FAQs: Energy Industry

Energy competition means you have the option to choose your own home electricity and/or natural gas supplier instead of buying your energy from your local utility. Energy suppliers like NRG sell a variety of plans with rates and perks that suit your lifestyle.

Here are the players in a competitive energy market:

• Generators: They produce the energy used to power your home.
• Suppliers: That’s us! We shop for energy on the open market and compete with other suppliers to create offers for you that often include rewards or other perks.
• Utilities: They deliver the energy to your home, respond to emergencies, and usually send your bill to you.

NRG is a competitive energy supplier, meaning we compete for customers in competitive energy markets. When you choose NRG as your energy supplier, we supply you with an energy plan and supply rate, as well as perks like travel rewards, cash back, charitable contributions or renewable energy.

The utility in your area can also compete for your business with their own plans and rates. Additionally, your local utility maintains all the equipment required to deliver energy to your home. Your bill will always come from your local utility, even if you choose to use a provider like NRG as your supplier. If you enroll with NRG or another supplier, supply charges will appear as a line item on your bill from the utility.

Visit our article about the difference between utilities and suppliers to learn more.

Delivery charges, or distribution charges, come from your local utility and represent the charges for transporting energy to your home. Depending on the utility, you may have a fixed charge that stays the same every month, a charge that is dependent on your usage, or a combination of the two.

Visit our article on how to read your energy bill to learn more.

Supply charges, or generation charges, are charges that represent your energy rate and energy use for that billing period. These charges will come from your supplier (like NRG) if you have chosen one. If you haven’t chosen a supplier, these charges come from your utility.

Your supply charges are calculated by multiplying your energy rate by your usage amount. Your electricity energy rate will be listed as per kWh and your natural gas rate could be listed as per CCF, MCF, BTU or Therm. 

Visit our article on how to read your energy bill to learn more.

When you sign up for a renewable electricity plan with your utility or supplier, your utility or supplier purchases renewable energy credits (RECs) based on your electricity usage. Depending on the plan and supplier, the amount of RECs they purchase can vary based on the match percentage listed in your plan. For example, a 50% renewable energy plan would mean the supplier purchases RECs equal to 50% of your usage. 

These RECs go toward funding renewable energy production across the United States. With a renewable energy plan, you’re helping contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable future.