# Who wants to talk about reducing basic utility costs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184 "2017-03-28T00:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/41 "2017-03-29T15:58:59Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Inspired by this thread, I just cut my electric bill in half. I phoned an alternative provider, read them my last bill, and they told me that they would literally reduce my cost by half. Last month it was 61.80, the new provider quoted me a rate plan that would have been $30. They said they would pay a disconnect charge if there was one, but there isn’t. > > From time to time, it pays to just phone your present provider to ask if you can be given an incentive discount or promotional rate, or if not, phone a competitor for a lower rate. Can I ask you how on what end they reduced your bill? My provider has a comparison chart, and maybe I could save $5 a month, but the delivery charges may not be a part of it. What do you understand about this if anything? Also there are a lot of suppliers. How did you choose? ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/42 "2017-03-29T16:30:40Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Can I ask you how on what end they reduced your bill? My provider has a comparison chart, and maybe I could save $5 a month, but the delivery charges may not be a part of it. What do you understand about this if anything? > > Also there are a lot of suppliers. How did you choose? Is this Texas? I did this recently. First, I logged in to a little known site, called smart meter Texas, located here : [https://www.smartmetertexas.com/](https://www.smartmetertexas.com/) . You need 2 long numbers off your utility bill and it’s a little kludgy, but I was able to get in. I then was able to see my actual usage by month and by year. Then, knowing my actual usage for a typical year, I went to [http://www.powertochoose.org/](http://www.powertochoose.org/), another site run by the Texas utility commission. I used their wizard and asked for fixed rate, 6-24 month contract. Then, the information comes up, sorted by lowest price. I then looked for plans that had high customer service scores, 4-5 star or better. From that sub-group, I found a company that offers Tier 1: 0 to 500 kWh will be billed at 0.7101¢ per kWh; Tier 2: 501 to 1,000 kWh will be billed at 0.3101¢ per kWh; and Tier 3: 1,001 kWh and over will be billed at 12.9000¢ per kWh TLDR, for my house, I’m always under 1000 - only in August does it go a tiny bit over 1000. That’s from efficiency upgrades, mainly to the A/C, but that’s a thread for another day. (but TLDR, I installed efficient mini splits myself) So in my case, this is a no brainer. My last electric bill was $26. If you exceed 1000, you need to use a bit of a spreadsheet, it’s a simple bit of algebra, and you need your monthly electricity consumption. Then you can figure out the actual billed cost for the top few plans listed and figure out which one is lowest. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/43 "2017-03-29T16:40:49Z")
SA, do those rates include “delivery”? We have a similarly open electric program here, but the incumbent power company gets to charge a “delivery” rate regardless of whose juice is provided, so the kWh numbers can be a little deceptive. It gets pretty crappy. We rented a small office, one room of about a dozen spread among five tenants, and use very little electricity… but pay a $45 connection/delivery fee every month. So BigPowerCo collects around $250 a month from the building without delivering an erg. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/44 "2017-03-29T17:53:56Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > SA, do those rates include “delivery”? We have a similarly open electric program here, but the incumbent power company gets to charge a “delivery” rate regardless of whose juice is provided, so the kWh numbers can be a little deceptive. > > It gets pretty crappy. We rented a small office, one room of about a dozen spread among five tenants, and use very little electricity… but pay a $45 connection/delivery fee every month. So BigPowerCo collects around $250 a month from the building without delivering an erg. No, sorry, forgot to include them. The “delivery” is ~4.5 cents/kWH. Wasn’t meaning to be misleading - [here’s](https://www.infiniteenergy.com/client/resources/efl/signup/CenterPoint/Sweet_6)the sheet I quoted. I don’t know who these guys are, this is just an example of a plan that would be very good for my house, because I always use under 1000 kWh, since mini splits sip power\*, I have power efficient computers and displays, and I have automatic LED lighting that turns itself off in most rooms. Anyways, their plan is to suck you in and charge you extra when you use over 1000 kWh, but if you don’t, then this is an amazing deal. There is no monthly fee for this plan - some have them. \*my main mini split is 1.25 tons with a SEER rating of 25. In fact, this is so cheap that it makes sense to go to tankless electric hot water, so you don’t have to pay the $18 a month just to maintain gas service. (heating comes from the mini splits) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/45 "2017-03-29T20:58:59Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Can I ask you how on what end they reduced your bill? My provider has a comparison chart, and maybe I could save $5 a month, but the delivery charges may not be a part of it. What do you understand about this if anything? > > Also there are a lot of suppliers. How did you choose? My previous provider chagred me, last month, 0.1526 per kwh. The new one offered me a plan at 0.056 for the first 500 kwh, then 0.106 for any usage over 500 kwh. Normally, I exceed 500 only a couple of months a year, and last year I never went over 600. So even in the highest month, my usage will cost about $41 instead of $92. The previous provider billed me a $6 AEC charge and $5 customer charge, the new provider will charge $11 AEC and no customer charge. The new one will not charge me the flat rate for CC-autopay, nor for paper invoicing. I’m in Texas, by the way. I just happened to have received a junk mailing yesterday from the new provide, so I gave them a call. First time in my life I ever bought anything offered in junk mail. