ChamberChoice energy service opened to public

The chambers of commerce in Chambersburg, Greencastle-Antrim, Shippensburg and Waynesboro have joined forces to help area homeowners lower their energy costs, just as has been done for commercial properties for more than a year.

The ChamberChoice Energy Program is now available to homes in the West Penn Power service area, which includes most of Franklin County, as well as the Penelec and Med-Ed territories. Given the current 10-year lows in the energy market, there is no meter within these service areas that cannot take advantage of electricity deregulation and lock in a lower energy rate than the current default tariff rates, said the executives of the four participating chambers of commerce in Franklin County.

The ChamberChoice Energy Program launched a residential offer for chamber members and their employees previously. More recently, ChamberChoice expanded the program to help stimulate local economies across the state by allowing all citizens to participate in the residential program endorsed by participating Chambers of Commerce. According to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's latest statistics, about 25 percent of Pennsylvania residents statewide have taken advantage of electricity deregulation for their home residence.

“Our estimates show that if the residential subscribers in Franklin County currently paying the tariff utility default rates switched to the lower chamber residential rate, over $1 million annually could be put into the local economy,” said the leaders of the four local chambers in a joint statement.

“By opening up the ChamberChoice negotiated residential rates to all residents, local Chamber businesses will reap benefits as homeowners with lower energy bills will have more discretionary income to spend locally,” said Sam Weber, president of ChamberChoice.

Residential homeowners interested in this program should visit www.ondemandenergy.com and click on the residential savings button. With a residential bill in hand, people can sign up online for the lower ChamberChoice rate in a matter of minutes. Homeowners also may call 1-866-699-9968 to speak to a program representative.  Customers who choose to sign up for the lower rate will continue to receive one bill and the same level of service from their utility. Their utility company will continue to deliver the electricity, maintain the poles and wires, and respond to power outages.

For membership information or to learn more about the programs offered, contact one of the chambers.

The ChamberChoice energy program is managed by OnDemand Energy Solutions, an independent consulting company that has been operating and helping consumers save on energy since 1995.