Saturday, March 3, 2012

COMPETITION FAILS TO SPARK.(BUSINESS)

Byline: KENNETH AARON Business writer

Most people have a MEGO -- My Eyes Glaze Over -- moment at the thought of analyzing competing electricity plans.

But not Jeremy Tschudin.

The retired high school economics teacher thought picking out a new provider would be an interesting exercise.

Until he actually spent six hours wading through the plans.

``After trying to figure it out, I thought, `I can't figure this out,' '' said the Chatham resident. Eventually, he concluded that if he saved any money, it would be only a few bucks a month.

``I couldn't believe it was the conclusion I was supposed to reach,'' he said. But it was what it was, so he's going to remain with New York State Electric & Gas.

Tschudin is among 800,000 NYSEG customers who have until month's end to decide whether to stick with the utility for their electricity needs or go to a competitor. If history repeats itself, they'll sit still, too. And there's no way to tell when retail electric competition will develop enough for them to want to join the market.

Almost all of the state's residential electric users, when faced with the prospect of choice, have passed on it. Five years after the Public Service Commission opened the door for competitive electricity suppliers to enter the state, just 5.3 percent of New York's households have left the arms of their trusty utility.

Sure, that Dec. 31 deadline has spurred many NYSEG customers to take an …

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