NOPEC – City of Lakewood’s Shocking Electrical Sting Operation

[Richard Baker]

NOPEC informed me, they the “preferred governmental aggregation supplier” that if I act now and didn’t send in the opt-out form enclosed, I would receive, not one, not two but three months, yes, three months of the unheard-of low electrical energy cost of only 4.899 cents per kWh. After the first three months, they charged a monthly variable rate based on the utility rate with a 6 percent discount.

I went to the Energy Choice Ohio website and found that I purchase at 4.79 cents per kWh fixed rate for 12 months or 4.59 cents for nine months fixed price, both with no penalty for early cancellation. Some suppliers proclaim they include some amount of renewable energy but understand that the total renewal electrical power generated in the US in only 17 percent. Renewal energy is used by consumers that are located the closest to the generation hydro, windmill, or solar plants, and your home will not be using electricity from them. They are announcing the purchased portion of a renewable energy generation that will be used by others. Incredibly they are increasing the profits to companies generating renewable energy because it’s typically less expensive to produce.

The whole idea of deregulation of energy by an inept and inert Congress was to lower the price that consumers were to pay for natural gas or electricity. What it did, was allow the various utilities to make huge increases on their line and delivery charges, and charge for their cost of energy if you didn’t select another supplier. I put hundreds of middlemen operations [boiler room operations that didn’t generate power only retailed it] in the energy supplier business. Deregulation did not lower energy cost has actually raised the cost of energy. However, the increases we would endure today were offset by the massive supply of natural gas provided by cracking and shell deposits production lowering the cost to consumers of electricity and natural gas.

Anytime the City of Lakewood or any other government agency approaches you with a proclamation that they are going to save you money, put one hand on your wallet, and don’t turn you back when you walk away. I do suggest you review your current energy bills and look at the Energy Choice Ohio website, http://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/Default.aspx and make your own financial decisions about who provides your energy to you home. I can make a substantial difference in the utility cost for your home.

[Stan Austin]

I would add to that the phony "maintenance agreements" that First Energy has been promoting. This would be an ideal example of utility fraud that a brand new law director could pursue.




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[dl meckes]

If you have the PulsePoint app, you would see that Lakewood has a daily problem with our electrical wires arcing. Each of these reports means that a crew from one fire station or another has to go out and monitor the wires. They also need to block off portions of the street. This is a potential fire hazard. So what is First Energy doing about this problem? Are they replacing old wires that have insulation burned off?

When will our electrical infrastructure be repaired or replaced?

[Richard Baker]

[quote="Stan Austin"]I would add to that the phony "maintenance agreements" that First Energy has been promoting. This would be an ideal example of utility fraud that a brand new law director could pursue.




f[/quote]

I seriously doubt that the electrical maintenance insurance program is illegal, but it’s an extremely high-profit business for several reasons. The revenue associated with the risk of electrical problems in homes is obscene. Older homes that issues that are related to overloaded circuits, faults due to corrosion at the terminals at the outlets, switches, and lamp fixtures. The insurance does not replace all the old wiring in a home; it will only repair the circuit that is causing the fault.

They will not provide wiring insurance on knob and tube wiring installed in homes between the 1880s to the 1940s. This type of wiring fell out of favor because of its high cost of installation. Thus they eliminate the risks associated with older homes and its wiring. Knob and tube is perfectly safe since the hot and neutral wires are separated and insulated from wood with porcelain tubes and knobs. It has the same issues as older types of wiring due to corrosion on the outlets, switches, etc. connections.

If your home has outlets that are warmer than room temperature when you're using them, I suggest you have an electrician look at your outlets. Corrosion at the terminals causes resistance, in turn, it generates heat, just like an electric heater, and this could cause a fire.

[Stan Austin]

Richard-- I appreciate your analysis of the wiring in older homes. It just seems to me that a quick reading of First Energy's maintenance offers, though, refers to the connection between the pole and the house.
As I recall, they offer repair coverage for @ $20 a month.
They already do this! It's part of your basic hook up as a customer!
WTF?
That's shorthand legalese that has appeared in other threads!
Stan

[Matthew Lee]

Back to the topic at hand......NOPEC.

Just received our letter. When did we, the voters of Lakewood, approve moving to NOPEC? I am not saying we didn't, I just seriously can't recalling such a vote in the community.

[Richard Baker]

[quote="Stan Austin"]Richard-- I appreciate your analysis of the wiring in older homes. It just seems to me that a quick reading of First Energy's maintenance offers, though, refers to the connection between the pole and the house.
As I recall, they offer repair coverage for @ $20 a month.
They already do this! It's part of your basic hook up as a customer!
WTF?
That's shorthand legalese that has appeared in other threads!
Stan[/quote]

They offer different service plans, which I still believe they still do. I was referring to their interior wiring coverage. You are correct; the electric utility is responsible for the drop line from the pole to the weather head, the thing that looks like a beehive.

I believe their exterior plan covers the service entry, conduit, wiring, meter box from the weather head down to the meter or breaker box; I don't remember which. The coverage would cover the rare occurrence when a tree falls on the drop or utility pole falls and rips off the service entry from the side of your house. The average cost would be between $700 and $1000 to replace it. It's a bigger scam than the interior wiring coverage.