The getting of electricity

noir_blood

So I'm moving to my first real apartment this coming Friday, and one of the things I obviously have to do is callup the electric company and get the electricity under my name. The thing is, I'm kinda confused by the quotes they're telling me.

One comapny(the one that is currently servicing the apartment) gives me an average of .13 cents per 1500 kw.

Another one I contacted gives me an average of .14 cents per 1000 kw.

So which one is better? How many kw will I probably be using for a first floor, 2 bedroom apt in Dallas texas?

Terrendos

Umm... I would imagine that paying less for more electricity is better than paying more for less electricity, unless you're one of those crazies that would rather have solar power than a good ol' nuke.

Which is to say, unless there's a typo in that post I have no idea how this isn't a no-brainer.

Cycophant

t may not be that easy to directly compare, however. Sure, as it stands, the first option is clearly superior. But one company may just be offering the straight price for electricity, without any other fees tacked on (stuff like delivery fees), or that may be the lowest rate they have, with a "peak time" rate being significantly higher. Or maybe one of the companies is showing an "average kwh price" with all the typical extras already included. You'd have to do some investigating to be sure.

As a base starting point, according to my electric bill, I used 277 kwh last month. Obviously that number is going to vary -greatly- depending on circumstance, but that at least gives you a starting number.

Edit: I just realized you listed the price in kilowatts, not kilowatt hours. Not sure if that was your mistake, or how it was quoted to you, but be sure which one it is. There's a bit of a difference..

Tomanta

I also noticed he quoted the prices as 0.13 cents (or 0.14 cents). Is that right, or should it be 13/14 cents? There's a big difference there, too.

YourFatAuntSusan

Also, be semi-responsible and find out their source of electricity and if any percentage of that generated electricity comes from environmentally sources such as wind or hydro. I would pay more for electricity that wasn't generated from traditional coal burning facilities.

bowen

It's usually of a cent prices because you use a lot of electricity in a month. You should just call them up and ask if the fees have already been included into the KwH prices. Being semi-responsible goes out the door when you end up paying $100+ per month extra in electricity costs.

Unknown

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Djeet

Not in Texas at least. 13 or 14 cents per kwh upto 1K or 1.5K kwh sounds about right for a rate quote. You should be able to call the power provider and ask for a history of usage (both in kwh and in $) at your location. You may use power completely different from previous tenant but it should give you a ballpark.

Notwithstanding delivery and variable charges, another consideration is what's the rate past the 1K or 1.5K rate; it can be significantly more per kwh. If you've any idea of your power consumption and it's above 1K or 1.5K you should find out that other rate. This is a big deal during summer when the AC will often take you over 1K kwh.

Spring hit early here, summer's going to be brutal.

bowen

Hmm, could've sworn mine was in portions of a cent.

YourFatAuntSusan

Here in Nova Scotia we pay $0.11796/KWH.