

A single stuxnet style attack against the "smart" grid would cripple the US for months.

That Dude
@rr.com

That Dude to Frank

Anon

to Frank
Not likely, they would never allow a grid relying on all the power that handles a city to be connected remotely... Terrorism, someone hacking into a system and remotely turning power off, whether it's a house, city block, or an entire city. Has to be done manually.
intok (banned)
join:2012-03-15

intok (banned)

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

said by That Dude :

Not likely, they would never allow a grid relying on all the power that handles a city to be connected remotely... Terrorism, someone hacking into a system and remotely turning power off, whether it's a house, city block, or an entire city. Has to be done manually.

Don't kid yourself, their greed will make them do exactly that because it's cheaper then having the staff and trucks on hand to do the work.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina to TBBroadband

Member

to TBBroadband
Remote disconnect is at least possible in Boston. I was watching a home improvement show called Flipping Boston (or something like that and the flippers forgot to pay the bill in the middle of a remodel. He had to make it to the power company office by 5pm to get the power restored or risk losing the whole weekend. He made it and as soon as he paid the bill, power was immediately restored. No way they rolled a truck that fast.

Eddy120876
join:2009-02-16
Bronx, NY

Eddy120876

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

In New york city they have the power to send a tech to disconnect you if you are due no matter the time or day . Happen to me when i had a dispute with then about a huge summer bill when I was away from the country. Mind you I contact then 30 days before the travel by phone and in writing,disconnected everything and nobody has keys to my place. I come home and what do i get a 300 dollar bill and no explanation as to why it was so high when nobody was home. So they disconnected my service i went to court and in the end i had to pay 100 and since then its been super high no matter what. When you let a monopoly control something vital abuses likes this will happen. I feel sorry for anybody having to suffer when a horrible comp like comcast takes over.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

1 recommendation

rradina

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

Are you in an apartment complex or multi-dwelling unit? If so, someone might have used your out-of-country experience to attach a circuit behind your meter to steal power. If possible, shut off the main to make sure the meter is at rest. Turn on breakers one by one and note consumption. That's a pain but if your meter is in a private and safe place, use your smartphone and Skype a video call to a laptop so you can note what the meter does with each breaker. If you feel you would lose your phone, get a friend to help.

In 1990 I lived in an apartment with unusually high A/C bills. The door to the apartment opened to an entry way that was somewhat conditioned. As such the doors were not airtight (large gap at the bottom of the door. I finally noticed a huge positive outflow whenever the blower was running. Further investigation an I discovered my inside cold air return ducts were blocked, forcing the unit to use outside air. Needless to say, its a lot harder to remove heat from 90+ degree outside air vs. 75 degree inside air. When the lease came due I moved.

Eddy120876
join:2009-02-16
Bronx, NY

Eddy120876

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

I live in a building. The meter is on the basement and no tenant can get in that room only the superintendent can get there. But I will turn the breakers off so that won't happen again. Thanks for the headsup
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband to rradina

Member

to rradina
Depends on where you live to get a truck that fast. I've seen power disconnected and a truck in the neighborhood turned it back on within a few minutes if they were near by.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Re: The more you lump the services, the great chance of failure..

The guy was on the phone with the job site and said she hit ENTER and the site said the power was on. I specifically remember it because I didn't know they could do that.

Eddy120876
join:2009-02-16
Bronx, NY

Eddy120876 to TBBroadband

Member

to TBBroadband
Once the judge rule on my favor they turn the power by the time i arrived home and i manage to get some more compensation for all the food lost. So in turn I only pay 25 bucks.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose to TBBroadband

Member

to TBBroadband
Unless its a SmartMETER, they yes they can cut it off remotely.

NickD
Premium Member
join:2000-11-17
Princeton Junction, NJ

1 recommendation

NickD to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
Power neutrality: The electricity for your Comcast cable box, computer, and cable modem is free. However, if you have satellite TV and DSL or FiOS, the electricity rates for those devices will be double. The electricity for your TV is free when you watch NBC, and double when you watch any other channels.

