Anyone else on electric budget plan?

**momof2inpa** · 07-18-2007, 07:59 AM

I decided to go onto our electrics companies Budget plan earlier this year after receiving a bill for almost $400 (thank goodness it was a mistake and closer to $300!). Anyways- the electric companies were uncapped earlier this year and my rates went from 5.5 cents kWh to 11.4 cents per kWh. So of course it was set for around $188 a month and now it will be raised to $207 per month starting next month (which really stinks since now we are starting to see our bills float around $100). My hubby is unhappy that I went on the budget plan but at the time we needed to since the bill would take almost 1/2 of my hubby's pay check.

So my question is- is anyone else on a budget plan or do you think that it is a waste of money (BTW- our electric company checks our meters every month) or does your budget sort of depend on it? I am trying to decide if we are going to continue with the budget plan next year when it comes to term!

**banana** · 07-18-2007, 08:26 AM

If you are all electric (including electric heat) I would go on the budget. I dont think it is a waste of money. They will re-evaluate you every so often I know PPL does it every 3 months and re-adjust your budget accordingly. You should still watch what you use electric wise. You might want to get into the habit of reading your meter the same time everyday, that helped me tremendously.

**Dancing Lotus** · 07-18-2007, 08:49 AM

I am on the budget plan and at first I thought it wasnt worth it but now that its 97 degrees outside and my my air runs all day I am glade I am on the plan. Last summer my bill was almost 100 dollars more then it is this year. Well it still the same but I dont have to pay that much becuase the extra I was paying in the winter is covering my butt now.

**PoorRichardsGirl** · 07-18-2007, 09:19 AM

We are on it for both gas and electric (two different companies), and I find it a big help. Ours are each reset once a year. Usually they've overestimated a little, so when they reset there is often a month or two we have a credit and don't have to pay anything.

The only time we had a problem was the winter it was unusually cold, we had a lot of snow, and they couldn't get out to read the gas meter. We didn't think to check and call in the reading, either. When they finally got a reading, it was way higher than expected, and we ended up owing $300 at the reset. But all their customers were in the same boat, and as I recall they were nice about giving extra time to pay the overage.

It sure does make budgeting a lot easier, when you know the amount each month.

**ilovechocolate** · 07-18-2007, 09:30 AM

I have used the budget plan and love it. I'm not on it now, though, since we just moved to this house in February and we have to have 12 months' worth of electric usage at this address before I can apply for the budget billing. But at my previous house it was wonderful because I knew for sure what the bill would be each month.

In an earlier post banana suggested that you still watch your usage, and she's right. We still tried to cut down on our usage when on budget billing. Each year when it was time to "settle" (the company would either raise or lower the monthly amount for the next year, based on the previous year's use), it was great to have a credit that would roll over.

**Buckeye5** · 07-18-2007, 10:29 AM

We are not on a budget, our electric company does not offer it. It is a co-op. Our electric bill isn't too bad, it is the propane bill that has kicked our buns!!! I don't know of many people around my town that do this because of the co-op.

**momof2inpa** · 07-18-2007, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Buckeye5

Our electric bill isn't too bad, it is the propane bill that has kicked our buns!!!

That is one of the rasons why I was asking about budget plans! We use propane for our furnace and stove. When propane was going up- we had a lot of trouble with it in the winter time and switched to using electric heater and a kerosene heater to heat our home- shut of the propane heater! And of course after we got a smaller unit for our stove- that is when the electric prices were uncapped! So this year we are servicing our furnace and cleaning the ducts so we can start using propane to heat the house (that should help our electric bill out greatly!

I do keep a check on our usage- it has come down considerably and I hope it stays low until October! The weather is so crazy here sometimes!

**banana** · 07-18-2007, 01:05 PM

If you are going to heat with propane I dont think your budget should be $207 a month that sounds too high to me. The electric co was probably basing your budget amount on how much electricity you were using and if you were using electric heat that is why it is high. I would call up the electric co and ask them about it. Was that $300 bill with using electric heat? Im also in PA and have ppl as my electric co. I am not on the budget anymore. I heat with oil but have central air on constantly due to my son's asthma and allegies and my highest bill was $123. That is with me also using my electric dryer all the time now also.

Dont worry you wont loose money with the budget plan. Keep track and if you see you have too much of a credit call them to either adjust it or go off of it completely.

**Neeley** · 07-18-2007, 01:39 PM

We have been on the budget billing plan forever. We pay $251 a month, which is not bad. In the summer our bill would normally be in the $400-$500 range and the winter it would be around $150. Our monthly statement shows us what the bill would be if we were not on the BBP, what your daily usage was the previous month and what it was the same month of the previous year. We also come up for review every two months and get a one month advanced notice before they raise or lower the amount. Ours has only changed once in 3 years and that was last month. We went down $16, but the PSC approved a rate increase of 7% so it will be going back up next month.

I like consistancy and that is exactly what the BBP is all about for me. I know what to expect every month.

**baronmom** · 07-18-2007, 02:28 PM

considering that when they re-evaluate my account they will either give me a credit if I am ahead or I have to pay out if I am behind, no, it is not a waste of time. This way, I just am sure how much I have to pay on a regular basis.

**momof2inpa** · 07-18-2007, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by banana

If you are going to heat with propane I dont think your budget should be $207 a month that sounds too high to me. The electric co was probably basing your budget amount on how much electricity you were using and if you were using electric heat that is why it is high. I would call up the electric co and ask them about it. Was that $300 bill with using electric heat? Im also in PA and have ppl as my electric co. I am not on the budget anymore. I heat with oil but have central air on constantly due to my son's asthma and allegies and my highest bill was $123. That is with me also using my electric dryer all the time now also.

Dont worry you wont loose money with the budget plan. Keep track and if you see you have too much of a credit call them to either adjust it or go off of it completely.

The $300 was for while we were using electric heat. Our furnace is actually propane- but we quit using it since the gas prices went up so high! This year we are going to go back to using the propane to heat our house- that will help so much (in a way) with our electric bill- since we will not be using the electric heaters anymore! When we will get it back up and running I think that the electric company will notice that and either will lower it- or we wwill have a nice credit when it comes up for "setling up"!

**lisettelovebug** · 07-18-2007, 04:02 PM

They have our electric budget at $37 a month which is way too low. We used a small electric heater to supplement during the winter and the total amount we owed was more than the budgeted total. So I've just kept it at $87 a month - they haven't really adjusted it all this year and they have read the meter. We're not locked in for electric and I need to have DH call and see what he can get on.
For the natural gas, I just pay a set amount each month. In the summer I pay $100 a month so that we have a credit going into the winter and then bump it up to $175 during the cold months. This gives us a cushion if we get a $300 bill (which did happen in 2005-2006) or if we're short on money one month in the spring /summer I may even skip a payment. DH thought I was crazy when I started last summer doing this but in the middle of the winter when we didn't owe a lot he saw my thinking.

**sdrjeolsen** · 07-18-2007, 06:11 PM

we're biled through a rural co-op, so we don't have the option.

**Buckeye5** · 07-19-2007, 01:05 AM

My electric bill last month was $166 thru the co-op and in the winter it is around $88, my propane used to be $180 every 5-6 aweeks during the winter months but jumped to $511.46 every 5-6 weeks keeping it set at 60 degrees. We do need new windows, maybe next year. Propane is also, our hot water, kerosene is also expensive.

**kabin63** · 07-20-2007, 07:49 AM

Yes, I use the budget plan for electric. Right now we have a budget of $113 a month. It should go down. We won't be using electric heaters anymore this year, but still it tends to run at least $90 because of the sump pump and water pump. We do have a wet basement when it rains.