How Arbor Users Are Saving Hundreds on Their Electric Bills Without Switching Utilities

Arbor users report saving up to $600 annually on electricity by switching suppliers, not utilities, in deregulated energy markets. Their utility company still delivers power, responds to outages, and sends monthly bills. Only the supply rate changes. Arbor, an energy-switching platform operating in 12 deregulated states, identifies lower-cost electricity suppliers and handles the switch automatically. Collective savings across the platform have reached $7.5 million.

What’s the Difference Between Utilities and Suppliers? 

A utility company owns and maintains the physical infrastructure that delivers electricity: power lines, transformers, meters, and the grid. Utilities handle outage response, meter readings, and billing.

A supplier generates or procures the electricity that flows through those utility-owned lines. Dozens of retail energy providers compete for customers in deregulated markets by offering different supply rates, contract terms, and pricing structures.

U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows that supply charges typically account for 30-50% of a residential electricity bill. Delivery charges, taxes, and fees set by the utility make up the rest. When consumers switch suppliers, only the supply portion changes.

Key Distinction: Switching suppliers changes who generates your electricity and at what price. Switching utilities would mean changing the company that delivers power to your home.

How Do Deregulated Markets Create Savings Opportunities? 

Electricity deregulation, which began in the 1990s, separated power generation from power delivery. Approximately 13 states plus the District of Columbia now operate fully deregulated residential electricity markets, according to American Public Power Association data.

Without competition, utility default rates, often called “price to compare” or “basic service,” fluctuate based on wholesale market conditions and exist as a fallback option rather than a competitive offering. Consumers who actively shop for supply rates, for example, routinely find offers 10-30% below default pricing.

Where Arbor Operates 

Arbor serves households in 12 deregulated states:

• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Delaware
• Maine
•  New Hampshire
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• New Jersey

State-issued broker licenses authorize the platform to operate in each jurisdiction, including Pennsylvania license A-2023-3043382, Ohio certificate 23-125153E, and Massachusetts license EB-571.

What Arbor Users Are Actually Saving 

Reported savings reach up to $600 annually, with variations based on electricity consumption, previous rates, and local market conditions.

U.S. Energy Information Administration figures place average American household electricity consumption at approximately 10,500 kilowatt-hours per year. At this consumption level, a reduction of just 2-3 cents per kilowatt-hour generates $210-315 in annual savings. For higher-usage households, including those with electric heating, home offices, or electric vehicles, reductions are often proportionally larger.

Third-party reporting supports these figures. The Cool Down’s independent investigation verified Arbor’s savings claims through direct testing and confirmed that data collection is limited to utility account details necessary for rate comparison.

Customer reviews on Trustpilot support these findings. Arbor holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating from hundreds of verified users, with reviewers citing specific dollar amounts saved and confirming that utility service remained unchanged after switching.

Why Automated Switching Outperforms Manual Rate Shopping 

Research on electricity market behavior shows that 40-60% of customers who initially secure competitive rates lose those savings when contracts expire and they default to variable pricing.

Electricity contracts typically run 6-24 months. Customers who fail to renew are placed on month-to-month variable rates that can exceed fixed rates by 50-100%. Retail energy providers earn significant margins from these lapsed customers, creating little incentive to simplify renewal.

How Automation Prevents Rate Lapse 

Arbor monitors contract expiration dates and market conditions, then switches users to competitive fixed-rate plans before variable pricing takes effect. Aggregating thousands of households also enables negotiated supplier rates that individual consumers cannot access independently.

Critical Insight: The advantage of automated switching lies not in finding exclusive rates, but in maintaining optimal rates consistently over time. Fewer than 20% of manual shoppers achieve this across multiple contract cycles.

Who Can Access These Savings 

Eligibility depends on geographic location and utility account structure.

Supported Utilities 

• PECO
• ComEd
• National Grid
• PSE&G
• Eversource
• Dozens of regional providers

Residents of states without retail energy choice, including most of the South, West, and parts of the Midwest, cannot switch suppliers because no competitive market exists.

Eligibility Requirements 

• Hold a utility account in your own name
• Live in a deregulated state where Arbor operates
• Have a utility that participates in retail choice programs

Both homeowners and renters qualify if they meet these criteria. Renters who pay electricity directly to the utility have the same switching rights as homeowners. However, those whose landlords include electricity in rent payments cannot switch because they lack direct account access.

Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives present an additional limitation. Even in deregulated states, some areas are served by public power entities that do not participate in retail choice programs.

What Supplier Switching Means for Household Budgets 

Despite these opportunities, millions of Americans in deregulated markets pay above-market electricity rates because they assume changing providers means changing their utility service.

Arbor’s operating data shows that savings of up to $600 annually require no service disruption, no new equipment, and no ongoing time investment. Utilities continue delivering power and sending bills. Only the supply rate changes.

For households in deregulated markets, the question is not whether savings exist, but whether they will be captured manually or automatically. Long-term rate management data suggests automated approaches outperform manual methods for most consumers.

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