Anatomy of a Pricing Offer

Anatomy of a Pricing Offer

Please note: Pricing is typically presented as part of a complete contract, with terms and conditions that may be negotiated. Here, we'll touch on the language and components of your quoted price, but not the complete terms of an energy contract. If you previously took electricity or natural gas service from your local utility, you may not have had to sign a contract. All competitive energy suppliers require a signed contract to serve business customers; therefore this is an important element of working with a supplier that you should consider.

When you receive a price quote for electricity or natural gas from an energy supplier, generally there are three core items:

Price of energy supply: quoted in cents or dollars per unit

Amount to be supplied (i.e. "usage"): how much energy you're expected to use. This is generally derived from historical consumption and future consumption estimates.

Duration of the service (i.e. "term" or "delivery period"  with start and end dates): indicates the start and end date of the quoted price. The quoted price associated with any particular term or timeframe will vary.

Energy Pricing

While pricing offers are similar for power and gas, the two fuels are measured and priced in different units, so we will consider each commodity separately.