In my quest to cut expenses and succeed at budgeting this year I decided to look into ways we could save money on our electric bill. I’ve already shared with you about my budget beginning and my grocery budget struggles. But, back to the electric bill.
After some Youtube research on how others are saving money on their electric bill I decided to call my electric company to see what they offer. I live in NE Ohio and AEP is our electric provider; and, First Energy is our electric supplier.
And, a little fyi, I wrote this post about five minutes after I got off the phone with them so that I wouldn’t forget what I learned.
Because I had heard some Youtubers talk about specific plans like “time of usage plan” and “average user plan” I wondered how that applied to us.
How can I save money on my electric bill?
I asked AEP what plans they have that would allow us to lower our electric bill. She said they have the Budget plan and an Average Monthly plan as well as the basic “pay what you use” plan (my words) – which is what we pay now.
The Budget Plan in our area
She said the Budget plan takes into account our 12 month usage history and we’d pay that monthly but then if we owed at the end of the year(?) we’d have to pay that, too. I put a question mark there because I had a moment of doubt about the year part.
The Average Monthly Plan in our area
The Average Monthly Plan fluctuates so that you don’t have the extra to pay at the end of the year(?) as it’s absorbed during the months and you are paying for it during that time.
The Budget Plan may not be the Best plan
When compared to what our current bill is right now the Budget Plan would make our bill higher. Right now our bill is about $105. From everything I was told, it appears what we are paying (the pay what you use plan) is the best place for us to be.
After I hung up with the first representative I ended up calling back because I forgot to get one more question answered: is there a cheaper time of day to use electricity?
The second rep confirmed that in Ohio that option does not exist. So, basically, there is no cheaper time to run the dryer, washing machine and dishwasher than the present. Good to know!
How can you save money on your electric bill?
Wherever you live, if you want to save money on your electricity and gas, I recommend calling your providers and asking them the following questions.
- How can I save money on my (electric/gas) bill? What budget/money saving plans do you offer?
- Am I currently on any type of plan?
- If I cut back on my electricity usage will it lower my bill or am I on a plan that considers the average use of other homes nearby?
- Is there a block of time that is cheaper for me to use electricity?
I hope these tips are helpful. If you do call your electric/gas provider and find out you are able to save more money on your bill than you thought and you are taking action to do so, I’d love to hear about it. Tell me in the comments.
……………………………………………
If you found this post helpful you may enjoy the following:
13 Things you need to know about staying warm and safe.
10 Ways to save money while staying warm.
.
We used the budget system years ago. It’s a nice option. We didn’t want to pay higher than needed rates though once our need dropped. Thanks for commenting, Jessamine!
We have used the budget plan for many years. We use it for our natural gas too. It saves us from having outrageous bills in the summer and winter. Every month you pay the same but you can see what you actually used and what your bill would have been. They reconcile it every 12 months. I think our Nat. Gas is every 6 months? We actually accumulate a large credit with our gas and usually end up not paying anything for a couple months. Then they adjust the budget down.
It really is necessary to watch your bills, too. One year we were overcharged for one of our utilities. I had to read the meter to them.
Great information. This has been something that’s been in question for years. I remember my oldest sister complaining about the electric company and how they will take your highest usage for that day and somehow that is what you would pay for the rest of the day (something along that line ). This was about 25 years ago that I remember this being a hot topic. Everyone should always question their utility company as to their billing practices. I’m not entirely confident on the honesty of utility companies and never will be until there is more competition.