Arcadia Power Review: Renewable Energy with No Hassle

If you want to make a positive impact on the environment while potentially lowering your utility bill, Arcadia Power may be for you.

Do you cringe when your utility bill hits the mailbox? As the cost of electricity rises in many areas of the country, you’re not alone.

About Arcadia Power

Arcadia Powers’ mission is to help stop climate change by breaking the fossil fuel monopoly. Their technology is available to consumers and small businesses.

Their founder grew up in Appalachia, where their region was impacted by the coal industry, which created his drive to want a better energy solution.

He started Arcadia in 2014 and by 2015 matched his first customers power bill in Kentucky with clean wind energy. Now Arcadia is available in all 50 states.

How Arcadia Power Works

Arcadia Power offers the majority of homeowners who cannot qualify or afford solar panels the ability to utilize renewable energy without the extreme costs of installation.

For those who cannot install solar panels on their home’s roof, that is ok, Arcadia Power uses your current power lines – you actually will not have to have anything installed at your home – sounds kind of crazy right?

The way this works is that when you pay your power bill, you are actually paying for both power transmission and power generation – and you can actually choose who generates your power for you, in most states that is.

Arcadia Power will provide you with renewable energy by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) – then providing this renewable energy to its customers from various sources.

Once you sign up for Arcadia Power, nothing much should change.

You won’t have a work crew installing solar panels on your roof. You won’t have wind farm representatives knocking on your door.

The goal isn’t to generate green energy from your home directly. It’s to generate more clean energy for the national power grid so that one day most, if not all of that energy may come from clean, renewable sources, generated elsewhere.

The following steps will take you through the process of working with Arcadia Power.

1. Check Availability

Use the signup form on the Arcadia Power website to see what plans are available. This varies for everyone, depending on the number of wind farms and other clean renewable energy projects operating in your area.

The following information is required to check your availability:

• Zip Code
• Current utility company

2. Connect Your Energy Bill

Each consumer will have different plan options, depending on their utility provider and location.

It doesn’t hurt to see what they have to offer you, especially if you have a junk email address that you won’t mind them using for advertisements in the future.

There us to be three different plan options with Arcadia power, though now, they have made it easier and more streamlined with one simple plan:

1. Premium Plan $5/month: You purchase wind power RECs equivalent to 100% of your energy consumption. You deliver more clean energy to the national power grid, but it will increase your energy bill every $0.015 per kWh.

3. Let Arcadia Power Invest For You

Arcadia Power purchases clean power from wind farms and other projects providing renewable or clean energy.

They also operate a community solar program. The company earns Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, for its investment in clean energy.

You need to buy just 1 kWh of renewable energy to receive a certificate.

When you become an Arcadia Power customer, they put some of those RECs in your name. Each certificate represents real energy that is delivered into the energy grid somewhere in the nation. You never know the exact source of the energy surging through your home because it all mixes together once in the grid.

Think of it as pouring orange juice and apple juice together. The juices blend together, and there is no way to determine how many apples or orange juice you consume when taking a drink. If there is more apple juice than orange juice in the mix, you’re likely to receive more apple juice.

Arcadia Power is working to increase the amount of renewable energy in the national energy grid. It’s like pouring more apple juice into the mix.

RECs simply allow you to increase the percentage of green energy introduced into the system. The more you invest in the production of renewable energy and the more people who contribute, the higher the percentage of renewable energy in the national grid will rise.

One day, it could mean that all of the energy provided to your home comes from a renewable source.

4. Put Your Utility Bill On Autopay

You authorize your power company to send your monthly bill directly to Arcadia Power. You will watch your dashboard through the website to see the cost of your energy each month.

The dashboard also shows the amount of energy consumed each month and what you’re paying for that energy.

Each bill is automatically withdrawn from a credit card or bank account. Autopayment is initiated three days after they receive your power bill. Once they secure the money from your account, they pay your energy provider on your behalf.

There is a three-day grace period if you need to delay a payment, but you need to take steps before the autopay process begins. Once it starts, you can’t stop them from charging your account.

Does Arcadia Power Save You Money?

There are two ways that Arcadia Power may help save money on your energy bill:

1. Finding Lower Energy Rates

If your state has deregulated electricity, you have the option to switch energy providers based on available rates. The problem is that determining rates is often difficult. Rates can also change frequently.

Arcadia Power will help by giving you price alerts for energy providers serving your area. If you switch to a new provider based on their alerts, Arcadia Power will take a small percentage of your savings. If you don’t want to pay them a fee, you can research rates on your own.

2. Upgrading Your Home

If you want to invest in smart technology for your home, Arcadia Power may give you a small discount on select products. When you install a smart thermostat or other high-tech solutions, you have greater control over your energy consumption. That can lead to savings on energy.

Pros and Cons

As with anything in life, there are pros and there are cons, let’s discuss those now:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arcadia power a legitimate company?

Yes, Arcadia Power is a legit company with a 4.7 rating on Trustpilot. They provide renewable energy to its 300,000+ customers in all 50 states.

Does Arcadia Power really save you money?

This depends on where you live. Some consumers have complained that the cost of their energy bills increased significantly even when their energy usage decreased. That was likely the result of the upgraded accounts because they require you to pay for renewable energy that isn’t applied directly to your home.

How does Arcadia Power make money?

When you sign up with Arcadia Power, you will be charged $5 per month for them to match 100% of your electricity usage with clean, renewable energy.

Is Arcadia Power Best For You?

Whether you spend a few minutes signing up for Arcadia Power depends on the following factors:

• Personal Interests: Are you concerned about the environment? Do you want to make a difference by pumping more renewable energy into the power grid?
• Budget: Can you afford to autopay your utility bill every month? If you go with an upgraded account, can you afford to pay a bit extra on each bill?
• Trust: Do you trust Arcadia Power to receive and pay your energy bills on time? Do you trust them to accurately update your dashboard with information?

We recommend that you think of this as an investment option for the environment rather than a way to lower your energy bill.

That should help you decide whether going beyond the free plan is worth your time.