Utility Management Group

Welcome to the Utility Management Group. We hope you find this information useful.

For more than 10 years, we have been educating consumers about their energy choices. Our goal is to make sure our customers understand those choices and the impact they have on their budget.

Our responsibilities include:

1. Constantly monitoring the market for the most aggressive programs and quality suppliers available.
2. Explaining to our customers in layman's terms the current status of the energy markets, what options are available and the benefits and detriments of those choices.
3. Understanding our customers needs and concerns so we can recommend the correct solutions.
4. Managing our customer's services on an ongoing basis.

1. Experience. We were founded in June, 2000 and our consultants average more than 10 years of experience.
2. Strength in numbers. Because of the size of our customer base, we are able to negotiate the most favorable pricing available. While your business is important to your supplier, if you made the decision to move to another supplier they will have lost one account. If suppliers don't provide the pricing and service we expect, they will lose hundreds of customers.
3. No consulting contracts or obligations to us. If you're happy with our recommendations and service, we hope to continue to earn your business. If we don't meet your expectations,we understand that we're going to lose your business.
4. No obligation reviews of your current service. If we can't offer additional benefits, we'll let you know. If we can, we'll explain your options. It's up to you as to whether you want to accept our recommendations.
5. Diversity of suppliers and programs. There is not a single solution or supplier that is best for all customers. Being able to choose from a number of quality suppliers and programs allows us to tailor a solution to your needs. This approach is very different from suppliers who try to "sell" you on their company and program.
   
6. Diversity of options. In addition to helping you lower and control your commodity cost, we can help you reduce the amount of energy you use, giving you more permanent reductions in your expenses.
7. Confidence. Being a licensed Illinois electric broker, we are subject to fines,  suspensions or the loss of our license if we do not act with integrity.
   
8. A low pressure, consultative approach. Once you understand your options and we have presented the appropriate solutions, we encourage you to make a decision based on your schedule. We don't like high pressure sales tactics either.
   

Experience Matters

As with most industries, experience in the energy industry matters. With the changes to the Illinois electric industry over the past few years, the number of suppliers and brokers have increased substantially.

Before agreeing to work with a broker, we recommend asking for the following:

• Confirmation that they are licensed by the State of Illinois.
• The number of suppliers they work with.
  
• References you can talk to.
  
• Confirmation of their length of time in the industry.
• Confirmation of their customer's experience with them. 
• Do they require that you work with them exclusively?
  

We recommend never signing a document in order to receive an electric quote. It's not necessary, and will often give that broker the exclusive rights to your account. The only document you generally need to sign to obtain a natural gas quote is a gas history release from your utility.

The Benefits of Pooling 

When suppliers decide what type of pricing they want to offer a customer, some of the factors they consider are the size of the account, the competitiveness of the situation, the customer's industry knowledge and the prospect for additional business.

We offer the following:

• The suppliers we work with know we are obtaining pricing from other suppliers as well, so they are always in a competitive situation.  They either send us their most competitive pricing or they will not be awarded the business.
• Because we manage a sizable customer base, we are able to negotiate pricing on behalf of all our customers, not just a single account.
• We are aware of "pricing games" suppliers play to make their offers look more competitive. We make sure all comparisons are apples to apples and that there are no hidden costs.

The suppliers we select have an outstanding record of providing quality customer service and accurate billing. If, however, one of our customers does have an issue, suppliers know that they need to resolve the issue quickly or they jeopardize not only that customer, but all present and future customers we bring them.