Which utility companies should I use? (Minneapolis, St. Louis Park: sale, buying, utilities)

[juliemss]

I'll be moving to St Paul (Roseville) in May. What are the options for utilities?

I'll need:
Electricity
Gas
TV
Internet

Thanks!

[golfgal]

Since most utility companies have a monopoly in an area you may not have a choice for gas, electric, water. You do probably have a choice between cable, satellite and DSL though.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by juliemss

I'll be moving to St Paul (Roseville) in May. What are the options for utilities?

I'll need:
Electricity
Gas
TV
Internet

Thanks!

Elec & Gas = Xcel (greedy MFs). If you're unfamiliar with them...they like to include in the monthly bill little self-serving, warm-fuzzy pamphlets proclaiming all they're doing to save the environment and bring down costs. Then they go to the utilities commission and ask to jack up their prices.

TV & Internet = we have Comcast, but your choices vary. They're well-known for playing pricing games, but I've been pleasantly satisfied with their service and customer support. Been with them over six years.

Water/Sewer are handled by the city. The city water is very good (and doesn't taste fishy in the spring like Minneapolis water!). Roseville lists a bunch of trash collection companies on their website. We went with the cheapest one.

[Robert98]

I found that you can negotiate with Comcast. But you have to be tough. I kept saying "you can do better than that." I got turned over to a supervisor and got a slightly better deal.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by Globe199

Elec & Gas = Xcel (greedy MFs). If you're unfamiliar with them...they like to include in the monthly bill little self-serving, warm-fuzzy pamphlets proclaiming all they're doing to save the environment and bring down costs. Then they go to the utilities commission and ask to jack up their prices.

not sure about electricity, but natural gas is regulated by the PUC...so Xcel doesnt see any profit from the distribution of it.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

not sure about electricity, but natural gas is regulated by the PUC...so Xcel doesnt see any profit from the distribution of it.

Oh yes, they do see profit. They are also a publicly-traded company (symbol is XEL on NYSE). Their big beef lately has been that, with the recession, people are using less electricity to save money, thereby eating into Xcel's profits. So they went to the PUC to ask for a rate increase, and the PUC allowed a partial increase. Well, that's just political. If you need $7, you ask for $10, knowing they'll give you $7. I'm sure their recent request to raise the price of gas will be at least partially approved.

Why a publicly-regulated utility company needs to be profitable and traded on the stock market is beyond me. The worst part is that the consumer has absolutely no choice in what company to use. If you don't like Xcel's prices or services, you're screwed. That's why it's "regulated" by the government. Somewhere that fell apart. Your only choice is to use less of the product, but that has the effect of a feedback loop when they ask for higher prices.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Comcast is a ripoff. I recently spoke with somebody who lives in St. Louis Park and is paying $50+/month just for internet service! I'll stick with my Minneapolis city-wide internet service for $15/month, thank you very much.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by Globe199

Oh yes, they do see profit. They are also a publicly-traded company (symbol is XEL on NYSE). Their big beef lately has been that, with the recession, people are using less electricity to save money, thereby eating into Xcel's profits. So they went to the PUC to ask for a rate increase, and the PUC allowed a partial increase. Well, that's just political. If you need $7, you ask for $10, knowing they'll give you $7. I'm sure their recent request to raise the price of gas will be at least partially approved.

Why a publicly-regulated utility company needs to be profitable and traded on the stock market is beyond me. The worst part is that the consumer has absolutely no choice in what company to use. If you don't like Xcel's prices or services, you're screwed. That's why it's "regulated" by the government. Somewhere that fell apart. Your only choice is to use less of the product, but that has the effect of a feedback loop when they ask for higher prices.

they profit of course...no business that doesnt profit would be able to sustain itself. What I meant is strictly off the sale and distribution of natural gas they have no control over the cost per therm, nor do they mark it up.

I dont disagree that a regulated utility provided by a corporation is dumb though.

[Danie123182]

Regulation is good. You could be like some of the people in California watching their electricity bills go from an average of 70 dollars/mo to 400/mo over a period of three years. Thanks to de-regulation.

There was the whole Enron scandal of Enron buying stock in an out of state utility company then shutting off their own power plants and saying there is a shortage. Then increasing everyones rate to cover the electricity costs that were 3 times what in state power plants were producing for.