Thanks to budget billing. I signed up for budget billing about 2 months ago with my power company (Georgia Power). I hated getting to get those huge electric bills in the summer months when my electricity usage was 2-3 times higher than my winter usage. For those of you that don't live in or have never been to the deep South, summers here can be brutally hot and humid. I usually run my A/C around 75 in the summer because don't like the heat. I sweat really bad and if I am outside for too long, it looks like someone has thrown water on me.
This past month, my power bill was over $250 but I only had to pay $111 thanks to budget billing. Essentially, it works like this: The power company takes the average of your power bills from the last 12 months and this amount becomes the monthly amount due.
On your monthly bill, even though you only pay budget billing amount, they itemize your actual usage and the actual dollar amount of your bill for that month. They keep a running tally of how much you have accumulated over or under your average bill amount. At the end of 12 months, the shortage or overage is recalculated and your bill is adjusted higher or lower for the next 12 months.
I like know exactly what my power bill will be and it makes it alot easier to budget. For the next 10 months, I know exactly how much my power bill will be, no matter how much electricity I use. I have to be careful about using my electricity too freely because even though my bill will be the same for the next 10 months, I'll have to pay for those increases once my bill is recalculated.
Image Credit: Elsie esq.'s
Luv budget billing for my electric...I also have this set up for my gas bills also
I've often thought of doing this, we're financially okay, but it's terrible to see 200plus bills each summer. BTW, we set it to 78-79deg and the bill is still that HIGH
I was on a similar plan in Louisiana. I hated it.
I do something similarly, just manage it myself. We've lived in the same place long enough for me to know our average bills and long ago I started simply paying that amount, not what the bill said. I'm always ahead by a little bit, now. It's probably more tempting to not follow through but I like being in control. Sure, might lose a bit of interest, but big deal.
I do this with all utilities, actually all bills, so that, as I said, I am in control. I don't worry about having to wait and see what I will be charged. I budget, preschedule payments, and forget about it. Same every month.
I did not know about budget billing, I use Georgia Power as well. I'll have to call them and see about getting set up on something like this. It would definetely be nice to know what my power bill be for 12 months.
I loved "average billing". Had it when I was on city electric. We moved to the country and are now on a rural co-op, havent been with them for a year yet so I do the guesstimating myself for now. It really helps alot to pay an average monthly then 200 some times of the year and 50-80 at others.
I have budget and i'm getting screwed...when i set my bill up on budget, it started at 113 dollars a month.6 months later they said they had "reviewed my usage" which i thought they did after 12 months---and raised my bill to $175..then, the very next month they "adjusted" it again and raised it to $275 a month...i live in a small house and don't waste much electricity....my wife and i both work so we're not here during the day and when we are here we don't leave lights on and stuff.if my bill was not on a budget, right now i would only be paying $75 a month..so !@$# budget billing!!!!