Electric Billing Charges

A-37

A-37

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
1,840
Location
NE OH USA
Ohio Edison is the giant power producer in Ohio (as I understand it). Individual retailers sell to consumers.

First Energy has been providing us with power for several years and a typical monthly bill was about $125. This month's bill was $207!

The Explanation of Charges showed an extra $106 for "Bypassable Generation and Transmission Related Component" Say WHAT?!!

I called Ohio Edison Customer Service and talked to a rep who explained that First Energy no longer has a contract with Ohio Edison and that I'm paying directly to Ohio Edison now; thus the "Bypassable" BS. They referred me to the Ohio PUCO site here:

Regulated company list - PUCO

Notice that there are 435 retailers!! Ohio Edison suggested that I go with a fixed rate and to watch out for high cancellation fees.

This brings us to the big question:

Am I really supposed to compare 435 different programs? I'm hoping some of you Ohio guys have already done the leg work and can give me a more manageable list of possible retailers which I should consider.
 
Register to hide this ad
I will not buy electric or gas thru a re-seller. Did so years ago and assumed I was getting a low price but when gas went down the reseller continued to charge me the higher amount from our original agreement wasted about 500.00 in one winter. Never again!
 
Texas is similar. When mine is up I look for the lowest priced fixed rate of at least one year. The retailer really doesn't matter. The actual transmission is still done by only one company per area. In Texas the generation/transmission companies are forbidden to sell at retail.

I haven't counted them, but there are hundreds of retail providers. The Texas website will sort them by price form lowest to highest. I just choose the lowest price with at least a one year fixed contract. Mine runs around $150/ month or less depending on the weather.
 
Be thankful you get a choice. Nevada Power has everyone here over a barrel twisting an umbrella stuffed where the Sun doesn't shine.:mad::mad::mad:

They've been squealing like stuck pigs recently because solar gives folk some independence and threatens their monopoly. It's the usual contradiction, we're told to save energy and resources so the "for profit" utilities go to the state legislature to find new ways to make us pay more.:mad::mad::mad:
 
Think your electric bills are bad now?? Sorry to sound like Chicken Little, but some in powerful positions are on a mission to shut down coal fired power plants. The theories as to why vary, but it's happening via EPA regulations. The "alternative energy" sources will never be able to keep up with the demand. High electric bills, and rolling blackouts are what we will eventually have to get used to.
 
Last edited:
After all the add-ons our rate from the cooling towers up the river is right at 10 cents kilowatt hour. How much you paying?
 
Leonard said:
I will not buy electric or gas thru a re-seller. Did so years ago and assumed I was getting a low price but when gas went down the reseller continued to charge me the higher amount from our original agreement wasted about 500.00 in one winter. Never again!
Click to expand...

They suck you in at a good rate. Then after a while you will notice the prices rise steadily and you will end up paying more that if you stayed with the real power company.

We have our regular power company here and a bunch of the resellers. The other companies are always trying to get us to switch. I checked them out and its just not worth it. The bad things is some how they are ALL exempt from the do not call registry and keep on calling up at a regular basis.

At that point I took off the gloves and I started using my BEST construction/gutter language on them and now most of them do not call back. One even threatened to report me to the FCC. I told him go ahead you #^*}@+_& I have told your company many times before PUT US ON YOUR DO NOT CALL LIST, this will help my case!
 
Rate

ChattanoogaPhil said:
After all the add-ons our rate from the cooling towers up the river is right at 10 cents kilowatt hour. How much you paying?
Click to expand...

6.44 per kh from First Energy (retailer)

7.91 Ohio Edison

It's not the rate that concerns me, it's that damn Bypassable Generation, etc. baloney which was $106 on the last bill. I don't want to take a hit like that every month.

Too close to the airport to erect a wind generator and not enough sun in NE Ohio for solar. A home nuclear plant?

Late breaking news: First Energy did not cancel their contract with Ohio Edison. The OE lady led me astray. Our contract with FE expired and we failed to renew it. They notified us by mail but I threw out the notification thinking it was junk mail. This happens often in my house.
 
Last edited:
Sitting here in "Da Dank" running 6 fans, looking at the TV, listening to the stereo, typing on my keyboard and it's 76* in here.

My fridge is running, sump pump cycles every 1 minute, (near the "Great Black Swamp" w/a basement) just washed a load of clothes and since I have a well, I got fresh well water directly from the "Great Miami Aquifer" when I turn the valve.

