Your Utility Bill – And How To Save!

I am very excited to announce we have our first guest post on the blog! Today we welcome Kasia Drajling who is an Ambit Energy Canada Independent Consultant to the spotlight. I was planning to write a post about our switch over to Ambit to further save on our monthly bills but I figured why not let it come right from the source.

I first heard about Ambit from our ChooseFI Alberta Facebook page and Kasia assisted me with the switch over from our previous provider (Encor by EPCOR). She has been so prompt to answer any questions I have and has proven to be a very knowledgeable resource. As any long time reader knows, I only promote products or services that I personally use and support.

We’ve covered in the past how to lower your monthly phone bill and internet bill:

• $0 Phone Plan? We’ll show you how
• Cheapest Internet Providers In Canada

and next up on the docket is how to lower your monthly electric and gas bills. So, without further ado, Kasia – take it away!

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Have you ever considered the expense that is your monthly gas and/or electricity bill and wondered whether, short of wearing every single sweater and pair of socks you own while turning off your thermostat, there could be a way to lower the cost?

The reality is most people will pay their utility bill no matter the cost before they pay their mortgage. It’s simply a bill we all pay habitually month in and month out without (most people) giving it a second thought.

But you’ll be happy to know there is, in fact, a way to pay less every single month.

Thanks to the Government of Alberta and energy deregulation, we now have a competitive utility market. This means each Albertan now has a choice which energy retailer to purchase gas and/or electricity from.

In the same way we get to choose where we purchase our groceries every month, we can also choose who to purchase our gas and/or electricity from every single month as well.

Note: not all Provinces in Canada have deregulated utility markets and some only deregulate either gas or electricity rather than both.

Notice I mentioned “purchase”. This is because (if you’ve also noticed) there are always two companies listed on your gas and electricity bill. One of them is who you purchase your gas and electricity from (your retailer) and the other, is who you pay to deliver that gas and electricity to you (your delivery company). Your retailer is essentially who you are “with”.

Which brings me to a short explanation of delivery companies – and their fees.

In Alberta, there are a handful of delivery companies and each is responsible for a specific territory. If you live in territory X, no matter which retailer you choose to purchase your gas and/or electricity from, that specific delivery company will always deliver your gas and/or electricity to you. This also means that no matter who you “switch to” on the retail side, those delivery fees will never change. The only way to switch delivery companies – and pay different (note I said different – not necessarily lower) fees, is to move to territory Y.

Now you’re probably thinking – but I hate delivery fees! I use (or buy) no gas all summer and yet they are through the roof!

Agreed. They are at best, a total annoyance, but those fees are mandated by the Alberta Utilities Commission. Every year, your delivery company creates a report and part of that report is a suggestion of fees they need to charge. This suggestion is based on their expenses, the number of power lines or gas lines in their territory, and their number of customers. They then submit this report to the Alberta Utilities Commission for review and approval. The Commission then holds a public hearing, reviews the report, and approves the fees that are to be charged each customer going forward. Those fees are expressed as a $ amount per GJ and/or KWh used/purchased. Your delivery company then looks at your meter reading, determines your consumption, multiplies it by the fee in each fee category, adds in appropriate taxes and the total becomes your delivery fee payable amount on your bill.

With me so far?

To summarize, delivery fees are something you must pay for and therefore, not an area of your bill that you can save on (unless you lower your consumption and love wearing your entire wardrobe on your back – or go completely off-grid – that is J).

So where can you save?

On the retail portion of your bill.

As mentioned above, a utility retailer sells gas and/or electricity to you based on your consumption. They know how much you need to purchase (or conversely how much they need to sell you) based on the reading on your meter. The reading on your meter is provided to them by the delivery company. The rate they charge you per GJ or KWh used is based on their cost + profit to purchase gas or electricity on the wholesale market. They then multiply that rate by your consumption based on your meter reading, add in an administration fee for the invoicing they do(based on my experience and the hundreds of bills I have looked at anything over $5 is too much), add on the GST and this becomes your total owing for your consumption.

Simple right?

You would think, but not so quick.