Your base rate will be $50 a month, which includes 200 kilowatt hours, enough for most people. If you go over your cap, its $10 for every 30 kilowatt hours you go over. It's expensive, but some companies are willing to pay Comcast for the electricity costs if you use their appliances, so it's free on your end. It's called sponsored electricity.

OSIU
Premium Member
join:2003-11-12
Nowhere
·Armstrong

OSIU

Premium Member

Pentaplay?

So if cable, phone, internet is triple play; cable, phone, internet, and wireless is a quad play; is this the new pentaplay?

A side note, just imagine what is going to happen when Comcast and the energy company get into a pricing squabble, THAT will be a transmission dispute of epic proportions!
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

This should be fun

I'm curious how electrical service plays into Comcast's strategic plan. Is the company trying to focus on being the deliverer of utility services?
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

1 recommendation

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

comcast is interested in both vertical, horizontal, and diagonal integration and assimilation. This probably just gets them cheaper attachment rates on the poles. I am waiting for those with "comcast energy" to start getting their rate hike notices.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

this has nothing to do with local poles or delivery of power, those are still your local utilities.
PA deregulated electrical power in such a way the you have the local utility charging a fee for local power grid and final delivery, but you buy your power from a separate wholesale (hedge fund) entity. Comcast is now one of those gambling that the power you agree to purchase today will cost them less to deliver over the next 6/12 months.
»www.paelectricity.org/lo ··· delphia/

being the biller allows them to be your goto/ one number to call for services and a good chance you'll also trust them for broadband, TV, security, phone, etc.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband to openbox9

Member

to openbox9
could be and may work for them. Would be no different than Earthlink or Covad/MegaPath- they're phone, internet, etc.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

3 recommendations

Skippy25 to openbox9

Member

to openbox9
Electrical capping is no joking matter!

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

said by Skippy25:

Electrical capping is no joking matter!

Capping is un-necessary when you pay by volume.
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

1 edit

Millenium

Member

Re: Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

Not precisely true. Commodity suppliers purchase electric and natural gas in advance, based on anticipated demand. Go over, and they have to go back to market to purchase more on demand. This might be cheaper than the futures they purchased. It also might be a lot more. Purchase too much in futures, you just bought more than you sold and you potentially lose big money.

It's a tricky game that should leave no one confident in third party suppliers, even honest ones.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Bring on the jokes about capping electrical service

They do exactly as they did in the northeast this year.
Drastically raise the end price on short term contracts, and eat it on the longer term ones.

Where I live many Public Utility Districts supply most of the power and are rapidly finding it cheaper to pay you to insulate/use CFL's or LED's and pay for part of a heatpump, then to find new cheap sources of power.
Other non customer owned power and gas companies are happy to provide as much as you'll use at a regulated price above their cost.
Both are far more stable then the "deregulated" states.

diablo18926
R.I.P. Donald Lee Wise
join:2011-04-21
Friendly, WV

diablo18926 to openbox9

Member

to openbox9
There's already a bunch of internet providers who do usage caps and did you notice that gasoline for your vehicle is also getting capped? Only specific gas stations do it and the way it works is if you want to fill your car or truck, you have to guess how much it will cost. Now that you paid the clerk, you can get your gas, any left over amount will be a tab to the gas station.(just kidding, you get your money back, if any left over)

•••••

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

"In Case of Power Outage..."

"...we will not address your outage unless multiple persons in your area report it. If no one else does, it's probably a problem in your own home. In either case, we will be there between the hours of 8 and 5 between Monday and Friday."

This is clearly an over-exaggerated dramatisation, but it's pretty much where I would see that possibly going.
mpellegrini
join:2009-02-22
Tacoma, WA

mpellegrini

Member

Escort services!

The next obvious allied industry Comcast needs to branch out into is obviously the Escort Business. It really makes a lot of sense - it dovetails with their lobbying and think about the potential for bundling!
turnerbrewer
join:2011-11-22

turnerbrewer

Member

Proctology next?

Comcast has years of experience in this field. They routinely perform this service to each and every customer on a daily basis. A truck roll not required.

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY

2 recommendations

MxxCon

Member

Re: Proctology next?

