A reader who locked in with Constellation Electric a year ago at 9.7 cents kwh is being offered a one-year renewal at 9.49 cents per kilowatt hour. He called and told them he could get a deal from Castlebridge Energy for only 8.95 cents.

He says they agreed to lower the Constellation Electric price to 8.9 cents flat. The lesson: If you have a third-party electricity provider and it comes time for a contract rollover, always shop around. And Constellation Electric, at least, seems willing to negotiate.

Here are the reader's comments. You may also empathize with his feelings on having to shop and negotiate for everything these days.

I called Constellation and told them I wanted to terminate as of the end of my current contract. Of course they asked why, and I told them I had been offered a better deal from Castlebridge, which was listed at 8.95 cents on their web site as you indicated. But Constellation passed me on to a representative in their contracts department, who offered me 8.9 cents for one year if I would stay with them. I accepted, as it seemed the logical thing to do at that moment. You know, Jay, it really is not my preference that so many goods and services are now negotiated this way, like buying a car. I have done a similar thing several times now with Comcast for my TV and internet service, as many others have. It is a pain.