Have you ever gotten sticker shock when opening an electric bill?
That happened to me last month. My husband suggested doing a little research to see if we could save on our electric bill (this man knows how I think!). If you want to know how one simple change can save on your electric bill, keep reading.
Originally published February 2015. Affiliate links are present.
Our state has an energy choice program.
This means that we can shop around for our electric supplier. The power still comes from the electric company and the billing process doesn’t change. Of course, you want that to be a lower rate, not one higher than what the electric company is charging.
We were on a plan with one of these suppliers but after a quick search, I learned that it wasn’t the best rate. Not only was it not the best rate, but it was over 25% more than the rate currently offered by the electric company itself!
A couple calls later and I had switched us over to the lower rate. We’ll now pay 6.99 cents per kWh vs. 9.39 cents – that’s 26%! We should save at least $75 on our next electric bill with this new rate.
How to save on electric bill
This is the kind of savings that we’ll enjoy every month so it really pays to spend a few minutes looking for opportunities like this. And since rates do change, it’s something that needs to be repeated a couple times a year.
It’s also a good idea to look for electricity hogs in your home. You can use an inexpensive electricity usage monitor to find out which of your appliances is jacking up your bill without your knowledge. Sometimes even the most innocent of devices can be a huge power drain.
And let’s not forget, adding extra layers of clothing!
Add a pair of fleece leggings or a cami and I promise you won’t mind turning down the thermostat a degree or two. House shoes make a big difference, too!
How to find out about energy choice
If you want to look into this for your own bills, the best place to start is on the bill itself. The electric or gas company may include a statement about a “price to compare” and where to go to find competing suppliers.
When shopping for an energy supplier, ask questions like:
- How long is this price good for? (mark it in your calendar)
- Is there an early cancellation fee?
- Do you offer any bonuses for signing up? (some companies will send you a gift card – make sure you follow all the instructions and follow up if it doesn’t arrive)
- Is this my complete rate or are there other charges? (our discounted rate is only a portion of our bill)
- When does this rate take effect?
Before you make any changes, be sure you understand all the fine print. If a supplier tries to pressure you into making a switch you’re not comfortable with, trust your instinct. You can always call back later. Here’s a list showing the available energy choice programs by state to get you started.
Wouldn’t it be great to save on your electric bill by 10-20%?
I’m (almost) looking forward to next month’s bill so I can do the math and see how much we saved. Saving $75 here and there really adds up.
Have you ever shopped around to save on your electric bill?
If you have questions related to your purchase(s), please do not leave a comment on the blog. Contact our customer success team for assistance.
30 thoughts on “This one simple change is saving us $75 on every electric bill”
Great tip, I switched in the first month after buying my house so I don’t know the difference, but my electric bill is quite low (and I’m getting 5.85 per kilowatt!). Just so you know you can sometimes ALSO shop around for your gas bill and lower costs that way too! I just found this out and have switched that as well.
Ooh – that is a super low rate! I’m jealous 🙂 We did shop around for our propane and got quite a break on that too. Thanks for the tip!
Where do you live? I pay around $0.30 per kwh.
I live in PA. Our rate is back up to 9 cents 🙁
I wish we lived in a state where there is a choice!
Unfortunately, my state doesn’t have this option. Too bad. 🙁
I too wish we lived where we had a choice. We pay a LOW of 15 cents on up to 30 cents/kwh.
Ouch! I hope you your heating isn’t powered by electric!
We have that option here in Texas too, but there is fine print that you may need to check for. Most of the time (for us) the lowest rate tier usually comes with a minimum monthly kwh usage (on average 1000kwh per month) if you don’t use enough each month to meet the threshold, there are additional fees. Essentially, they will penalize you for keeping your energy usage low (Crazy, right?!). Just make sure you read ALL of the terms and conditions.
I’m visiting from MSM today because we just got sticker shock today from our electric bill. Needless to say, I was very interested in what you had to say. 🙂 Unfortunately, our state does not offer the “shop around” option. I also looked at our current bill to see our cost/KWH. I was stunned to see that it is 12.65 cents!!! We live in a rural community, which probably contributes to the high rate. It just encourages me all the more to look for alternative heating sources when we look to build in the coming year. Thanks!
Not available here. My city is divided up into service areas instead.
