Bills & Utilities
A full year of our utility bills, side by side
Electric, gas, water, internet and phone for twelve months, month by month, and what changed after switching suppliers and cutting cable.
A $25 plug meter found our basement energy hog
I plugged a cheap meter into everything in the house. The 1990s chest freezer was costing about $9 a month by itself.
When our fixed electric rate expired and quietly jumped
Our 12-month contract ended and the rate rolled to 12.4 cents. How I caught it on the May bill and shopped again in an afternoon.
Going from four phone lines to two
With both kids on their own plans, we cut our phone bill from $140 to $70. The plan we left, the questions I asked and one surprise fee.
A January cold snap and our highest gas bill ever
Four nights in the single digits pushed our gas bill to $286. What the fixed rate did and didn't protect us from, and what I changed.
Cutting cable from $189 to $74 a month
We kept the internet, dropped the cable box and picked one streaming service. What Greg misses, and what we have not missed at all.
Locking in a natural gas rate before winter
Gas choice works like electric choice in Ohio. What I compared in September, the fixed rate we chose and the fine print I nearly missed.
Our August AC bill and the thermostat argument
A $214 electric bill, a husband who likes 74 degrees and a wife who likes 77. The compromise, and what each degree was worth.
The aggregation letter from the city and why we opted out
A letter said we'd be switched to a group electric rate unless we opted out. What it meant, how it compared and the call I made.
Using Ohio's Apples to Apples chart to pick an electric supplier
Ohio lets you choose who supplies your electricity. How I read the state's comparison chart and why we picked a 12-month fixed rate.
Reading our electric bill line by line for the first time
Generation, transmission, distribution, riders. I've paid this bill for 26 years and never knew what half of it meant. Here's what I learned.