Do you get any free utility periods within your billing period

hollydolly

hollydolly

SF VIP
Location
London England
I knnwo some of you pay for your electricity gas and water monthly...others quarterly.... but during yur billing period do you get any free supply and if so how much and who from?

I pay for my electricity and gas.. monthly, so about once a month they'll give us a free period of eectricity... just for a very short time.. one , possibly 2 hours and we get informed of this literally the day before..

So for example.. today we've been notified that there's going to be free electricty over and above normal use tomorrow Tuesday between 2 & 3pm... just one hour

So tomorrow, I will use that free period to run the dryer as well as the washer ... and to run the dehumdifiers in the barn and shed....( it's been raining very hard tday )...

I'll also charge up anything that needs charging.. like the Shark Vacc.. and the motion sensor lights... and while they're all doing that I'll batch cook some home made cottage pies.. for the freezer..


so do you get free anything.. from your utility suppliers and how do you use it
 

No, I don't get free hours... but my electricity costs about $3 a day... so saving an hour or two's worth would only amount to cents and I'd probably not wait to charge things, etc. until the free time in my own case.
 
CallMeKate said:
No, I don't get free hours... but my electricity costs about $3 a day... so saving an hour or two's worth would only amount to cents and I'd probably not wait to charge things, etc. until the free time in my own case.
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That's a great rate if that's your standard rate..

My monthly bills is a little below that.. but only if I'm being careful.. so for example, I don't leave the tv on if I'm going to be upstairs for any length of time.. or leave lights or use the microwave or kettle more often than is necessary.. equallyy with the gas central heating I'll use a blanket in winter rather than put the heating on..unless it's very cold.. and that way I get to keep the electric bill at around £78 per month.. and the gas at approx £25...

the average cost for a 3 bed uk household is £143 per month.. so I only have one income coming in here I need to keep it lower

If however this was pre covid before utility prices shot through the roof... I would have thought nothing about doing all those things above.. and my bill would only been the same as it is now while I'm being frugal... so that's why I take full advantage of the free period , for the heavy usage electric items...
 
In the states electric heat is much more expensive than gas. In 2012 we bought a 1400 square-foot home that was all electric. In January our electric bill was $500 for one month. We kept the heat at 68.

Because each room had its own baseboard heating I decided that when we went to bed, we would turn the heat down to 55 in every room, but our bedroom. We left our bedroom at 68 and then closed the door.

That lowered our heat bill to 200/month. In the morning when we would first get up, it sure was cold until the rest of the house warmed up to 68.

Now I live in a condo and heat, AC and water are provided by the HOA because we have giant boilers on the roof. My electric bill is usually about $40 a month here. However, my HOA bill has been going up 12% a year and now is at 495/month. This also includes all the maintenance outside and in all the common areas inside as well as the utilities I mentioned .
 
We'll sometimes get a $40 credit for some state mandate...idk what to call it. Rebates.
But we have something here called the Care Program and or Medical program(which I use). Because I have arthritis, I use a heated mattress pad to help me with sleeping comfortably. So, they (our Power Co) take a % off my bill for that. I had to summit a note from my doctor in order to take advantage of this program.

Do you have any programs like that? Or, if you just use power during certain times of the days, they reward you for that. We have all kinds. Payment plans.
 
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dobielvr said:
We'll sometimes get a $40 credit for some state mandate...idk what to call it.
But we have something here called the Care Program and or Medical program(which I use). Because I'm disabled and have arthritis, I use a heated mattress pad to help me with sleeping comfortably. So, they (our Power Co) take a % off my bill for that. I had to summit a note from my doctor in order to take advantage of this program.

Do you have any programs like that? Or, if you just use power during certain times of the days, they reward you for that. We have all kinds. Payment plans.
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well I don't know if they have anything like that for the disabled.. they might have , I've not heard off it, but that's not to say they don't.

The average user like me, don't get any kind of discount other than that one hour or 2..per billing month
 
Teacher Terry said:
In the states electric heat is much more expensive than gas. In 2012 we bought a 1400 square-foot home that was all electric. In January our electric bill was $500 for one month. We kept the heat at 68.

Because each room had its own baseboard heating I decided that when we went to bed, we would turn the heat down to 55 in every room, but our bedroom. We left our bedroom at 68 and then closed the door.

That lowered our heat bill to 200/month. In the morning when we would first get up, it sure was cold until the rest of the house warmed up to 68.

