February 07, 2011|By Andrew Maykuth, Inquirer Staff Writer
While homeowners can compare published residential electric rates, owners of small businesses have no similar resource. Alternative suppliers rarely post their commercial rates, which are often negotiated based upon a customers’ “load profile” – their patterns of electric usage.
“For most mom-and-pop types of business, the electric bill is a nuisance, but not a major part of their cost,” said William R. Lloyd Jr., Pennsylvania’s small-business advocate. “They’re worried about making payroll, or paying taxes. For them to shop around for power may not be a good use of their time.”
So it seemed to Dave Brown, general manager of Talluto’s Authentic Italian Food Inc., of South Philadelphia. After a parade of sales representatives evaluated his $1,200 monthly electric bills last year, he grew weary and chose one in October whose claims seemed honest.
“The ones who were pitching me really hard, I just didn’t believe them,” said Brown, who promptly forgot the name of the company he chose and refocused on the business of making and selling cheese.
Nearly three-quarters of Peco’s largest commercial and industrial customers have switched suppliers since rate caps were lifted Jan. 1, but only a third of the utility’s 156,375 small and midsize commercial customers have switched, according to Peco.
“Shopping is a more realistic option for larger customers that may have some in-house expertise to evaluate offers,” Lloyd said.
Despite the complications of shopping, there may be attractive potential savings for some businesses. In a deregulated market, customers are free to shop for a supplier of electricity, which Peco delivers over its wires for a regulated fee.
Total energy expenditures as a percentage of sales varies dramatically for different types of businesses, according to a 2008 Small Business Administration study. Small food and beverage stores spend 2.1 percent on energy, restaurants and bars spend 2.8 percent, and accommodations – hotels, guesthouses – spend 7.1 percent.
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