Are these the salad days or what? 2700 sf home, two story, the A/C or heater did come on during the past two months, not much obviously, but look at this: March bill, read on March 21: 1254 kilowatt hours, bill $113 reading today, just now, April 21 1339 kilowatt hours, bill will be $120ish We cook and clean at home, maybe eat out once every two weeks. WOW!!! That darn ERCOT will probably ruin it with that stupid electronic meters, I bet my bill automatically goes up at least 20%, so this may be it. These are the smallest two electric bills I will ever have. (current rate is 8.69 cents) Btw, these two bills are lower than the average electric bill we had when we were living in a 929 sf apartment. Average bill there was $140, but big difference, the wife and two small kids were at home all day.
we moved to cirro 3 years ago and have done one year contracts that each year has dropped. Just about .08 per kwh now. beautiful.
$118.07! Cirro is the best! So, even if we have high summer usage, and double what we're using now, my bill is only going to be in the mid 200s. That one cent lower than last year's rate is really good. I have this rate until February 2014.
I've always been afraid to switch electric providers. I don't know how it all works. Do they send their power through TXU's lines? Do they install new lines to my house? And what happens if they run out of power?
cirro has been great. it is painless but you need to agree to a 1 year or 2 year contract. I've done 3 consecutive 12 month contracts. it is a fixed rate. TXU won't offer you as good a deal. I asked them to match and they basically laughed at me. they will try and buy you back with a 200 offer but the rate differences were too substantial to even consider going back. the lines are the same and in my case are controlled by a former TXU company....Oncor. After storms we seem to be back on same as always. I can't guarantee you won't have problems but for 3 years I have saved probably close to 20 -25%. It is awesome.
It looks like Cirro is not the lowest but who knows: The Link I wasn't sure who to choose but Cirro has worked for me.
will keep this updated. But, I noticed the 5.9 cents per kwh is now gone. That was a spring special, don't remember the company name. My next meter read day should be Monday, in four days. But still, the 7.7 cents for 12 months is a very good rate.
I've been with Stream Energy for as long as I can remember. Never had a problem with them. I just locked in at 5.8 cents per kwh for a year. Not sure if it is still available but give them a try. 1798 sq ft house and this month's bill was $85.37.
I just looked at stream's website, it says rate as of April is that super low incredible 5. something. This is mind-boggling. I will keep this in mind when I decide again in '14. I'm pleased with 8.30 something, but I never dreamed you would be able to get 5 something.
Why wait Cat? You can always switch providers just like insurance. You may have to pay an early termination fee to switch, but most of the time, the new provider will cover that expense for you. I would give them at least a call and see what can be done for you. 5.8c vs. 8.something is well worth the savings for me to switch.
the stream deal is too good to be true. The words 'energy charge' tipped me off. From the stream site: 500 kWh 1,000 kWh 2,000 kWh 11.6¢ 8.9¢ 8.6¢ $ 0.057 per kWh $ 0.02635 per kWh $ 6.24 Other Key Terms and See Terms of Service document for a full listing of fees, deposit policy, and other important terms. Questions Version: 12_041012_ONCOR Electricity Facts Label (EFL) The 2.635 is the Oncor charge. So, you add the 5.7 cents to the 2.635 and you are paying almost exactly what I'm paying. My average price per kilowatt hour from my current statement is 8.57 cents.
woohooo! I just looked at the meter. I'm on a record low pace dollar wise. On a pace for 1907 kwh, the bill should be just less than $170, if we keep the current pace until June 20th. This is outtasight!!!! I still predict a hot July, I'm guessing something like 2500 kwh, which should give me a bill about $215, still a record low bill Then August 3000 kwh. My goal for August is to use less than 3000.
I forget what it's called, but we just switched to another TXU plan that ties electric rates to the price of natural gas. Right now, the rate is .083. It will rise in the winter when gas prices rise. We just installed central air last summer, so we don't have a lot of history to go by, but since our heat is gas, this makes sense to me. We will be using considerably less electricity when the price goes up. It's a month-to-month plan so we can change plans at any time.
update, the meter will be read sometime in the next ten days, and I 've narrowed down the range. Our usage has gone up very slightly because we are now getting the 90 degree days, but the range is now officially between $165 and $171. I predict $168. It all depends upon how many days they allow the cycle to be. I kindof wish the cycle were the longer, the 31 days, so the July bill could be 30 days. BUT, I really really want to see less than $170 for a bill in June. Almost unbelieveable that we could have a bill that low.
My bill due in July is $111, and when my new plan starts in July, I expect to see some bills that are less than $100.
I read my meter today, it looks like I used 1900ish kwh, which is exactly where I had hoped to be. I just need to call Cirro tomorrow and find out if they read the meter today. (I'm almost positive they did). If so, my bill looks to be below $165, which I still find hard to believe. I will read the meter again tomorrow, to make sure I didn't make a mistake reading the thing.
good news, just called Cirro, he gave me the usage, 1897 kwh. The bad news, I didn't take into account the small fees also. The sales tax, PUC charge, and one other little charge. So, it looks like there will be about $7.00 of misc. fees. + the usage, will equal almost exactly $170. OMG!!!! That is incredible. Now for next month a real hot month, but our teenagers will be gone part of the time. I have already begun setting the thermostat reasonably high in the upstairs, where the teens hang out. I can go higher, the deeper we get into summer. I predict a 15% increase at the max. 1897 X 1.15 = 2182. 2182 X the rate of 8.6 cents = $187 + $8 in fees = $195, under $200!!! Then increase the bill another 15% for August $195 X 1.15 = $224. Take the midpoint of the August and July bill for September and I get about $210 for the Sept bill. I will definitely be happy with these numbers. The key will be to have a couple of cool days each month, so the a/c doesn't come on at all.
the actual bill is up, $168.10!! OMG wowWWWWW!!!!! check this out, last year for this period, we used 2509 hwh, this year we used 1897. kwh. This amount will auto pay on July 11, so that means our first "high" electric bill this summer will be paid on about August 11, and then just one more high bill. In effect, we only have two high bills, instead of three.
