Comcast may add electricity to bundle of services

[onehandle]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Comcast may soon provide customers with retail electricity supply, along with its "Triple Play" bundle of cable, Internet, and phone service. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Robert F. Powelson said Wednesday that the Philadelphia cable giant was working with a third-party supplier to include retail electricity in its bundle of services this year.

Powelson disclosed the Comcast venture during public remarks after the release of a report that evaluates the nation's competitive retail energy markets. Pennsylvania ranks second among states, behind Texas, in the Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS).

Powelson did not name the supplier with which Comcast is collaborating. NRG Energy spokesman Dave Knox acknowledged that his company was "working with Comcast on a new initiative." NRG's involvement was first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com.

NRG, with headquarters in Princeton, owns Reliant Energy, a large retail supplier in Texas, and Energy Plus, a retail supplier in Philadelphia that specializes in bundling electrical supply with affinity programs that reward customers with cash and airline miles.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/20140123_Comcast_may_add_electricity_to_bundle_of_services.html

[Locrian]

1. HAHAHAHA!

Comcast can go F*** themselves on that! I got 'bundled' and finally recently ditched ALL of it except my internet service. No phone / tv etc - just internet. I even have my own cable modem instead of paying rent on theirs.

Every other month the bill was going up and up and up. They always claimed 'increased cost' for cable services !!
I would NEVER sign up for a bundle again.



RCA antenna for local TV, RG6 cable, signal booster: $75
Motorola SB661261 DOCIS 3 modem: $60
NetTalk for VOIP: $44 (year of phone service, landline VOIP)

Previous monthly Comcast bill ~ $150+ with all the 'fees' etc
New bill $66

Saying F*** you to Comcast for the bundle: priceless

[cosmicone]

4. Oh NO!!!

You're missing out on "Real Housewives of X" and "Duck Dynasty" .... Sucks to be you!

[Orrex]

7. The joke's on you

As a fellow victim of Comcast, I researched this and learned that their triple-play "bundle" is $1000 dollars per month, while the price for internet-only is $999.00.

A slight exaggeration? Perhaps, but the point is served.


When I asked them why they price it this way, they answered "because we're not primarily an internet service."



That's a funny one, Comcast.

[Locrian]

11. not following you ...

My bill is close to $90 a month less - that's a 56% savings not 0.1%. Triple play bundle is expen$sive vs just internet. True, I canceled my cable and phone with them....

I do agree that they will eventually raise the price of internet as they lose more and more 'tv' and 'phone' customers to offset the loss.

[Orrex]

12. Mostly I'm just griping about Comcast.

If we were to go for one of the "bundle" packages, we would get internet, premium cable & phone for like $99, but if we cut back to internet only, it's a shade over $80 per month.

My point is that they charge an exorbitant amount for what should, frankly, be basic service. And when I asked about it, they insisted that they aren't primarily an internet service provider, despite the fact that everything they hard-market is based on providing internet services.

Incidentally, that $80 price meets or exceeds most of the "horror story" projections for likely internet price-hikes following the death of net neutrality. In other words, we're already paying at the level of worst-case scenario, so I can't wait to see how they screw us further.

[Locrian]

13. got it

There are no bounds to my distaste for both Comcast and it's evil sister ATT (uverse)!

It was NOT painless getting rid of the bundled parasite. We found it easier to go to the actual store (a pain) and just deal with the actually pretty friendly humans. The 'call service" is a NIGHTMARE.

When I switched to my personal modem, there was a problem with my account (on their side) . Technical side went smooth but I didn't know (comcast wouldnt tell me) what the fricking problem was. Took me 4 hours of world-wide call bouncing for THEM to finally figure it out and get me connected.

Worth it though ... grim satisfaction. I know they will eventually come up with another way to screw me. Internet service should be ~$25 for broadband.

[MrScorpio]

2. No...

Please don't.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Argggg.... "The Company™

I suppose they will soon go into the grocery and other retail consumer goods business soon. Might as well do it all and own it all.

Brian Roberts has become a megalomaniac.

[SamKnause]

5. Bundle

Let's decide (meaning our corrupt politicians and the Supreme Court) which corporate monopoly we want to control everything in the US.

[cosmicone]

6. Competition to the electric companies won't be bad

but Comcast doesn't have the infrastructure to carry hundreds of amps through a coaxial cable.

[Earth_First]

8. Bah! A minor detail...

Grease a few wheels along the way and they'll be able to 'figure it out as they go...' in not so many words.

[durablend]

9. The real goal, of course

Rename Pennsylvania to "The State of Comcast".

Just semantics since they already own a good part of it (and the government that comes with it)

[durablend]

10. And don't forget all those added fees!

*Used more than one 60 watt light bulb this month? Gonna cost mucho extra!

*You have HOW MANY outlets in your house? OOH that's gonna cost you! And keep in mind that since you have that many outlets we already consider you a THIEF and CLEARLY you're reselling the service to your neighbors. You may want to consider removing a few outlets or else you may find your service terminated!