Some companies, in order to increase their profits even more, also add a separate line item to the retail part of the invoice called a “transaction” fee.

This transaction fee is a $ amount per GJ and/or per KWh that is added on top of your rate. It is usually $0.49 per GJ or $0.99 per GJ or $1.00 per GJ and/or $0.01 per KWh used.

This means that if your gas rate is listed as $1.80 per GJ on your bill and there is a “transaction fee” line item on your bill somewhere of $1.00 per GJ then your rate effectively is $2.80 per GJ and not $1.80 per GJ as the company would like to have you believe.

What is more unfortunate in this case, is that when you call the said retailer and ask what their current rate on offer is, they will always quote the rate only and never mention the transaction fee. Not unless you specifically ask – and know to ask. It’s a little (a lot) sneaky if you ask me as it gives a false impression of what you are being charged for your usage.

So now that we’ve covered delivery fees, retail rates, transaction fees, and admin fees, we can put a savings action plan together in the following way:

Delivery fees

•  Lower your consumption

Rates

• Find a retailer that has a competitive rate, while keeping in mind a possible transaction fee that may or may not be added

Admin fee

• Anything over $5 per month is too much – keep it in that range or lower

This sounds like a pretty good plan so far. However, I have some good news.

Remember how I said deregulation has created a competitive market? This means that there are many companies in the Province to choose from and each competes for your business in the best way they can.

One of these companies is Ambit Energy Canada.

Ambit Energy Canada began operating on the Alberta market in November 2017. They are known for having competitive rates that are much more stable than most other competitors’. They also have what is called a Free Energy Program.

The Free Energy Program, in a nutshell, allows you to purchase your gas and electricity at $0 per GJ and $0 per KWh every single month. And your admin fee is waived.

How? By making customer referrals.

Once you become a customer and refer 15 customers to Ambit, and as long as they pay their bill on time and are themselves not on the Free Energy Program, Ambit will take these customers’ total average use every single month and add that as a credit on your bill every single month.

Let me rephrase that again – Ambit will put a credit on your bill every single month that is equivalent to your customer referrals’ average monthly consumption.

The power of this savings is huge as essentially, you have the ability to wipe the retail portion of your bill, including the administration fee and the GST, down to $0EVERY.SiNGLE.MONTH.

No other company in the Province of Alberta offers this option. And therefore, in my opinion, if you are on a financial journey geared towards saving, there is no better company to be with.

So … if you would like a free analysis of your current gas and/or electricity bill, advice on how to switch from one retailer to another without paying penalties (even contracts don’t mean a life sentence!) or assistance with switching to Ambit, please contact Kasia at info@paylessonyourbills.com or visit www.paylessonyourbills.com, click “Schedule a Free Consultation” and mention the promo code: “ModernFlmily” in your email request.

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Thank you, Kasia, for putting in the hours to create this post! I hope you all gained some valuable information and look to lower your energy bills in some form or another.  Please reach out to Kasia if you’re interested in more information about Ambit as she is happy to do a free personalized energy assessment based off your monthly energy usage to see if there are any savings to be found.  This simple 1 hour task (or less) could save you hundreds each year. 

Note that Ambit Energy currently services the following US States: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

In Canada, Ambit Energy Canada currently provides service to the regions of Alberta served by ATCO Electric, ATCO gas, ENMAX, EPCOR, and Fortis Alberta (which is most of AB).

Provinces and states have different rules (regulated/deregulated markets) and different ways of charging their customers for power (pay a set fee per use or pay based on time of day usage).  Even if you do not live in a province or state where Ambit services your home, it’s important to understand the fee structure of your monthly electricity bills.

