Electric bill ... OMG!

[sacolton]

$422 for the month of July to keep my 2,219 sq. ft home cool. I need to do the OG&E average plan!

[BBatesokc]

$422 for the month of July to keep my 2,219 sq. ft home cool. I need to do the OG&E average plan!

I highly recommend it. Our friends with homes from your size up to 3,500 square feet are seeing the same totals. One friend with a 5,200 square foot home received a bill for $3,300 for one month!

Our average billing is very reasonable and I'm sitting at 72 degrees all summer.

I know someone else that opted into that plan where you avoid using electricity form 2pm - 7pm and their bill is actually now going down. But that only works for those whose schedules allow.

[ctchandler]

Since I am retired, I like the average plan but when I was working, we preferred the high summer payments and the very low fall/winter payments. The fall surplus was like a savings account for our Christmas spending. Now, on a fixed income, averaging makes it easier to budget. I use ONG's averaging option as well.
C. T.

[Thunder]

I don't understand why there are people out there not smart enough to get on the average plan in the first place. There is even a program that does a fixed price monthly. There are options.... Be smart, people.

[PennyQuilts]

I don't understand why there are people out there not smart enough to get on the average plan in the first place. There is even a program that does a fixed price monthly. There are options.... Be smart, people.

I never wanted to do that, Thunder, because the high bills in the summer keep me thinking about what I am using and inspire me to not waste energy. That is probably a product of being raised by depression era grandparents and living through the energy crisis back in Carter's Day.

I've always used it the way ctchandler did - for money in the bank coming up to winter. Back when I had ONG, that worked out well because the energy costs alternated. Now that I am propane, I buy in the summer when it is sometimes cheaper so I'm getting hit all at once. I don't mind, though. We budget for it and then save over the wintertime on fuel costs.

[Thunder]

Penny, you can still do the same while on the average plan and watch it go down.

[BBatesokc]

I don't understand why there are people out there not smart enough to get on the average plan in the first place. There is even a program that does a fixed price monthly. There are options.... Be smart, people.

Has nothing to do with being "smart enough." There are options available that everyone should be aware of, but in the end you basically pay the same amount during a 12 month cycle. The upside to non-averaged plans is you only pay for what you use, when you use it. The downside is that you can get sticker shock when your bill arrives. The upside to average billing is you pay the same year round so you can budget accordingly. The downside though is that you get no relief in the winter months. Also, if you go crazy with the electric because you have a fixed rate, there is a very good chance your fixed rate will increase the next year.

I personally wish my home schedule was such that I could do the Smart Grid pricing plan and pay very little a majority of the time a an increase during peak hours. But I tend to be home most of the day.

[PennyQuilts]

Penny, you can still do the same while on the average plan and watch it go down.

I know me - I am likely to ignore what I'm using if I am not thinking it is going to cost money. I don't think I am Scottish but I share their "frugal" stereotypical traits. =)

[MadMonk]

Nah, I'm like C.T. I pay for my high usage in the summer and enjoy the next-to-nothing bills in the winter.

[Thunder]

MadMonk, but gas will offset that.... During the Winter, the price of gas will...kaboom. So, this is not a win-win situation. Stick to average or fixed plan and budget it month-to-month. Extras each month goes toward Christmas shopping.

[BBatesokc]

MadMonk, but gas will offset that.... During the Winter, the price of gas will...kaboom. So, this is not a win-win situation. Stick to average or fixed plan and budget it month-to-month. Extras each month goes toward Christmas shopping.

Not true Thunder. Everywhere I have lived my gas bills never reached anywhere near my electric bills.

[Thunder]

Not true Thunder. Everywhere I have lived my gas bills never reached anywhere near my electric bills.

Gas bills was a killer at Sunnyview. :-(

[venture]

I've been on the smart rate plan for over a year now, didn't really mind it. It was nice being able to track energy use and keep the bill lower. However, being home-based and having it as hot as it is this summer...had to go to average monthly billing. Next year will probably work it out to replace the windows and insulation, so that should allow me to switch back.

[ou48A]

Temp set on 71 or wherever I feel comfortable.
I have no NG bill.
My electrical bill was $185.

