ComEd Electrical RRTP Savings Program - 6 Month Review

I've been on the Chicago area Commonwealth Edison RRTP (Residential Real Time Pricing Program) for about 6 months. I've been extremely happy with the savings that we have seen on the program. I blogged about the setup and equipment a couple months ago in this blog post (http://blog.trebacz.com/2012/10/comed-residentipricing-rrtp-program.html). That blog post show what the equipment, installation time, and billing cycle look like.

Now I wanted to share what the savings look like to my house in just 6 months with the program. Conveniently ComEd has a referral program. They sent me an email with my savings and encouraging me to tell my friends (in turn I get a $20 credit for each person who mentions my name when they sign up). So here it is (in ComEd's words).

Hi, 
I’ve been taking control of my electricity bills with an innovative program called ComEd Residential Real-Time Pricing (ComEd.com/RRTP).  This program is special because rather than paying a fixed price, you pay the hourly, wholesale price for electricity. That means you can take advantage of lower prices during off-peak times. 
I’ve saved 54.05% on supply for a total of $353.37 since I enrolled 5 months ago. You might be able to save, too. Call (888) 202-RRTP (7787) or check out the website ComEd.com/RRTP to see if ComEd RRTP is a good fit for you.   
If you do enroll, put my name down on the enrollment form under “how you heard about the program” so I can earn a referral bonus.  
Thanks!  
P.S. If you have any questions, you can call (888) 202-RRTP (7787) to speak to an RRTP program specialist.
I'm sure this type of savings isn't what everyone can expect, but we are very pleased to have saved 50% over our previous electric billing. The site that I use to look up the savings did change partway through the program to www.energybilldata.biz. The screenshots below are from my account on that monitoring website. The site has a lot of information, but I think the two images blow illustrate what I've found valuable.

For my account the RRTP rate savings looks like the image below (agrees with the email energy savings summary):
I usually check this once a month to give myself a feel good that I made the right decision.

The website also has usage graphs that allow you to see usage, electrical rate, and your total energy cost down to that hour. The chart are viewable at the monthly, day, and hour levels for any time that you have been on the program.

I use this chart to get an idea how effective we have been at moving our energy usage to non-peak rate times. This was difficult to do in the winter (Christmas lights probably should have been LED's...), but I think this will be more telling as we move into the summer months. We have signed up for the air conditioner cutout program also.

I couldn't be happier with the program. We have truly saved over $350 real dollars while on the program, our electrical service remains exactly the same, and we got some information to curb our energy usage during peaks times to further reduce our energy costs.

If you do sign up and this blog helped you make that decision -consider paying me back by:
If your friends decide to enroll, ask them to put your name on the enrollment form in response to the question about how they heard about the program. (For online enrollment, they should check the box labeled “referral” and type your name in the field that appears.)
Thanks for reading -and I'd highly suggest considering a electrical utility savings program like this if it's available in your area. 

Comments

  1. Dave, is the RRTP meter the same thing as the "smart meters" that COMED will be installing statewide?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I'm pretty sure this is what Commonwealth Edison calls theirs smart meter program. I put smart in quotes, since the meters currently need to be read by a human reader and the data isn't available in real time to a homeowner. It is available in detail once the meter is "read" once a month.

    I believe the meters can support a smarter grid, but Commonwealth Edison doesn't have all the infrastructure in place to support a smart grid to my house.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Many communities such as Lisle have entered agreements to purchase electricity for their residents if they opt in. ComEd does not use the negotiated Village rates in the formula for calculating savings. Therefore, my reported savings are over estimated.

    If your town has similar purchase agreements you may have to recalculate your savings.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David, awesome post, thank you! I am still trying to figure out where I can see real time rates.. is there a link or will that be available only if I enrol in the program?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can see real time prices at this link: https://rrtp.comed.com/live-prices/

      Once your in the program you can see your actual usage by the hour by logging into a site. I also use an Android widget on my android phone:

      https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.innersource.rrtp&hl=en

      The widget allows you to see the pricing anytime.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, David, yes I was able to view RTP at the link. Btw - I have signed on to RRTP late last week, and given your name as referral/ reference. If you get any credit - well deserved.

      Delete

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