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Help Me Find Cheaper Energy
Cognisseur
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys,
I'm still getting the hang of this whole apartment thing, so I've got yet another question. I currently use ConEd for electricity in NYC. It's 8.53c/kWh for supply and 9.17c/kWh for delivery, and the usual butt loads of extra fees for no reason.
My landlord mentioned that I can switch and have a different company 'supply' me the electricity but ConEd would keep delivering it... or something. The incentive is that he said it would end up lowering my electric bill a good deal and it would earn me air miles (secondary incentive).
So I tried to look it up online but it's confusing. :? I think I just found a bunch of 'green' electric companies that want to charge me more so I can feel more pretentious as I sip my mocha latte cruising around in my Prius, but I'm not sure that's appealing to me. I'm looking for cheap and reliable. I just want to always have electricity, and pay less for it. Supposedly that's doable-- how?
I'm still getting the hang of this whole apartment thing, so I've got yet another question. I currently use ConEd for electricity in NYC. It's 8.53c/kWh for supply and 9.17c/kWh for delivery, and the usual butt loads of extra fees for no reason.
My landlord mentioned that I can switch and have a different company 'supply' me the electricity but ConEd would keep delivering it... or something. The incentive is that he said it would end up lowering my electric bill a good deal and it would earn me air miles (secondary incentive).
So I tried to look it up online but it's confusing. :? I think I just found a bunch of 'green' electric companies that want to charge me more so I can feel more pretentious as I sip my mocha latte cruising around in my Prius, but I'm not sure that's appealing to me. I'm looking for cheap and reliable. I just want to always have electricity, and pay less for it. Supposedly that's doable-- how?
Cognisseur on
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It works the same as freezing your natural gas price. Which I've been told works thusly, the company speculates on the price of electricity based on past stats, they offer a set price for a set period of time. It's up to you to determine if this is going to cost you more, or less than your regular electrical utility who adjusts the price based on demand.
The thing is, these companies are basically purchasing your bill from your utility who is still your supplier. Because their entire company consists of an office that handles billing and a call center, theoretically, by purchasing customers from the utility at a discount, they can offer that discount to you because of their low overhead.
However, they still need to make money. Most places require a contract for service, leave early and face a large bill. If their contract works with your plans, (ie you won't move for 2 years or whatever) then it can be great for everyone.
Unfortunately I can't offer any names, I don't know of any specifically. But I will warn you to carefully read the contract, especially when it comes to length of service and fee's involved in early cancellation. (ie you get offered a job somewhere that rules, but your utility is asking for 200 dollars a month in cancellation fees)
My advice is to monitor your consumption in order to save money.
Energy costs different amounts at different times. 2AM on a Tuesday is going to be cheaper than 8pm on a Saturday.
You can ask your company to see their rates based on time. Some companies have a flat rate, others use the variable rate.
That's how it works in Alberta (Canada). I pay 8 cents and said I would stay for 4 years. The variable monthly rate currently is 6.78 cents (a 3 year low) but during the winter months that will jump to 10-14 cents depending on the month. Seeing as winter is more like 6-8 months long here, it's cheaper to "lock in" a rate. Overall, I save money.
Either way, a good budgeting tactic is to talk to your utility company about an equal billing plan. They will charge you a specific amount each and every month, no matter what you use. That way, it's easier to manage your energy/gas bills in the heavier months (whatever they may be).
But as far as I understand from the replies listed, I should just be happy for all the utilities I get for free and turn stuff off at night and I should be fine. Right?
Simple solution: Yes.
If you really want to look into it, you'll have to track your usage and find out if a bulk-rate plan would benefit you in the long run (usually they are a better deal in the winter/summer and you lose in the spring/fall).
if you don't mind me asking, what area did you move to? and how long were you looking?
I moved to Inwood which is really North Manhattan, to the point that when you tell people you live near 200th they go "I didn't know streets went that high!". We looked at like... 20 places or so, and this one was a no-brainer. Bigger than the others, better gut renovation/appearance than the others, and with more utilities paid for than all the others. I'm pretty sure it's worth more than we're paying but we looked at it and told the guy we were interested something like 4 hours after the first time he put it on Craigslist, so we got pretty lucky.
The AC is paid for, the new fridge is EnergySaver, the stove is gas (free), and all the lights are on dimmers so we usually have them on 2/3 or so. So our electric usage is really low even though NYC energy prices aren't that great naturally.
I LOLed.
On the flip side I just moved downtown and now have the burden of actually having to give people directions instead of just saying "number number street, between number and number"
Really? You're a better person than me. I just redirect people who ask me here.