From Saturday's column:

Shopping for household energy has revived in Maryland, thanks to a drop in wholesale prices, frustration about BGE's winter heating bills and worries about even higher electricity prices to come.

Residential users who dump BGE's or Pepco's standard electricity package could save $20 a month this summer by buying energy instead from merchants such as Washington Gas Energy Services or a program being rolled out by several chambers of commerce. Natural gas prices have plunged, too. (I'll write more about them in Wednesday's paper.)

The electricity savings aren't huge, but there's no reason not to take them. Until policymakers fix flawed wholesale markets and increase Central Maryland's kilowatt supply, it's at least temporary self-help. There has also never been a better time to buy nonpolluting, wind-generated electricity, which has become cheaper than BGE's standard price for the first time.

BGE's standard price will be 12.7 cents/kilowatt-hour this summer. (Generation & cross-country transmission. Local distribution is extra.)

WGES is offering 10.8 cents for one to three years.

Dominion Retail is offering 10.75 cents to the end of this year.

Clean Currents is offering 100 percent clean wind energy for 11.5 cents for 1 year and 11.8 cents for two years.