Don't confuse customer reaming with legitimate medical procedures that help people.
Comcast does the earlier, not the later.

goalieskates
Premium Member
join:2004-09-12
land of big

goalieskates

Premium Member

Comcast Starts Selling Electricity In Pennsylvania

Comcast with its well-earned reputation for dreadful customer service wants to be a utility? What regulating body thought that was a good idea?

•••••
ScrawnyB
join:2004-05-18
Mechanicsburg, PA

ScrawnyB

Member

3rd Party Electric Suppliers Overcharging on Variable Rate Plans In Winter

It's funny that this is happening now, right after there's pressure from PA Attorney General to investigate into 3rd party suppliers' rate hikes (2x-3x!) during the winter season.

»www.attorneygeneral.gov/ ··· ?id=7535

»www.examiner.com/article ··· gh-bills

Some bills that averaged between $200 and $350 during winter (eg. baseboard heat for some), they were seeing bills of upwards and sometimes over $1,000 for certain months when these changes happened.

DeathK
Premium Member
join:2002-06-16
Cincinnati, OH

DeathK

Premium Member

Re: 3rd Party Electric Suppliers Overcharging on Variable Rate Plans In Winter

Cincinnati Bell Energy here hiked their rates a few months ago with no notice. It jumped from 6 cents per kilowatt-hour to 9 cents (and up to 9.9 cents this past month).

»www.wcpo.com/money/consu ··· ustomers

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties

Premium Member

Comcast Power...


Will they cap your usage if you draw too much?
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

Re: Comcast Power...

all power use is billed by use now maybe comcast internet can be billed like power say $0.005 an MB

capecoddah
join:2005-03-18
Yarmouth Port, MA

1 recommendation

capecoddah

Member

Outages?

Power goes out once a week and you have to unplug your house for 5 minutes?

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

1 recommendation

battleop

Member

Will this spread? Will EPB welcome this with open arms?

EPB's primary selling point on their Fiber Network was that Comcast was a monopoly. I'm wondering if EPB (a real Monopoly) will welcome this competition with open arms or will they fight it just like Comcast fought them on their Fiber Network.

My guess is they will be a bunch of hypocrites...
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

...

Notice the red flags:

A) We'll give you free stuff if you sign up.
B) We require a contract.
neufuse
join:2006-12-06
James Creek, PA

neufuse

Member

300KW/h cap

So if I use more then 300KW/h in a month do I get disconnected? right now I use 700KW/w a month

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY

MxxCon

Member

Re: 300KW/h cap

No, you'll have to switch to their Small Business plan.
slckusr
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Greenville, SC

slckusr

Premium Member

Broadband over Powerline ?

Maybe BPL is their backup plan once the government decides to regulate their traditional internet offerings.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

I'll stay with WMECo

At least Western Mass Electric Company has to answer to the Mass DPU.

I think Electric Utility deregulation should be repealed, Iowa never unbundled the electric monopoly and their electricity is much cheaper.
63475675 (banned)
join:2014-01-06

63475675 (banned)

Member

This isn't anything new in Phila, and surrounding areas.

I remember that way back in 1996 or so the PUC allowed other energy companies to sell power in our area so there would be competition, of course the actual infrastructure was maintained by PECO, but any number of companies could offer competitive prices for service, I had an alternative provider, and I did save a significant amount of money during the years they offered this plan, eventually the companies providing the offerings stopped because they weren't making enough profit to satisfy their greedy execs and shareholders and it ceased around
2000.
63475675

63475675 (banned)

Member

With Concrap's record who the heck would trust them with a critical utility?

You have to be nuts trusting this crooked and greedy company with your most critical utility!

I agree with others who stated that beware of the "free stuff" and the contract.
It might seem great before you sign up but the pain will begin shortly after they
"have you by the short hairs".
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

Caps?

I wonder what the electricity is capped at?

tigerpaw509
join:2011-01-19

tigerpaw509

Member

Not a real electric company

They are simply a reseller nothing more.They could resell gasoline or natural gas or just about everything else.They dont own anything electric,they buy bulk at a discount and resell(bill)at a slight increase to you.

•••
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

I wonder when......

the claims of 'congestion', and calling people 'electron hogs', begins.
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