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Providing electricity for businesses and institutions nationwide Industry Leadership We re a leader in the electricity business, and our parent company, GDF SUEZ, is the No. 1 utility in the world. Financial Strength We re backed by one of the world s largest corporations, GDF SUEZ, and hold an A credit rating from Standard & Poor s. GDF SUEZ Energy Resources NA GDF SUEZ Energy Resources is a business unit of GDF SUEZ Energy North America and part of the GDF SUEZ Group. As one of the largest retail electricity providers in the United States, we offer industrial and commercial customers a range of innovative electricity products and services including renewable energy and demand response. Our in-house energy experts know your market, work with you to understand your business and can customize products and services to help you make the best possible electricity decision. Tools and Insights We re committed to giving you insightful tools and information over the long term with our historical data app and our selling process to determine your business drivers not just another sales pitch. Proven Performance Most of our business is repeat business and almost exclusively earned through word of mouth. Find out why. Billing Accuracy With our 99.8 percent billing accuracy rate, at GDF SUEZ Energy Resources, your invoice comes without surprises. And when you have questions, getting answers is fast and easy. Customer Service More than 80 percent of our customers are highly satisfied. So whether you have a question about renewal, or need help dealing with a business issue, you can take comfort in our commitment to make your service experience consistently quick, accountable and easy to understand. 877.321.4GDF rediscoverenergypa.com
Strategic Energy Procurement: Leveraging the Market Opportunities of Today to Build an Effective Energy Risk Management Program for the Future When it comes to Pennsylvania s changing energy landscape, two things are clear: There are some significant opportunities for commercial and industrial consumers to consider that may lower the price they pay for electricity. But there are also risks that can and should be managed. With the ongoing development of the Marcellus Shale play and the state s continued transition from coal-fired to natural gas generation implementing a structured energy risk management program has never been more important. But finding the right contract that leverages the opportunities of today s regional market, while managing costs, budget flexibility, and the amount of pricing-related risk your company is willing to accept, can be much easier said than done. Contract options are available in a range of pricing models from fixing the full price for several years at a time to floating the costs at current market prices. There are also flexible options that combine the best aspects of fixed and floating-priced products. The key is finding the right electricity contract for your company. The Risk-Reward Spectrum Over the past few years, fixed-price products have been the most predominant offering to business consumers among retail electricity providers in Pennsylvania. Although this pricing option carries the most cost certainty, it also comes with the highest level of premiums. And as you can imagine just as one size doesn t always fit everyone this pricing method may not be the best option for all consumers. At the other end of the spectrum are floating-priced products, which carry the lowest premiums but have the highest level of price volatility. So a customer who can accept the risk of high price volatility can enjoy lower premiums in return. In the middle are flexible-priced products. These are suitable for businesses that are in a position to take on a modest amount of price volatility in exchange for the upside of lower electricity costs if/when the market falls. Managing Risk Premiums with Index Pricing Another alternative for Pennsylvania businesses to consider is a block and index pricing structure. Instead of buying a fixed price product for the entire electricity load, with a block, consumers can lock in a fixed price for a portion of the load and/or a portion of the contract. By timing your purchases and varying the fixed load amount for different months based on consumption patterns and economic forecasts, consumers can buy if/ when the market falls and build a portfolio of fixed price blocks, taking advantage of dollar-cost averaging. The unfixed portion of the contract is indexed to the hourly day-ahead or real-time PJM market for your utility zone. Because of falling energy prices over the past few years, many customers have decided to float all or most of their electricity purchases at the index or market price. GDF SUEZ Energy Resources provides daily, weekly and monthly historical pricing trends on both a real-time and day-ahead basis for PJM and other deregulated markets at www.gdfsuezpricing.com to assist customers with their energy purchase decisions. Another way to reduce the risk premiums you pay while still maintaining a moderate level of risk protection is through a heat rate contract. Such a contract locks in a conversion factor (the heat rate ) required to turn an input fuel (i.e., natural gas) into electricity. Essentially, a heat rate measures the efficiency of a power plant in terms of how much fuel is required to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity. Purchasers of electricity can buy heat rate contracts that lock in the theoretical heat rate of the wholesale electricity market and thereby create a synthetic power plant.
Heat Rates PRICE PER MEGAWATT-HOUR Projected heat rate with the retirement of coal-fired generation Power cost increase caused by shifting market heat rate Today s heat rate PRICE PER MILLION BRITISH THERMAL UNITS Different from traditional floating-price products, which are typically indexed to the hourly wholesale power market, a heat rate contract uses the price of gas to generate the overall price for electricity paid by a customer. The natural gas price can be determined either by the monthly closing price for natural gas futures as listed on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) or by futures contracts that are purchased in advance as a hedge. It s important to note that although new gas discoveries in the U.S. have reduced domestic gas prices to levels not seen in 10 years, natural gas prices can be volatile due to a variety of factors, so there is the risk of some price volatility with this product. Making the Right Decision In the end, Pennsylvania s changing energy landscape is making it increasingly critical for businesses and institutions to recognize the new risks, rewards and opportunities associated with purchasing electricity in today s market. Knowing your key business drivers will play a critical role in making the right decision for your business. So be sure to talk with a supplier like GDF SUEZ Energy Resources who takes the time to understand important factors including the structure of your operating costs, energy usage patterns and budget flexibility before making a decision. With this information, your sales representative can help you identify the amount of pricing-related risk that makes the most sense for your business. As a licensed provider of retail electricity and related services to industrial and commercial customers in the United States, GDF SUEZ Energy Resources is a business unit of GDF SUEZ Energy North America and a part of the GDF SUEZ Group of companies. GDF SUEZ is the world s largest generator of power and has about 15,000 MW of generation in North America. Approximately 70 percent of the GDF SUEZ North American fleet is natural gas-powered, with the remaining 30 percent equally divided between renewable resources or pumped storage hydro and coal.
Making your decision The first step to a great decision is to understand exactly what goes into the cost your business pays for electricity. After that, we take the time to really know your company how operating costs are structured, key energy usage patterns and other insights that will help us help you. There is a trade-off between certainty and cost. Because the market for electricity is liquid, you re able to choose the amount of pricing-related risk that makes the most sense for your business. The less risk you take, the more of a premium you pay. Whether buying for one location or a thousand, it s important that you get a contract with the kind of risk exposure that s right for your enterprise. To help, check out this spectrum that illustrates contract risk. The potential cost outcomes widen to the right of the spectrum as risk premiums decrease. The farther left you go, the more your premiums will increase. You must strike the right balance between clarity and cost. Only when your energy strategy aligns with your business drivers can you make the best possible choice. Making the right choice means knowing your business drivers. 2013 GDF SUEZ Energy Resources