Is a fixed rate right for your business?

Energy market fluctuations can add an unwelcome surprise to electricity bills. So, if electricity usage and pricing are vital to your business, it’s important to consider all your plan options, including variable-rate plans and fixed-rate plans. Unpredictable market prices aren’t just a short-term problem, they’re a part of the market and can literally change with the weather. Read on to understand what type of plan may best benefit your business.

As the name implies, a fixed price energy plan provides customers with a fixed price per kilowatt-hour of electricity. That fixed price can be set for as little as three months, or up to ten years for commercial customers. Knowing your energy costs can help provide risk management for an unpredictable energy market.

With a variable-rate electricity plan, the amount you pay for electricity fluctuates along with the market providing a lower price when energy costs are low. While changing rates can sometimes result in savings, the fluctuations in monthly bills can severely affect a business’s bottom line.

Fixed price energy may be a good fit if your business has consistent energy use or you want to focus more on operations than day-to-day energy management.

NRG crafted a fixed price plan specifically to help businesses with more predictable, affordable energy. Key benefits include:

• Budget certainty
• Flexible contract terms
• Stable energy costs

In today’s volatile electricity market, it helps to limit exposure to extreme price spikes during scarcity market conditions. Fixed price plans provide pricing stability but do not always offer the lowest price per kWh of energy. To achieve this, businesses must put in the time and effort to track prices and assume exposure to risk in the open market.

NRG Energy helps organizations make decisions based on many factors, such as their goals, their region, and their business type. Businesses that may experience extreme weather events, price spikes, and energy usage fluctuations may benefit from fixed price plans, or hybrid plans, such as Percent Fixed and Indexed.

The NRG Percent Fixed and Indexed plan allows businesses to lock in their energy price for shaped blocks of grid time up to 100% of their load.

Any remaining energy needs can be purchased at index prices from different energy sources like natural gas, solar, and wind.

With a hybrid plan, businesses can control their exposure to energy markets based on their risk tolerance and changing needs. This plan also comes with a dedicated representative and access to a 24/7 support team. 

NRG energy experts are happy to discuss whether a fixed-rate electricity plan or a variable-rate electricity plan might be best for your business. With future electricity prices a large unknown, we can help you “set it and forget it” or find an approach to match your risk tolerance.

Learn more about the Fixed Price energy plan