When it comes to electricity bills, most simply call their utility, like Con Edison in New York, link their debit or credit card, set the whole thing to autopay and never bother to think about it twice, because there is really no alternative. Or is there?

You see, your electricity consumption is divided into two parts: delivery and supply. There is nothing you can do about the delivery part. It is always managed by your local utility, as the company owns the wires that go into your apartment.

You can, however, manage the supply part and choose who provides your electricity. If you don’t make that choice, your local utility will be the default supplier of your electricity and will charge you its variable rate that fluctuates months-to-months at your utility’s discretion.

One obvious benefit of shopping around for electricity includes choosing a low fixed-rate plan that doesn’t fluctuate. There are many competing electricity providers to choose from and you should be able to realize significant (20%+) savings. Another benefit is an option to choose green electricity, such as wind. Oftentimes, you can do both – choose a low fixed-rate plan that is already fully or partially green.

There is no need to worry about separate bills – you’ll get the same exact bill from your utility, which will simply reflect your new supplier the next billing cycle. Plus, your utility is still responsible for any emergencies or service interruption.

It works exactly the same not only for electricity, but for natural gas as well.

So, how do you do it? You can use PowerSetter.com to instantly compare electricity and natural gas rates the same way you use Expedia to compare hotel rates and make your choice online. That’s it. It’s free and there is no appointment to make.