Other Available Energy Types
How To Get Cheaper Electricity And Natural Gas
Follow these steps to find the electricity and natural gas plans that will save you money on your utility bills.
Don’t know how much energy your household consumes?
Check your most recent natural gas and electricity bills. They should state your monthly and annual consumption.
Moved into a new property or don’t have a bill handy?
We can still work out your usage and savings using national averages, so you can still compare and change suppliers!
Enter your ZIP code
Plug your ZIP code into our comparison engine so we can generate a personalized list of the electricity and natural gas companies operating in your area.
Enter usage estimates
To calculate how much you’ll spend on energy—and how much you’ll save--give us your estimated annual energy usage.
Choose from a list of deals
Using this information, we’ll produce a list of energy deals available for your home, along with an estimate of how much you’ll pay for each. When you find the one that suits you, with the best combination of price, customer service and green credentials, click on it to start the sign up process.
Energy Deregulation – Choose Your Energy Supplier
In the United States, electricity and natural gas supplies used to be controlled by regional monopolies. Since the 1990s, that's changed in some states and markets through a process called deregulation. In deregulated energy markets, customers can choose from among competing retail energy suppliers.
Which states have deregulated energy markets?
Electricity markets have been deregulated in 17 states and Washington D.C. Natural gas markets have been deregulated in 27 states and Washington D.C. However, in some states, deregulation has been limited and not every customer in every city will be able to choose their energy supplies. No state has a completely deregulated energy market. Texas comes closest, with 85% of residents able to choose their energy supplier.
States where the electricity market is deregulated
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
States where the gas market is deregulated
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
What’s the Difference Between Utilities And Suppliers?
Before you find a gas or electricity deal, it helps to get your bearings in the market. It’s a little more complicated than the internet, TV and landline phone markets, with transmission and distribution (T&D) and supply sometimes split between two different companies. Let’s unpack the difference between utilities and retail energy suppliers.
Utility Companies
Utility companies own and operate the wires and pipes which deliver electricity and natural gas to your property. They’re responsible for the transmission and distribution of energy over this network and for the maintenance of the infrastructure. They're the service you'll call in the event of a power outage. In regulated energy markets, they’re also the company which supplies your energy, issuing you with monthly bills.
Retail Energy Suppliers
Retail electricity and natural gas suppliers, also known as retail energy companies, operate in deregulated energy markets, interfacing between utility companies and customers. They directly sell you energy delivered over the utility companies’ infrastructure. When you choose an energy deal, you’ll be selecting from among retail suppliers and their various plans.
Renewable Energy
Retail energy companies purchase energy from generators and in some markets, they’re buying renewable energy. These companies offer customers in deregulated energy markets “green” or “eco-friendly” plans, which include large percentages of renewable energy. Signing up to a green energy plan is a great way to reduce your personal carbon footprint.
Nationally, around 17% of the electricity generated is from renewable sources. But the availability of renewable electricity and thus green energy plans varies widely by state. Some regions are light-years ahead in developing renewable power. This includes Maine, where 46% of the electricity generated is from renewable resources (76% if you include hydropower) and Texas, which generates the most renewable electricity of any state (around 70,000 gigawatt-hours in 2017). Other renewable leaders include Vermont, Iowa, Kansas, California, and Oklahoma.
New To Switching? We Can Help!
Just choose a category and you're ready to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Around half of American homes use natural gas for heating, hot water and cooking. The other half don’t have a natural gas connection. When you start our energy plan comparison process, we'll ask you to select which fuel you want to compare. Select electricity, and we’ll return you a list of electricity plans available in your area.
Electricity and natural gas plans are sold separately, by different companies, so you won’t need to sign up for a service you don’t need.
If you live in a deregulated energy market and you’re not in a contract with your current supplier, then you can switch to a new energy supplier—and likely save money doing so. Refer to the map on this page or use our ZIP code checker to see if you’re in a deregulated market and the natural gas and electricity suppliers selling plans in your area. If you don’t know if you’re in a contract with your current supplier or when it expires, check a recent bill or call their customer service line. Usually, you’ll pay steep fees for leaving a contract early, so you’ll want to wait until it ends to move to a new supplier.
When you search for a natural gas or electricity plan, you may face a choice between fixed-rate and variable-rate plans. With fixed-rate plans, you lock in a per-unit price for your natural gas or electricity, which remains the same for the duration of your contract with the supplier.
With a variable-rate plan, your per-unit price will fluctuate each month, based on supply and demand. Variable-rate plans can start out cheaper but their costs may rise. However, with these plans, you don’t have to sign up for a contract and can switch to a new supplier at any time.