Electric Choice recently opened to another group of businesses at the top of the Queue in the DTE service area. Every customer who is still in the DTE Queue has now moved closer to the top.
Why has space finally opened up after all these years? Because the total 2022 usage of Electric Choice customers in the DTE service area ended up below the cap of 10% of the utility’s total load. This has now occurred in three straight years.
What does this mean to you? If you are in the Queue in DTE territory, your position has improved by approximately 100 spaces since a year ago. If you have meters that are not in the Queue, it might be a good time to give this a closer look.
Space could open in the future for the same reasons it opened recently. Importantly, Electric Choice participation is specific to the meter, not just the customer. So there are many factors that could reduce the customer load on Electric Choice as a percentage of the utility’s overall load.
- Active Electric Choice customers can reduce their usage. Many businesses are investing heavily in efficiency measures or renewables for this exact purpose. Others may end up with reduced usage due to all sorts of modifications to their operations or equipment.
- Active Electric Choice customers can leave the program. They might prefer to buy supply from their utility, or they might close a facility, or go out of business. Even if they wish to remain on the program, they could lose service by moving to a new location, because Electric Choice eligibility would not move with them.
- Active Electric Choice customers can grow without necessarily increasing the total participating load. Only the usage on meters that are already on Electric Choice would increase the total load. Any usage from new locations or meters would have the opposite effect, by increasing the percentage of non-participating load.
These are also among the reasons the Queue has thinned out over the years. Many customers who were enrolled in the Queue years ago have since reduced their usage or left the Queue entirely.
Additionally, many businesses who reached the top of the Queue in the past three years, and finally became eligible for Electric Choice, did not end up enrolling.
For some, the obstacle was DTE’s extremely short timeline for a decision. Once DTE releases the list of eligible customers, they allot only 5 business days for those customers to enroll in Electric Choice. Those who don’t enroll in Electric Choice lose their spot in the Queue.
That’s a very small window for even the most efficient business to make an informed decision. More than a decade had elapsed since they initially investigated Electric Choice and decided to enroll in the Queue. Their analysis and priorities might be very different now. Others simply chose not to pursue the opportunity.
Dillon Energy has been working behind the scenes to monitor the Queue positions of customers we’ve enrolled over the years. When necessary, we have taken steps to maintain our customers’ Queue positions, working with Alternative Electric Suppliers and the utilities.
Fortunately, we were able to help many eligible customers make an informed business decision and successfully enroll in Electric Choice within the short window. Many have been saving 10-20% or more compared to DTE’s supply rates. That’s adding up to anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 or more per year for many customers. For the largest electric users, annual savings has climbed well into the six figures—as much as $250,000 to more than $400,000.
DTE is not the only utility where there has been some recent movement in the Electric Choice Queue. Consumers Energy remained fully subscribed by the end of 2022, but not by much. The percentage of participating customer load has fallen enough in recent years that space could plausibly open up in before long. Indiana & Michigan Power accepted Electric Choice enrollments within the past five years. Although the cap has since been reached, the Queue is short.
If you have meters in the Queue or are considering enrolling, we can assist you throughout the process. Please gather recent copies of your electric utility bills and contact us to start the analysis.