We did this two years ago. We switched to Ambit energy because they guarantee they will be at least 2% lower than our energy supplier. We’re in NY but they are constantly expanding to more states. Here’s the website we use:
http://Www.ambitenergy.tv
We used to live in a state where there was no choice, contrary to how that sounds it was great. We paid 4 cents per Kwh in Illinois, we recently moved to Tx and there are a ton of providers here and the cheapest I can find is 12 cents and rate is only good if you can use 3000Kwh a month (nearly impossible for my family) so it’s 16 cents per for us and there are high cancellation fees with every company.
I’m so surprised by the huge variation in prices for electricity you mentioned. I guess then you end up looking for other ways to save. Thanks for commenting.
Brooke! You should check rates with Ambit! We just dropped our rates this weekend. 🙂
I’m a Senior Consultant for them and could help you see what rates you can get. kiri_angel@hotmail.com 🙂
This is a great article! I am an independent consultant for Ambit Energy and this article explains what my business is all about, saving people money on their electric bill! Thanks for posting!
Our state doesn’t have a choice, we only have one company locally BUT we are moving to Ohio by the end of the year and they DO have choice – thanks so much for this!! 🙂
That’s great – I hope you can enjoy some savings then!
Depends on where in Ohio you are moving to. Where I live in Ohio we only have one choice for gas and one choice for electric.
You can find out here – http://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/
Excellent tip! I wish that we had more options where I live. We have only one company. However, llast year, we moved away from a horrible electric company. Our bills averaged 300-400 dollars per month.
Lucky! In my state we don’t have that option.
My condolences to everyone else in the comments who’s missing out on your great results since some areas don’t give you the option to choose which energy company to buy from. Luckily, there are a lot of other ways to save electricity that can even save you money if you’ve already switched providers. For example:
– Insulate your ceilings, roofs, and windows (can save up to 50% of heating bills I believe? Depends on if your insulation is already adequate)
– Use energy efficient appliances, esp. fridge and washer/dryers
– Generate your own electricity. If you produce enough electricity you can actually get paid by the power companies, it worked for me 🙂
– Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent
– Check to see if your power company sells energy for lower rates at off-peak hours, such as at night. If so, try baking/doing laundry at night to save a bit of money.
Oh lord – I’ve been fighting this battle for the past few months (I also live in PA). I’m not happy with the fact that you are not able to switch or determine your distributor! My distributor actually DOUBLED their rate this past month and, on top of that, the supplier that had called to offer a better rate neglected to mention that they would be enrolling me in a “green energy program” that sent my rate up to .13KwH!! My bill for this past month was almost $700 – yes, I have a farm do use a lot of energy BUT my bills in the winter (with electric heat) have never been more than $400. I’ve been in contact (I should just say I leave them messages everyday) with the Public Utilities Commission and it seems like this is going to be a LONG battle to get ahead…
Oh how frustrating! I’m sorry you’re dealing with such a mess. Maybe sending certified letters would help?
Unfortunately, I do not have that choice in WA.
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However, If you are Disabled you can contact your Electric company about getting a Low-income, Disabled Rate instead.
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Replace light bulbs to LED light bulbs instead.
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Leave your Desktop Computer on as this saves more Energy and Electricity than turning it off when you are done with it.
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Replace all your Christmas Lights with LED Lights.
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Wash your clothes in Cold water except for Heavily Soiled Items.
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Shut the doors to rooms you are not using in the Summer and Winter to save money. If you have an AC unit in your wall or Window cover the inside with an afghan to stop cold air from coming in through the outside vents.
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Take only showers and limit them to no more than fifteen minutes.
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These are just a few things that I do anyway.
I agree that it’s important to find ways to save electricity. I also think that it is important to properly maintain your electrical supplies. Otherwise, you will be spending more money replacing them, which is something people often times forget to factor into their electrical expenses.
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You’re very fortunate that you can choose energy providers. In my place we only have one so we keep an eye out for any discrepancies
I live in Michigan . I do not have the option to search for another Company. I have noticed this past winter to seal my windows with plastic and for the first time I put up ivory curtains that keep the cold out over my large bedroom window. I was told to unplug anything not inuse such as my coffee maker. I sealed off all drafts with calk or something under a door. I dropped my night temp. down 2 more degrees.. I am however under my electric blanket. My bill is CUT IN HALF……………