Power Company - Suggestions? Posted: Oct 29th, 2017 - 6:36 am
My power company recently started upgrading our manual meters to "smart" meters. They claim that the only purpose is to measure your electricity usage remotely instead of coming onsite (which should presumably lower your bill, right?), but I've read that the real purpose is to increase rates dramatically as well as observe your minute-by-minute usage (yawn...who cares?).
Anyway, I told the guy that I didn't want it. He said I had the right to refuse, and he left. I looked this up on the internet, and my power company says that, indeed, you have the right to decline, but your power bill will automatically and immediately increase by $20/month. WHAT? I was outraged! I called them and they apologized for the inconvenience. I'm furious.
So I've decided to cut WAY down on electricity usage. I've hit the circuit breakers for all things I don't use (two bedrooms I rarely even enter, flood lights, etc.). I've learned not to do laundry until 8:00 p.m. I put a dry towel in my dryer to speed things up. Of course I turn out lights when I leave a room, but I'm also turning on fewer lights to begin with. I'm unplugging things like my coffee maker when I'm finished (if the plugs are visible and easy to reach).
I've heard that A/C and refrigerator are the biggest drains on electricity, so I'm shopping for a new fridge. Apparently "Black Friday" will have lots of sales, so I'm waiting for that to purchase. Newer appliances have a higher rating, enough to make a difference, I'm told. Replacement of my A/C is WAY out of my budget, so a no-go.
Oh...even though I have a gas water-heater, I purchased insulation for the tank and lowered the temperature. This morning, the temp outside is quite cold, so I'm using my gas fireplace for warmth. I'll do whatever it takes to lower my utility costs.
Any other suggestions?
Post A Reply Reply By Email Options
Complete Discussion Below: (  marks the location of current message within thread)
- Power Company - Suggestions? (Views: 956, 2017-10-29, 6:36 am)
- Towel in dryer? - Never heard of this (Views: 485, 2017-10-29, 10:59 am)
- Towel in dryer - sm (Views: 653, 2017-10-29, 12:05 pm)
- Partly true - I looked it up (Views: 431, 2017-10-29, 1:42 pm)
- Ahhh - Thanks for the info! (Views: 349, 2017-10-29, 2:52 pm)
|
