Screwed myself trying to save a buck - Georgia Power Nights & Weekends

[macarose]

I have Cobb EMC. They are happy to tell you they have the lowest per kWh rates... while ignoring the fact that they have the highest maintenance fees in the state of Georgia.

The normal monthly maintenance fee is $39 a month. We pay $30 a month and play the same 'peak hour' game where we have to roll back our consumption from 2 to 7 P.M. about six to eight times a year when temperatures reach their hottest.

Our kWh is only 7.5.cents and even with us charging an EV in the garage, we never exceed $100 a month and usually average about $65. I often work from home and the thermostat is on the wall next to my computer. So I just get the temp down to 69 five minutes before we have to conserve and don't use any lights or appliances. I estimate we save about $170 a year by doing this.

 

[PandaBear]

It's really just a roll of dices, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Personally I did an estimate and those non deterministic "plans" usually just save me what? $15 a year total, but then I have to keep thinking about it and keep reminding my wife not to use the dryer at certain time of the day.

For $50-100 a year saving I will consider it, for $500 a year I'll definitely think about it. For $15 a year I'll just pay it to not think about it. Someone else who can use $15 saving can work their schedule and make that off me.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

We are on GA Power and I was shocked when I figured up my average $ per kWH last month - 12 cents. I know it's been over 15 cents in recent years, going back to 2008 or so.

One thing that helps us (now that my wife doesn't work from home anymore) is that our house stays relatively cool through the day, we live in the woods and get a LOT of shade after 5pm. It will look like it's getting dark at our house at 7 pm. Take off out of our driveway and go down the road 1/4 mile and it's bright and sunny. So our cooling from 5-8 PM is fairly minimal, we will run it down from 77-78 setpoint at 5:00-5:30 pm to 73-74 until we go to bed, where we run it down to 69-68 for sleeping. That's some cheap electricity during those hours when the AC is running the most.

My wife worked from home before it was cool, from 2011 through 2019. Our power/gas usage was pretty rough then. Our power bill is, on average, $50 a month less now.