Sure would put a damper on my day if it weren't for the conveniece of electrical power delivered to my crib, so I'll pay.

I'm not crazy about paying as much as they ask, but when without power for a week, I went thru 50 gallons of gas for my generator only running it when it was needed and it didn't power half of my crib.

My average charge is between $120-$180 per month.
 
Last edited:
Everybody blaming politicians, utilities, contracts, deregulation etc. Fact is any bill you pay today goes 80%+ to wages, salaries, benefits, legal teams and retirements. Public or private don't matter. Cable around here is $200/mo, all the infrastructure was in place when they built. Cell phones (2) are $158/ mo and even though they are "smart" we talk and text like the flip phones. Don't get me started on $125 water bills,( and electric, taxes, insurance) that used to be $8 mo and no sewer charge(4X water). Yep all of it is 250% more expensive because of "human resources." Joe
 
On the left side of your electric bill, it has information about the "price to compare" that can help you determine if a provider has a good rate or not. If you go to the PUCO's website here Energy Choice Ohio - Electric it has a list of providers. The main way people run into problems is because they don't really look into what they are signing up for. Many of the providers listed there don't charge an early cancellation fee if you cancel with them. They also say what term the service is for, and if the rate changes at the end of the term. You just have to pay attention to how long you have their service and when you may need to switch providers to keep a low rate.
For those that say they won't choose a provider because it costs them too much, look at the part of the bill A-37b mentioned that says "Bypassable Generation and Transmission Related Component" and see how much you are paying. That is just a huge add-on cost they tacked on because you didn't choose a provider, and you are paying fee for that EVERY MONTH! It says right on the back of the bill "these charges are avoided when switching to a certified retail electric service provider" Why would you want to pay that if you don't have to?
 
"In Texas the generation/transmission companies are forbidden to sell at retail."

Not exactly. City owned utilities, such as CPS in San Antonio, generate and sell electricity directly to both residential and business customers and are exempt from competition. Those unfortunate customers in parts of Texas which are served by electric co-ops (who also have no alternative choices for buying power) get the big hose. The co-op excuse is that they have to run many miles of transmission lines to comparatively few remote customers (many are farms and ranches, and small towns), and therefore customer connections per mile of line is low, running up costs. There may be some truth to that, but the fact is that electric co-op customers pay by far the highest rates in the state, and have no alternative to the co-op. I guess they could build their own backyard or ranch solar and windmill farms, but I don't know of any who do that.
 
Last edited:
pharmer said:
Everybody blaming politicians, utilities, contracts, deregulation etc. Fact is any bill you pay today goes 80%+ to wages, salaries, benefits, legal teams and retirements. Public or private don't matter. Cable around here is $200/mo, all the infrastructure was in place when they built. Cell phones (2) are $158/ mo and even though they are "smart" we talk and text like the flip phones. Don't get me started on $125 water bills,( and electric, taxes, insurance) that used to be $8 mo and no sewer charge(4X water). Yep all of it is 250% more expensive because of "human resources." Joe
Click to expand...

Copper went up, transformers are now made only in China and specialty parts are expensive. When stuff breaks or hurricanes happen replacement costs are huge. New customers cannot share cost in my State so a new service is only billed for its cost, I don't have to pay any. My utility is taxed at a 25% rate every 6 months. Specialty parts costing thousands of $$ which they must have on hand are costing them their actual cost every two years in taxes. They don't pay the tax, customers do.
As an employee I am shown the cost of my wage and benefit package, it includes the cost of the building amortized where the insurance is administered. They are a big company and hire good accountants and pass on any and all costs they can. If your utility is making high profits I suggest you take a look at becoming a shareholder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
No Charges!
Replies
19
Views
782
sigp220.45
sigp220.45
F
Electric riding lawnmower?
Replies
13
Views
651
Golddollar
Golddollar
CajunBass
Speaking of Electric Cars...
Replies
13
Views
534
GypsmJim
GypsmJim
chief38
'TIS THE SEASON FOR A ONCE AGAIN POST OF MY LIONEL ELECTRIC TRAIN LAYOUT
2
Replies
27
Views
915
BillyMagg
B
Peak53
Non-self cleaning electric range
Replies
4
Views
364
Nevada Ed
Nevada Ed

Latest posts

Back
Top