There is a conventional wisdom among energy suppliers, consultants and brokers that there is a “Spring dip” in market prices. We haven’t really seen it so far this year. (Why not? Good question. Perhaps it is because we have had colder weather persisting late into the Spring. Perhaps it is a technical/trader-driven market run up.) It is possible that forward market price relief is starting now. If you have an electricity contract up for renewal between now and September/October, you may want to consider buying now. No one can promise that we are at the market low– in fact, the market low was back in January (as you can see from the graph, below). But seeing a fairly dramatic drop like the one displayed in the graph suggests that now is the time–particularly for those businesses that are under pressure to make a decision.

If you are concerned about hitting a budget number and your contract is coming up, you may want to consider a purchase in the next week or so. Note that it is possible that we see a “Summer dip” in prices. If summer weather doesn’t show up– the heat doesn’t arrive– then there may be another buying opportunity this summer.

Bottomline for businesses: Make sure you take advantage of market signals like the one we’re seeing now. As you will note from the graph, above, buying on a market dip (like the dramatic one we saw in January) can shave 15-20% off your contract costs. Let us know if you have questions.