All I know about Electricity is that it scares me. When a light doesn’t work and I have to reach my hand into the lamp/container to unscrew it…I’m beyond petrified….absolutely sure that my hand (dry and clean) will somehow cause a spark and my 
body will convulse into burnt toast.
Just like my car, when I don’t understand how it works, I’m basically begging to be overcharged.
All this leads to one thing: Until someone can figure out a way to compete with the single solo electric company you have to use in your area if you want power…(solar and that windmill thing are too costly and baffling even if you have the right sun-facing-roof or a daily winds) that company OWNS you.
Scary, huh? But it’s been going on for years…no one asks anything, speaks up or talks about it….so we just sing-along and keep paying.
Yesterday I spent a good part of the day trying to understand how to get our bill under control. Specially after driving home with my daughter and seeing my home illuminated like a beacon for UFO’s citing Planet Earth. My husband (scared to death of the dark) turns on every light in the house when I’m not home. Every light. Even lights in closets we don’t open. Even the light in my daughters doll-house was on.
Sometimes it’s not worth the extra charges (Um….I’m assuming there ARE extra charges…but I still can’t figure it out) and my bill…which grows each month is getting so ugly I was forced to actually call the electric company to get them to explain how I can lower my bills.
Here are the suggestions the SEC gave me: (and my comments. Can’t write a proper article if it’s not outlines with my opinion can I?)
1) When you aren’t in the room turn lights off. (thank goodness someone besides me said it – the husband can stop calling me “bossy.”)
2) When you aren’t home, turn lights off. (Okay…double dipping now)
3) When you go on vacation, unplug things like a refridgerator, computers and anything else electronic that uses power constantly (like a clock, computer monitor, faceplate.
4) Switch all your lights to florescent/money saving curly-serpent bulbs. (These bulbs are expensive but they are supposed to save $) (And since you’ll have to put your hand into the lamp/case to switch out the bulbs you better be getting something out of it!) Everyone says these lights are ugly…but when you switch out your whole house with the new bulbs, you have nothing to compare it to….but the next cheaper bill.
5) Ask to be on a “Time Of Use Plan.” This is a great plan if no one is home all day. If Fido is home watching TV all day cause you’re afraid he’ll be lonely, this isn’t for you. Basically if you don’t use much power weekdays between 10am and 6pm (peak hours) this could be your plan to save some serious $$. The off peak hours are from 6pm to 9:59am the following day and on the weekends. So if you can control yourself to cook, run the dishwasher and only do laundry after 6 or on the weekends….even if you and Fido stay home, maybe you can swing it?
I do suppose if you try it for the month and it’s not saving you any $, you can always switch back.
If you live where you need air conditioning. Stop reading this immediately and either move or search my site “how to make more $.” Air is ridiculous. So is having (heating) a pool or a hot tub.
I feel bad for anyone having to pay those extra bills to run a pool or air….I’m super glad to know you and call you a friend when I want to enjoy both of them…but I still feel bad.
Why do all kids want to play baseball? Can’t anyone figure out a solution to get cheap power?