Consumerist

utilities

Utilities With Successful Conservation Campaigns To Collect Government Cash

By consumeristcarey 9.23.07

California utilities may soon unveil new conservation campaigns thanks to an innovative plan unveiled last week by regulators. Under the plan, the Public Utilities Commission will set three-year efficiency targets. Utilities that meet at least 85% of the targets stand to collect rewards of up to $323 million. Utilities that fail to meet 65% of the targets could face penalties worth $500 million.

The PUC forecasts that the program would result in $2.4 billion in energy savings before 2008 and would cut about 3.4 million tons of carbon dioxide from California’s air.

utilities

Walmart Launches House Brand CFLs

By Meg Marco 9.21.07

“The introduction of our Great Value bulbs make CFLs a more accessible option for our shoppers as we strive to sell 100 million CFLs by the end of 2007,” said Wal-Mart General Merchandise Manager Andy Barron in a statement.

power saving

Get Rid Of "Phantom Power Usage" In Your Home

By cwalters 9.21.07

Trent at thesimpledollar.com is on a mission to cut the extra fat from his budget, and he’s found that one step is to reduce the amount of unused power that goes into his home. Everything you leave plugged in continues to draw a small amount of power, and although the cost for these small drains is minimal on a per-item basis, they can add up faster than you think.

utilities

Ameren Rate Relief For Illinois, Your Rebate Checks Are In The Mail

By Meg Marco 9.11.07

When Robert Hancock of Carterville, IL got his monthly power bill, it made him mad. Why? Because it was $526.62—up 200% from the previous month.

california

"It's Policy" Were Fighting Words For Screwed Utility Customer

By consumerist.com 9.10.07

This success story on utility watchdog TURN’s site illustrates the power of developing an effective argument strategy before calling customer service.

cooling

Reach Georgia Power Executive Customer Service

By consumerist.com 9.10.07

Michael Garrett (pictured)- CEO – Georgia Power – 404-506-7733 (Mickey’s boss)

utilities

New York Regulators Approve Unprecedented ConEd Rate Hike

By consumeristcarey 9.8.07

Staffers at the New York State Public Service Commission have signed off on ConEd’s plan to impose the largest rate hike in the company’s history. ConEd asked for $1.2 billion, but PSC staffers think the utility is entitled to only $618 million. New Yorkers already pay some of the highest electricity bills in the nation.

“This is all part of the sham that goes on with every rate hike request,” said Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris, a Queens Democrat who sits on the Assembly’s power committee and who has criticized the utility for its response to the 2006 power failure in his borough. “Con Edison asks for more than it expects to get,” he said. “The P.S.C. rides in on its white horse and takes credit for slashing the request. But the end result is still what Con Edison wanted all along.”

utilities

Save On Utilities By Spending More On Your Home

By consumeristcarey 6.30.07

Saving by spending is not as counterintuitive as it sounds when it comes to home improvements. Though energy-saving improvements can cost more upfront, savings are eventually realized as lower utility bills. Kiplinger put together a nifty list to help determine how long it takes to recoup the extra amount spent on energy-efficient improvements:

undercover at idt energy

Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Table Of Contents

By consumerist.com 6.12.07

In case you missed any of 7-part undercover report on IDT-Energy, Midtown Promotions, and the fabulous worlds of energy resale and multi-level-marketing, here’s a recap:

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Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Confession

By consumerist.com 6.8.07

After only three days with Midtown Promotions, I could already tell that I’d wait weeks, maybe months or a full year before coming upon hard evidence of fraud, if I found any evidence at all. After leaving James and Doreen in the Bronx, I took the afternoon off and went to work on these diaries.

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Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meltdown

By consumerist.com 6.7.07

From the moment I met up with James, and Doreen, who was going our way, things began to fall apart. Eric told me to follow James, not Carl, who was going solo. I was to listen to James’ instructions, follow his example, and go to wherever he decided we should spend the day. Today was Mt. Vernon, NY, almost 90 minutes from the offices of Midtown Promotions.

undercover at idt energy

Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Status Report

By consumerist.com 6.7.07

If you’re just now tuning in, we’ve been doling out daily pieces of our multi-part investigation into IDT-Energy. They’re an energy reseller in the New York area and we’ve received multiple complaints about their salesperson’s dressing as ConEd workers and doing other funny stuff at the door to get people to sign over. So we sent in Brian Fairbanks undercover to get hired at Midtown Promotions, a direct-sales marketing company IDT-Energy contracted to get subscribers.

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Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meeting

By consumerist.com 6.6.07

Before the morning meeting started, I left my man-purse on a set of boxes right by the blackboard, with the microphone discreetly poking out of the pocket.

SCAMS

Want To Cancel Your Energy "Savings?" That'll Be $1800

By consumerist.com 6.5.07

“Several companies are engaging in these very aggressive tactics against consumers and small businesses, many of the people and the businesses are getting ripped off,” said City Councilman John Liu. “There needs to be stronger regulation.” — BEN POPKEN

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Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Let's Get Juiced

By consumerist.com 6.5.07

I staggered into Midtown Promotions at 10am on Wednesday. Seeing as how people were only trickling in for the morning meeting, the receptionist and another office assistant gave me some papers to fill out and sign. (Note: all spelling errors/typos are as they appeared…)

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Door To Door Energy Resellers Fail To Deliver Promised Savings

By consumerist.com 6.4.07

The NY Post ran a good article looking into whether the savings promised by door-to-door energy resale reps like IDT Energy ever really materialize for subscribers:

“I’ve had complaints from residents, as well as small businesses, who have unwittingly switched to a different energy provider and seen their bills go through the roof,” said City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens).

One Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, IDT customer – a bartender who gave her name as Carmel – said her electric bill jumped from $40 to $70, and she is anxious to cancel.

escos

IDT Energy Starts At 7% Discount, Switches To Variable After 2 Months

By consumerist.com 6.4.07

While scanning the collateral Brian picked up in his investigation, we nearly choked on this gem buried in their terms and conditions: it says that you’ll get 7% savings for the first two months, but after that, there’s no telling whether your bill will be higher or lower than what it would be with ConEd (click to enlarge image).

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Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Day Of O

By consumerist.com 6.4.07

I sat in the offices of Midtown Promotions, watching the receptionist field calls from job prospects, still surprised at having been one of those callers not even twenty-four hours prior.

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