Then of course there are the general tips to consume less energy which will also lower your bills:

• Adjust your thermostat by a few degrees.  Instead of heating/cooling your ENTIRE home, wear some extra layers, put on some socks/slippers, get a thicker/heated blanket, heat up a rice bag, drink some warm tea, take a hot bath, etc. to focus on your own internal body temps. For reference, we keep our house at 20 C (68 F) over the winter and we don’t have AC for the summers. Sure, we could bump it up to 21-22 C (70-72 F) but if you simply layer up it becomes a non-issue.  During warmer days, use fans in the room of choice vs blasting AC throughout the whole house.  Use landscaping, window blinds, and cross breezes for shade.
• Turn off lights when not in the room.  This is one of my personal pet peeves.  Why waste energy like this? Ugh drives me crazy seeing people so lazy and not caring about the consequences to Mother Earth.  Sure, it’s minor but it’s just a way of saying “I’m more important than the world we live in”. And use natural lighting during the day too.  It’s better for your mind anyway.  And if you’re in a warm climate, lights will further heat up your home requiring more AC usage.
• Unplug electronics when not in use.  Most people assume once their phone/computer/tablet is charged, they can unplug it from the charger and even though the charger is still plugged into the outlet they are no longer using any electricity since the device is no longer connected.  Wrong!  Unplug the actual charger from the outlet when not in use. And of course, kill your addiction to cable and get rid of your energy-sucking TV.  Get smart strip surge protectors for the few electronics in your home.
• Ensure proper insulation along your windows, doors, and attic.  It makes no sense to heat/cool your home just to send that air outside.  Caulk and weather strips should do it.
• Take fewer/shorter showers.  Turn off the water when not in use when brushing teeth, shaving, washing dishes, etc.  Lower the temp of your hot water heater (and/or switch to a tankless hot water heater).  Less usage of your hot water tank means less electricity to heat the water.
• Wash your laundry in cold water.  Don’t do partially full loads.  Hang dry your laundry.  Clean the lint out of the dryer trap after each use and get dryer balls if you can’t hang dry everything.  And don’t assume that your clothes need to be washed after a single use!  Obviously, after a workout, you want to wash those sweaty clothes.  But after a day lounging around the house and running some errands?  Nah.  And ironing?  I’m not going to even touch this as I don’t believe any clothes deserve to be ironed.
• Be aware of how your appliances are sucking up energy.  Refrigerators and freezers are more efficient when full.  Regulate your refrigerator and freezer temps.  Use lids when cooking.  Use a smaller appliance like a toaster oven instead of a full-sized oven to cook a single-serve dish. Question the need of preheating your oven for all meals.  Turn off your stovetop or oven a few minutes before your food is done, the warmth that was built up prior will remain to finish things off.
• Do an energy audit and consider switching to LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, and low flow showerheads & toilets.
• Ensure proper upkeep of filters and maintenance of your air conditioner, furnace, ducts, vents, and hot water heater.
• And of course, install renewables on-site if possible.  Check to see what rebates and tax incentives are offered in your area.  Even something as small as installing solar powered outdoor lighting or rain barrels connected to your gutters to help water your garden/grass helps.  You can also ask your energy provider to be a part of their green energy program which may cost a few bucks more but that money is going to fund their green energy efforts.

The main thing here is to understand where this energy is coming from.  This is basically my job to piece together available generation to the highest price energy company willing to buy said power.  For the most part, this energy is coming from coal or natural gas.  Thankfully we are seeing more and more renewables resources being built as more and more states, provinces, and countries are implementing renewable portfolio standards but it still makes up a relatively small overall footprint.  Do you really want to be burning up coal or natural gas for no real reason? It’s a matter of letting go of your ego and giving up some of your first world luxuries to help our future generations out – oh yea and your wallet!  Win win.

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We believe in stacking up life hacks to keep your enjoyment levels to the max without depleting your bank account. Here are some ways to further educate yourself and save thousands of dollars over your lifetime by making some simple adjustments:

• Investing Newbies: Check out our free Investing 101 Series
• How much are you paying for your phone plan? Canadians, learn more about Public Mobile, and see how we are paying $3 / mo for our cell phone plan.
• How much are you paying for internet? Canadians, learn more about the various Independent Service Providers out there to see who services your area so you can lower your monthly bills.
• How much are you paying for home insurance? We were able to reduce our rates by 25% by switching over to Square One Insurance. If you live in BC, AB, SK, MB, and ON, check out Square One for your home insurance, landlord insurance, and/or tenant insurance.

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