You don't always have to take what you're given in life. Case in point: your utility company probably isn't the only service provider you can buy electricity from. With that said, it's not as easy as calling up a competitor and making the switch. Just because there's competition, doesn't mean it's a better deal. You need to know which questions to ask and what actually represents a good value.
Why Shop At All?
Just because your current supplier provides you with reliable energy doesn't mean that you are getting the best possible price. Energy companies are only motivated to provide competitive pricing when there's a threat that you'll leave. Otherwise, they are incentivized to charge you the highest possible price they think you'll pay.
You may not like this, but the flip side is that you're incentivized to pay the lowest possible price - this is why shopping around is important. If enough people leave an energy supplier, that supplier will be forced to lower its prices or go out of business.
Electricity rates from many companies depend on government regulations in that area, whether they supply "green energy," and what the usage is among its customers. That's why it's important to get as many quotes as you can. In some cases, you'll be limited as to how many options you have. That's fine. Just get the quotes and compare.
Can I Do Budgeted Billing?
Ask your new energy supplier if you can do budgeted electric billing. Budgeted billing isn't a new concept and most companies offer it. If you're not familiar with budgeted billing, it's a pricing model that allows you to pay the same price every month - regardless of your actual energy usage. The idea is that you'll overpay in the off-peak season and underpay in the peak season. At the end of the year, you'll have paid the correct amount of money for the energy you've used.
It's a better way to anticipate electric charges year-round compared to variable billing where your charges might fluctuate significantly - especially during the dead of winter or the peak of summer.
What Will Change If I Switch?
There are essentially three parts to your electric service. First, there's the power generation. Generation is the actual production of electricity. Next, there's the transmission. This is the movement of the electricity from a facility that produces it to a local distributor. Finally, there's the distribution. This is the actual deliver of power to your home.
When you switch electric suppliers, you're switching companies that produce the electricity for you, but you're not switching the transmission or local distribution.
Will I Get Two Bills?
Many utilities will just send you one consolidated bill. It makes it easier for everyone involved. However, some suppliers want to send you a separate bill. In these cases, you'll receive a bill from the supplier and another one from your local utility.
Who Should You Contact?
If you have billing questions, you'll refer those to your supplier. For outages, you'll have to contact your local distributor/utility company.
Jason Persinger spent time as an electrician's apprentice before switching careers as a freelance writer and journalist. He enjoys long walks, shopping with his daughters, and spending quiet time at home with wife, Amanda.
Here’s one of the mother’s day quote that I love. It is by Ryan Crowe. It says: “Your mother is possibly the best friend you will ever have. She loves you when you love her back. She loves you when don’t. She loves you when you cry and when you laugh. She loves you when you are wrong and when you are right. She loves you because you are her child, forever and a day. If you want to catch a glimpse of what the love of God looks like, look at your mother.”
I really agree with the author. A mother’s love is so marvelous that no matter what we do, our mothers continually love us. They are suppose to be our best friend at all times but what usually happens is that some moms have never realized that it is so great to belong to a daughter-mom world.
Mothers are first teachers. And yes, a best friend --- that's what bond I like for my daughter, her best of friends. :-)
As a mom, we have all the opportunity just like anybody else. We just need to manage our time. If that being well-manage and you're good to go for a work, then knowledge for that work is a must. But wait, what work are you interested of? Are you looking for a high-paying job, in-demand or of what your current education can fit? Which is which?
Image courtesy of:
www.vistacollege.edu
As a mom I confess that it is so easy to shop clothes or anything for girls especially little girls. It’s a no sweat task for me. The picking and choosing is no problem, it’s just the time at times is not very favorable. There seem to be so many choices for girls. From their clothes to their hair clips, to their headbands, then down to their socks, shoes, sandals and even more. You just need to have lots of money to buy more than what’s needed for the princess of the house.
While we shop for our daughter /s, and even our hubby, there is one thing we totally forgot. Can you guess what is it? It’s that we forget to shop for ourselves. Right? We are so preoccupied of the things that will make our darling girls look so pretty, and we forgot that we too moms have to maintain our prettiness.
So next time you got out to grab things for your little girls, grab some for you, too!
Disclosure:
This blog is a personal blog of random thoughts written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact "Cacai M. (cacainad [at]gmail [dot]com)". Beginning this day, 2nd day of July 2011, this blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, text link, or other forms of compensation. My Journey Being a Mommy blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship/advertisement/ads, text link/paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner of this blog is sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for my posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. I am expressing my own opinion about products and services, but I am not endorsing them. Thus, you should do your own research on products and services that I mention here in my blog. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. About writings, pictures, or images of this blog -- you may not copy or reproduce any of it without prior consent of the blog owner, or written permission. This blog does contain content which might present a conflict of interest. Again, any further question/s, concerns, clarifications, and the likes -- please contact me through my email add: cacainad (at) gmail (dot) com .
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Questions to Ask Yourself About Shopping for Utilities