Now I live in a condo and heat, AC and water are provided by the HOA because we have giant boilers on the roof. My electric bill is usually about $40 a month here. However, my HOA bill has been going up 12% a year and now is at 495/month. This also includes all the maintenance outside and in all the common areas inside as well as the utilities I mentioned .
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yes electricity is much more expensive here than Gas as well... and because our houses are generally heated with central heating using radiators in each room, then we can turn down or turn off the radiators individually, ..as you did the baseboard heaters.. and just heat the room we're using...
 
No free utility periods here.
But a/c is a must-have here where i’m at.
During the summer months, i leave the temp at 78 degrees during the day and put it down to 72 degrees when turning in at night.
Last month my electric bill was $163—but i sure don’t begrudge a nickel of it.
 
Lizzie00 said:
No free utility periods here.
But a/c is a must-have here where i’m at.
During the summer months, i leave the temp at 78 degrees during the day and put it down to 72 degrees when turning in at night.
Last month my electric bill was $163—but i sure don’t begrudge a nickel of it.
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$163 is very low if you're using AC... approx £122.. British sterling... so you've got a pretty good deal (y)
 
My last water bill was $90.15. I just got a new electric contract for 2 years and the rate is 43% higher than the expiring contract. They do offer some electric plans with a "free" option such as described in the OP, but when I looked at the plan details, the overall cost of getting one would be more than the plan I chose. My natural gas bill is a year round $59.07 to start with for a base "Customer Charge," and that is what I pay before I use any gas at all - plus, they raise the Customer Charge on the average of once every 3 months.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
In the U.S., when it comes to utilities, there's no "free" anything. Instead of give-aways, they are more likely to overcharge us.
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Where I live, we get charged more for power usage during peak hours. For example, during the summer, we get charged more for the times between 1pm-8pm so I always make sure to do my laundry, use the dishwasher, etc before that time.
 
Oldeagle66 said:
I pay a couple dollars over my gas and electric bill and usually once a year, I'll get a free month as it catches up. It comes in handy since I usually forget, but that's the only way.
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Our electric co-op (which theoretically could some day pay small dividends back to members) has a budget pay program. Based on one's monthly average bill there is a minimum we pay regardless of actual usage, which for 3-4 months of summer could be less than minimum payment. The idea is to build up surplus for winter when days are shorter and colder.

I generally pay $10 to $30 over so when we get those couple of coldest months i can let the surplus cover what's over my personal budget limit. Last winter was fairly mild so i still had a hefty surplus in May which i've now doubled.

Also my state has laws that power cannot be disconnected during winter months, even non-payment. But if you use the budget pay option wisely it can help avoid that.
 
Oldeagle66 said:
My average bill is around $35. I don't have many lights on and don't own an AC unit.
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that's incredibly cheap.

Lights don't cost much to run... if you have LED bulbs...

It's the higher wattage items that use the most electricity...washing machine, dryer, hairdryer, electric stove... tea kettle... electric fire...AC.. outdoor electric machinery and so on...
 
Yes, I get some free time, plus they cut
my monthly payments by £10, but I
can't remember what day I get the
free electricity, I think that it is on a
Sunday, but maybe not.

Mike.
 
feywon said:
Our electric co-op (which theoretically could some day pay small dividends back to members) has a budget pay program. Based on one's monthly average bill there is a minimum we pay regardless of actual usage, which for 3-4 months of summer could be less than minimum payment. The idea is to build up surplus for winter when days are shorter and colder.

I generally pay $10 to $30 over so when we get those couple of coldest months i can let the surplus cover what's over my personal budget limit. Last winter was fairly mild so i still had a hefty surplus in May which i've now doubled.

Also my state has laws that power cannot be disconnected during winter months, even non-payment. But if you use the budget pay option wisely it can help avoid that.
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I do the same...I top up my account with extra in summer .. so as to cover the colder months

The uk has a similar law with regard to non disconnection in winter.. for non payers who are vulnerable ( ie state pensioners).. or disabled..
 
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hollydolly said:
that's incredibly cheap.

Lights don't cost much to run... if you have LED bulbs...

It's the higher wattage items that use the most electricity...washing machine, dryer, hairdryer, electric stove... tea kettle... electric fire...AC.. outdoor electric machinery and so on...
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Yes, I have LED bulbs in my apartment. I usually have lights on for about two hours a day. Not for cheapness, that's just all I need.
 
Mike said:
Yes, I get some free time, plus they cut
my monthly payments by £10, but I
can't remember what day I get the
free electricity, I think that it is on a
Sunday, but maybe not.

Mike.
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we don't get it like that Mike.. it's not on any set day, they email us th day before to tell us what period of the next day the electricity is free. Sometimes it's midnight, so people do their washing and drying late at night, but usually it's during daylight hours
 

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