Rhode Island Businesses Teaming Up to Improve Electricity Buying Power

Businesses in the Greater Providence area now have the ability to team together to purchase electricity and benefit from group purchasing. The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and Constellation NewEnergy today launched the Providence Power Program, an electricity aggregation program that gives Chamber members access to lower electricity prices and more energy product options than might be available to individual businesses.

"We are excited to work with Constellation NewEnergy to help our members achieve purchasing power in numbers,” said Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. "The Providence Power Program can help members of all sizes better manage their electricity budgets.”

The program is particularly beneficial for small- to medium-sized businesses, a majority of the Chamber’s membership, which can pool their smaller electrical load requirements to gain access to better prices and more services that might normally only be available to large commercial and industrial customers.

"Combining the resources of a number of business members of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce creates a higher volume, more consistent electrical load requirement which will result in better pricing options for program participants,” said Emily Neill, Constellation NewEnergy’s vice president of sales for New England. "Participants in the program have the ability to lock-in prices over the long term, allowing for greater budget certainty than might be available from the utility or from plans that fluctuate with the energy market.”

With Rhode Island’s transitional Standard Offer Service utility rates expiring Dec. 31, 2009, businesses that have not selected a competitive energy supplier may be exposed to greater fluctuations in market prices through their utility. This presents an opportunity for businesses to evaluate their future energy options, including aggregating through the Providence Power Program.

Providence Power Program members will also have access to more electrical service options, such as participating in demand response programs that compensate businesses for reducing electricity usage during periods of peak demand on the grid. The renewable energy products offered through the program provide businesses with simple, low cost ways of meeting their sustainability objectives. Participants can also utilize NewEnergy Online, Constellation NewEnergy’s comprehensive suite of tools to help businesses lower costs, reduce overall usage and access energy market updates.

The deadline to join the first Providence Power Program is Oct. 29, 2009. There is no fee for Chamber members to join, and Constellation NewEnergy does not add additional fees or charges for businesses to switch electricity service providers.

To learn more about the Providence Power Program, businesses can contact 617-237-POWER or CNESalesRI@constellation.com. The Providence Power Program will also host a webinar and seminar. The webinar will take place on Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 and the seminar will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. To register for the webinar or seminar and for more information on the Providence Power Program, please visit the program’s Web site: www.newenergy.com/provchamber.

About Constellation NewEnergy

Constellation NewEnergy (www.newenergy.com) is a leading competitive supplier of electricity, natural gas and energy-related services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers throughout the United States. A subsidiary of Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG), Constellation NewEnergy operates in all competitive energy markets throughout the U.S., providing products that enable customers to effectively manage and control energy costs.

About the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce

The mission of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce is to foster the development of a positive and productive business climate for our community through economic development, business-to-business relationship building and effective public policies and government.