...and the heat is ON. Wow, we will need a break from the 105 degree heat if I'm to get close to a $210 bill.
...and almost halfway through the cycle, my home is on pace to use 2230 kwhs. Not bad, but we were gone for a day and a half, and we had one day of moderation, not a completely cool day like I wanted, but the heat was only about 93 degrees or so, instead of the usual 97+. I just need one good coolish day where the temp tops at 91 or so. I think we will use 2300 kwh. So the bill should be about $210!!!
well, we got it! a cool day, and I'm on pace to use only 2200 or less kwh. The bill could be between 200 and 210$$ Again, a record low for this time of year.
It could happen. It looks like we have a record low bill, below $200.(The meter should have been read today.) To me, after all of this thinking I've done about conservation, home improvements to make, etc.: It's kind of like that radio commercial. Why not just pay less? And twist it for me, why not just use less? Just set the thermostat higher. That is exactly what I've done.
just talked to a Cirro rep. Got the scoop on how to calc. the charges. My plan, 8.17 cents + $6.24 + the taxes. He had no idea how to calculate the taxes. I usually look at older bills. This month's taxes will be about $8.00 So, here we go, look out! 2088 X .0817= $170.59 + $6.24 = $176.83. + 8.00 = 184.83. Wow!
Now, my goals have changed. I want to go the entire summer paying less than $200 for an electric bill. According to my latest calculations, we can use up to 2260 kwh and have a bill less than $200. This is going to be a tough test, with both the 105+ degrees and two teenagers using electronics like mad. I guess I could go in their rooms and unplug all of their electronics while they are at cross country and band. Then when they come back and jump on their electronics, I could plead ignorance. That would work for a few minutes. Ha, it actually will work for the band boy, because he will be in band for 6+ hours a day, starting next week. The cross country boy, not so much, he probably runs 2 hours.
I just got my first bill after my rate change went into effect July 7. Here's the comparison from July 2011 to July 2012: July 2011 Average temperature: 91 degrees Electrical use: 1,500 kWh Total bill: $224.93 July 2012 Average temperature: 86 degrees Electrical use: 1,558 kWh Total bill: $150.31 We used 58 more kWh but are paying $74.62 less. I'm happy with this. It should be noted that we didn't install our central a/c until mid-July last year. We paid $224.93 last year based partly on having one window unit in our house. A better indicator of savings will be our bill for August.
well, I missed my goal, but it's still an incredibly low summer electric bill. With 10 days to go for the biggest and baddest of all electric bills, I now project usage of 2441 kwh, for an electric bill of about $215. 2441 compares very favorably to 2806 from last year. I wonder if the new filter grill I had installed has something to do with this. In the downstairs ceiling, I had a great a/c man install a filter grill. I will be very interested to see the net kwh +/- for the year starting when I had the filter grill installed. Much of the - will have something to do with the hotter summer last year, but we've still had a pretty high number of 100 degree days this year. So far the +/- is...............-950. Wow! Now that 's only two months worth. the Sept bill last year was still very high, so I imagine I will pick up about 300-400 more kwhs.
Well, the bad news happened today, this morning the "SMART" reader was installed. I was on the computer, when all of a sudden the power went out. I ran outside, and there he was, the guy had installed the dumbest thing ever, I gave him a little bit of a hard time, told him the machine would read faster, not too hard of a time. I got the meter reading; I looked at the meter, he still had the meter in his hand, and verified his reading, he was right. Then I came inside called ONCOR to complain, they said they were in "outage mode", which meant they weren't taking complalints. This is because of the storms in Fort Worth yesterday. Then I called the PUC and complained. I also called ERCOT and complained to them. Then, so I can prove the meter will run faster, I calculated my average usage for August, easily the hottest month of the year, it is 81.33 per day. I will hammer these guys, and make them install another one etc. And what REALLY makes me mad, is that the stupid door hanger says "Save up to 15 percent off your electric bill". BS X 10. People are really stupid to think that signing on to a website will make it so you can save 15% on your electric bill. This is the dumbest thing ever. Boy do I feel better, not quite good enough, I'm gonna call ONCOR a bit later, and really let them have it. That ought to be an interesting conversation, especially when I tell them I've got my averaqe usage per day from the hottest month.
yes!! I told them I have the daily usage from August, let them know. I do feel much better. Now, it will be interesting to see if they try to get me to sign up for smartmetertexas.com. I will not be surprised to get emails and letters to try to get me to sign up. There is no way I will ever sign up for something like that, when I can set a record low summer electric bill all by myself. Hmmm, a record low electric bill one month, a "SMART" meter the next month???? Coincidence? I think NOT!!! Oh boy, I'm having toooooo much fun!
For the record, I had a smart meter installed about a year ago and I started getting a weekly usage statement from Reliant with a projected bill if I continue down the same path. My rates didn't change one cent, but my awareness of usage did which means my wife's awareness did too! Because of that I have been able to convey to the "family" on a weekly basis where we will be at the end of the billing cycle so our usage automatically decreased keeping my monthly bills lower than ever.
yep, it's just awareness, it's not saving $. I do this every summer, just to get a reality check. This year I have a good rate from Cirro, and between that and the fact that last year was the hottest ever, means I have a much lower bill this year. They should have read the bill yesterday, but Cirro doesn't know the usage yet. They don't even know for a fact the bill was read yesterday.
