Common Fears About Switching to Open Access — and What Actually Happens

Fear: My power will be interrupted during the switch

This is the most common concern — and the most straightforward to address. Switching your electricity supplier does not affect the physical delivery of power to your facility. Your distribution utility continues to maintain the distribution lines, handle connections, and respond to outages. The switch changes only the supply component — who provides the electricity and how you are billed for it. Your lights stay on throughout the entire 90-day transition and beyond.

Fear: The process is too complicated for my team to handle

The switching process involves regulatory filings, metering coordination, and documentation — but your Retail Electricity Supplier manages all of it. Your team's involvement is minimal: providing access for the meter installation and signing the necessary agreements. The RES handles coordination with the distribution utility, IEMOP, and the metering service provider. Businesses that have been through the process consistently describe it as simpler than they expected.

Fear: I will be locked into a bad deal

Retail supply contracts have defined terms, and the specifics vary by RES. Before signing, you should understand the contract duration, pricing structure, and renewal terms. A good RES will explain every element clearly and answer questions without pressure. The transparency you gain — itemized billing, consumption data, demand analysis — actually puts you in a better position to evaluate your arrangement than you ever were under a distribution utility's bundled rate.

Fear: Open access is only for big corporations

Until recently, the demand threshold for RCOA was 500kW, which limited eligibility to larger industrial consumers. The June 2026 expansion to 100kW changes this significantly. Mid-sized manufacturers, food processing plants, schools, commercial buildings, hotels, BPO operations, and retail complexes now qualify. The Retail Aggregation Program goes further — allowing multiple smaller sites to combine demand and qualify collectively.

Fear: My distribution utility will retaliate

RCOA is a regulatory program mandated by law under EPIRA. Your distribution utility is legally required to facilitate the switching process and continue providing network services. The relationship with your DU does not end — they continue to deliver electricity, maintain distribution infrastructure, and respond to outages. What changes is the supply component only. Your DU has no basis to alter the quality of network services based on your supply choice.

The real risk: not knowing what you are paying for

For many businesses, the actual risk is staying on a bundled rate with no visibility into costs. Without itemized billing, you cannot identify what drives your electricity expenses, challenge specific charges, or plan for changes. Every month without data is a month without the ability to optimize one of your largest operating costs.