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/46 "2017-03-29T21:21:57Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > From time to time, it pays to just phone your present provider to ask if you can be given an incentive discount or promotional rate, or if not, phone a competitor for a lower rate. I started a thread on this recently. Yes, it does pay to call about excessive charges. It almost always works. $190 for cable/phone/internet in the OP’s case isn’t unheard of but it is insane in mind. I only pay $69.99 a month for cable including cable with HBO and very fast internet. The phone is literally $0 because I run it through my internet connection and can make free calls anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for no money for as long as I want. I have to call Comcast every two years to tell them I am switching to Verizon Fios if they don’t give me a two year promotional offer again but it isn’t that hard. They always do and I will switch if they don’t. Checkmate. I do that for things like Sirius-XM radio as well. The standard rates are about $15 a month but I pay $5 because I call every five months to renew my promotional offer or cancel if they won’t do it (they always do). As for the iPhone thing. I have a personal rule that my employer has to pay for it if they expect me to answer. My current one pays for both my phone and the plan. I can use it however I want but the deal is that I am expected to answer when they call which doesn’t happen that often these days. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/47 "2017-03-30T03:20:28Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I started a thread on this recently. Yes, it does pay to call about excessive charges. It almost always works. $190 for cable/phone/internet in the OP’s case isn’t unheard of but it is insane in mind. I only pay $69.99 a month for cable including cable with HBO and very fast internet. The phone is literally $0 because I run it through my internet connection and can make free calls anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for no money for as long as I want. I have to call Comcast every two years to tell them I am switching to Verizon Fios if they don’t give me a two year promotional offer again but it isn’t that hard. They always do and I will switch if they don’t. Checkmate. > > I do that for things like Sirius-XM radio as well. The standard rates are about $15 a month but I pay $5 because I call every five months to renew my promotional offer or cancel if they won’t do it (they always do). > > As for the iPhone thing. I have a personal rule that my employer has to pay for it if they expect me to answer. My current one pays for both my phone and the plan. I can use it however I want but the deal is that I am expected to answer when they call which doesn’t happen that often these days. So you are paying $70 per month for both cable and internet? Can you say what company is the provider? How do you run your phone through your internet connection? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/48 "2017-03-30T04:23:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The phone is literally $0 because I run it through my internet connection and can make free calls anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for no money for as long as I want. I do the same. I have only a landline phone, and never make toll calls on it. I just make long distance calls through google-phone, free and unlimited to any US/Canada phone number from anywhere in the world, on my laptop or tablet. It’s amazing. I’m seeing ads now for phones, $45 per line, $15 for the phone, that’s $60 each for four people, $240 a month. Qualified lessees can lease a BMW for that. Or two Toyotas. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/49 "2017-03-30T05:00:17Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > So you are paying $70 per month for both cable and internet? Can you say what company is the provider? How do you run your phone through your internet connection? Yes, it is Comcast. I ask them to price match Verizon Fios every two years and put me on a guaranteed contract but they have added features like HBO and really high speed internet (100/100 mbps) over the years for the same price. They always do it. As to the phone service, nobody should pay much for phone service these days. I think I got lucky because I got a cheap Obi 100 interface ($35) when they first started. They claimed it was going to be discontinued about three years ago but it never happened and I even got a free firmware upgrade recently. All domestic calls in my house are literally $0 and 0 cents and have been for years. It works exactly the same way as any other phone and sounds the same (much better than a cell phone). I am not sure that people can be grandfathered in to that type of deal anymore but it isn’t difficult to get full phone service for less than $5 a month. All you have to do is buy an interface that plugs into your router and your phone system. It is one of the most simple money saving ideas that exists. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/50 "2017-03-30T07:48:19Z")
We need a Truth in Labeling disclaimer for this thread. Basic utilities are electricity, water, and (where available) natural gas. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/51 "2017-03-30T11:53:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > We need a Truth in Labeling disclaimer for this thread. > > Basic utilities are electricity, water, and (where available) natural gas. That may be an interpretation. Heating is basic. In many communities, trash collection is mandatory. A phone is considered so “basic” that the federal government provides or subsidizes one. In Texas, internet service is exempt from sales tax, but water and electricity are not. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/52 "2017-03-30T14:16:40Z")
Since this isn’t a court, does it really matter that we’re including cable, internet and phone as “basic utilities”? I’d say internet has become pretty much as basic and necessary as gas, water and power for most folks. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184/53 "2017-03-30T14:26:32Z")
Internet access is now considered necessary enough that low-income residents can get government subsidies for internet access, much as the phone company used to provide “lifeline” landline telephone service to low-income families (and I think now offers subsidized cell phone access). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-to-talk-about-reducing-basic-utility-costs/783184.md?page=2)