Okotoks Homeowner Saves $200 in Bundled Value

Situation

Contract set to expire,
utility costs going up

Jared, a homeowner in Okotoks, was generally happy with his utilities provider. He liked their customer service and favourable rates, which is why he’d signed a three-year contract with them in 2021 for both electricity and natural gas.

But when it came time to renew his contract, he was staring down the barrel of much higher monthly bills. Rates had gone up. So Jared decided to explore other providers. Even though he knew higher charges were inevitable, he wanted to save money wherever possible.

Jared tried looking for cheaper electricity and natural gas rates on comparison websites, but the variety of options was overwhelming. Also, the long list of retailers and plans didn’t tell him anything about other aspects of each provider. Were they reliable? Would they address issues quickly? How was their customer service? He couldn’t tell.

To make the most informed decision possible, Jared turned to Jotson™ for help.

“Switching was a purely financial decision. I knew going into this process of renewing my electricity and natural gas contract that my costs were going to go up; the aggregate rate I’d locked into three years ago was much lower than the current market rate,” Jared says.

SOLUTION

Understanding household
energy consumption

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution or a best utility provider. Depending on your consumption habits, where you live, your home’s specs, and your specific needs, the “right fit” for you might be different from the “right fit” for your neighbour. That’s why Jotson™ collects a household’s historical energy consumption data and then presents options in the context of personalized data.

For Jared, we gathered two full years of electricity and natural gas bills. We took his data and disaggregated his energy costs from delivery charges, fees, and taxes. This is critical because the choice of retailer only affects the energy portion of the costs and has no effect on the other charges.

Jared says, “Jotson™ showed me a chart breaking down what I was paying — cost of energy, cost of delivery, taxes, and that sort of thing. I learned a lot from the breakdown. For example, the delivery charge is higher in Okotoks than in Calgary. I had no idea.”

The full breakdown revealed that Jared’s household energy consumption was significantly below the provincial average. He’d always been energy-conscious but this was the first time he had proof that his efforts were paying off.

Analyzing the options

Jared decided to stick with one of Alberta’s major energy providers — fast, reliable customer service was too important to give up. He was also settled on signing a fixed-rate contract instead of floating rates. This was important to him for consistent budgeting and finance management.

We aggregated the terms, prices, and conditions of the major players in Alberta’s energy market to give Jared a comprehensive pros and cons list, including relevant value-adds like bundled services. We also estimated the annual cost of each choice and compared them against his contract that was about to expire.

Results

Over $200 saved in Year 1
after switching providers

Jotson™ presented Jared with all of the relevant contract and bundling options that fit his criteria — all in the context of his historical consumption.

With all the facts at his fingertips, personalized to his unique situation, Jared was confident he made an informed decision for his household.

He knows that he will be able to reach someone if he has a customer support question. And his choice of contract and bundled value resulted in $200 in savings in the first year after switching providers.

Jared was also pleased to receive affirmation that his home is energy efficient. He’s looking forward to using the Jotson™ app to streamline energy management and power more informed decision-making in the future.