I owe this to the new foam insulation and my new geothermal heat and air unit.
I have also planted shade trees that are finally helping just a little.
+ Due to new EPA regulations our electrical rates will likely be going up several times in the next few years.
It would be a good idea to get as prepared as you can.

Looks like I picked a good year to go Geothermal

[PennyQuilts]

Temp set on 71 or wherever I feel comfortable.
I have no NG bill.
My electrical bill was $185.

I owe this to the new foam insulation and my new geothermal heat and air unit.
I have also planted shade trees that are finally helping just a little.
+ Due to new EPA regulations our electrical rates will likely be going up several times in the next few years.
It would be a good idea to get as prepared as you can.

Looks like I picked a good year to go Geothermal

If we were building, that is exactly what've talked about doing.

[venture]

+ Due to new EPA regulations our electrical rates will likely be going up several times in the next few years.
It would be a good idea to get as prepared as you can.

Regardless of the EPA, the rates will be going up soon.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/finan.../D9OPCFE00.htm

Residential customers would pay about $6.50 more a month under a proposed rate increase by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.

Officials announced Thursday that they're asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for a $73 million annual rate increase to recover the costs of nearly $500 million in new investments made recently. Oklahoma Gas is a unit of OGE Energy Corp.

[MadMonk]

MadMonk, but gas will offset that.... During the Winter, the price of gas will...kaboom. So, this is not a win-win situation. Stick to average or fixed plan and budget it month-to-month. Extras each month goes toward Christmas shopping.

LOL, no. My gas bill, even in the dead of winter, is nowhere near what electric costs. Plus I use my fireplace to good effect as well (wood is cheap!).

[ou48A]

I know me - I am likely to ignore what I'm using if I am not thinking it is going to cost money. I don't think I am Scottish but I share their "frugal" stereotypical traits. =)

I am Scottish and have been described as being frugal......
One of my sisters just arrived in northern Scotland this morning. The weather there is cool to cold

[ou48A]

Regardless of the EPA, the rates will be going up soon.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/finan.../D9OPCFE00.htm

^This is true but you can expect several more rate hikes in the coming years to help cover EPA regulations.

[Just the facts]

Now I feel like a genius for starting the switch to solar. I will lock-in my current electric bill for the next 20 years, and sell the surplus back to the electric company, so people like you can figure out the best way to pay for it.

[ou48A]

Now I feel like a genius for starting the switch to solar. I will lock-in my current electric bill for the next 20 years, and sell the surplus back to the electric company, so people like you can figure out the best way to pay for it.

What is your expected pay off date with solar?
With my geothermal unit the payoff is expected to be in the 5 to 6 year range but sooner if electrical rates go up and I expect they will.

[betts]

Build block + geothermal: $185 for 3500 square feet. I keep the house at 75 during the day (and it's 68 on the first two floors with the AC turned off) and 70 at night. At my old house, the electric bill would have been about $1,500 with 4500 square feet and a pool. When I said I am saving $30,000+ a year living downtown I wasn't kidding.

[cameron_405]

What is your expected pay off date with solar?
With my geothermal unit the payoff is expected to be in the 5 to 6 year range but sooner if electrical rates go up and I expect they will.

...EROI, an oft-overlooked component when 'upgrading'.

[ctchandler]

Thunder, I just changed mine to averaging a few years ago. And the drop in the electric bill starting in September was a lot more than the increase in the gas bill. I just decided since I am retired it would be better to manage my monthly withdrawal amount (from my retirement funds) if it was averaged, so I changed it in 2004, the year I retired.
C. T.

MadMonk, but gas will offset that.... During the Winter, the price of gas will...kaboom. So, this is not a win-win situation. Stick to average or fixed plan and budget it month-to-month. Extras each month goes toward Christmas shopping.

[Just the facts]

What is your expected pay off date with solar?
With my geothermal unit the payoff is expected to be in the 5 to 6 year range but sooner if electrical rates go up and I expect they will.

There is no pay-off date. It is a leased system. $0 to install, and $0 to maintain. Instead of paying the electric company a payment is sent to the solar company that equals the average of the last 3 years electric bills. The bill never goes up for 20 years. I have not installed it yet though. I am waiting for the company to call me back to set up a time for them to come out and do the preliminary analysis.