Atlantic City Electric

Author: Kaitlyn Short

First incorporated in 1924, Atlantic City Electric has been supplying power to southern New Jersey for coming up on one hundred years. Currently, ACE serves 547,000 customers, with a service area of 2,700 square miles. Atlantic City Electric, an Exelon Company, is a deregulated energy company that provides electricity and natural gas services. Customers receive a retail face for the utility purchasing and supply that powers their home.

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The Good

• Ability to Choose Energy Provider
• Quick Response Time
• Community Involvement

Ability to Choose Energy Provider

When using a deregulated energy supplier, customers are often offered a range of utility packages that they then choose from. These packages include fixed or variable-rate electricity and natural gas, often have fixed terms, and come with some stipulations and pricing variations. Some providers, like Atlantic City Electric, take it a step further, and instead of offering basic introductory or comprehensive packages for their customers, they allow the customer to further investigate and select which energy supplier the get their energy from. With the ability to choose their own energy provider, customers are able to receive a wider range of service options, including finding the best available rate, selecting plans that utilize renewable energy, among other things. And for customers who choose not to utilize this service, Atlantic City Electric will simply survey the market of their certified energy suppliers and purchase energy for the customer.

Quick Response Time

One focus for Atlantic City Electric is reliability. With this, ACE takes power outages very seriously. Barring a large regional storm, ACE is able to respond to power outages in as quickly at 15 minutes (arrival time). With this response time, customers can generally expect a fallen tree or faulty breaker to be repaired and cleaned up by the time they wake up the next more, and oftentimes sooner than that.

Community Involvement

Atlantic City Electric understands the need to establish themselves as a positive force in the community. Because of this, part of ACE's business model is to continually improve energy reliability, consider environmental impact, push for renewable energy use, and promote overall safety. In order to accomplish those goals, ACE partners with many community organizations to offer and promote service opportunities that resonate with their customer-base.

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The Bad

• Added Fees
• Lack of Regional Competition

Added Fees

As with all energy companies, customers will wants to ensure that they read the fine print. Energy plans come with fixed or variable-rates, but those rates can change based on the customer's energy use, where they are at in the term of the contract, and if they move or need to cancel before the contract is up. Customers should ensure they fully understand if a deposit is necessary, whether or not it is recurring, if there is a cancellation fee, and if their rates get hiked after a certain term. Not all utility plans are created equal, and when choosing from a wide range of plans, the cheapest option may not always be the one with the lowest fixed-rate.

Lack of Regional Competition

While Atlantic City Electric is required to adhere to local and federal legislation in regards to deregulated energy companies, that is not always enough to give a customer the best price available. With a lack of regional competition, ACE's rates, while not necessarily high, are not as competitive as companies in other states that see a lot of other companies vying for position. Customers should make sure to compare rates with their public utility companies to ensure that they match up before pressing forward with a plan from ACE. In many cases it is a matter of making the switch at the right time, when rates are low.

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The Bottom Line

Atlantic Electric Company can be a good option for New Jersey residents looking to switch to a new energy company. With a wide range of suppliers to choose from, ACE can often provide a competitive rate for well-researched customers, with energy derived from a customer's preferred form of energy. Customers should ensure they understand all added fees on a plan before signing up so that there are no surprises down the road.