{"id":31675,"date":"2021-05-11T08:55:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T13:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/?p=31675"},"modified":"2021-05-11T09:01:47","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T14:01:47","slug":"utility-diaries-a-month-of-bills-in-urbana-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2021\/05\/11\/utility-diaries-a-month-of-bills-in-urbana-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"Utility Diaries: A Month of Bills in Urbana, Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Utility Diaries, we look at what different households across Illinois pay in a month for utility expenses.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today\u2019s household consists of two people in a rented house in Urbana.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>Housing Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Location: Urbana, IL<\/li>\n<li>Household Size: 2 people<\/li>\n<li>Housing Type: House<\/li>\n<li>Rent or Own: Rent<\/li>\n<li>Square Footage: 1,215<\/li>\n<li>Year Built: 1954<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Energy Usage<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heating:<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gas forced-air furnace<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Cooling: Central air<\/li>\n<li>Average Monthly Gas Usage: 65 therms<\/li>\n<li>Highest Gas Month: February, 194 therms<\/li>\n<li>Average Monthly Electric Usage: 361 kilowatt-hours<\/li>\n<li>Highest Electric Month: August, 591 kilowatt-hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Water Usage<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Average Monthly Water Usage<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: 4,000 gallons<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Highest Water Month: July, 4,500 gallons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Telecom Plans<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Internet Speed:<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 200 Mbps<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Cellphone Plan: Unlimited calls, text, and data (1 line)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Utility Companies and Charges Last Month:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gas:<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ameren Illinois, $61.81<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Electric: Ameren Illinois, $34.35<\/li>\n<li>Water: Illinois American, $52.44<\/li>\n<li>Sewer: Urbana &amp; Champaign Sanitary District (paid by landlord)<\/li>\n<li>Internet: Xfinity by Comcast, $50<\/li>\n<li>Cell Phone: Verizon, $42<\/li>\n<li>Garbage: Mel\u2019s Disposal, $18<\/li>\n<li>Recycling: U-CYCLE (free for Urbana residents)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Last Month\u2019s Total: $216.60<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Do you have an alternative electric or gas supplier?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We do not. The City of Urbana has a municipal aggregation contract for residential electricity supply with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pluginillinois.org\/MunicipalAggregationList.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Homefield Energy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that expires in January 2023, but we opted out of the program. Instead, we are signed up for Ameren\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameren.com\/illinois\/account\/customer-service\/bill\/power-smart-pricing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Power Smart Pricing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program, where we pay the real-time hourly rate for electricity. Even counting the monthly program fee of $2.25, over the last 12 months, we have saved $9.74.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you participated in any programs to save on your bills?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to Ameren\u2019s Power Smart Pricing program, we are enrolled in Ameren\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameren.com\/illinois\/account\/customer-service\/bill\/peak-time-rewards\/details\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peak Time Rewards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program. Every summer, we are notified on days where Ameren expects high electricity use, and if we lower our usage that day, we get automatic credits on our bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we do not qualify for Ameren\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/amerenillinoissavings.com\/residential\/explore-finance-energy-saving-projects-for-your-home\/instant-savers-assessment\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Income Qualified<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> energy efficiency program, we were able to get a \u201cfree\u201d* <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/amerenillinoissavings.com\/residential\/energy-efficient-product-incentives\/smart-thermostats\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smart thermostat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from Ameren, as well as discounted LED lightbulbs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*We didn\u2019t pay anything for the thermostat, but like all Ameren customers, we pay into the energy efficiency programs through a tax on our monthly bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31676\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31676\" class=\"wp-image-31676 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM-300x199.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM-391x260.png 391w, https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM.png 394w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-31676\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cMy Energy Overview,\u201d Ameren\u2019s estimates of how we use energy, available through our online utility account.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What do you do to save energy and water at home?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We use LEDs and faucet aerators on the bathroom and kitchen sinks. We also unplug nonessential appliances (not the fridge) when we\u2019re not using them and wash clothes on the cold setting. In the winter, we keep the temperature around 66 degrees, and in the summer, 78 degrees. We\u2019ve thought about putting a plastic bottle with rocks in it in the toilet water tank to retrofit our toilets into low-flow toilets but haven\u2019t done that yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because we rent, we aren\u2019t in control of the efficiency of our furnace, AC and refrigerator\/freezer. Our home is older, very drafty and could use better insulation, but that\u2019s out of our control. We have patched up some cracks in the baseboards with caulk as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/energysaver\/home-energy-audits\/do-it-yourself-home-energy-audits\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DIY air sealing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the details of your telecom plans? If you have internet service, do you own your modem and router? If you have cellphone service, do you own your phone?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are on the Xfinity Blast! plan, which means we are charged $86 per month for 200 Mbps but only pay $50 because we get automatic discounts from Xfinity. There is a $10 discount for auto-pay and paperless billing, and a $26 contract discount that will end on February 28, 2022. This past February, we called to get the discount renewed for this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We work from home and stream for entertainment, and, other than occasional outages in our area, don\u2019t have any trouble with our internet connectivity. We own our modem and router, which was purchased in 2016, so we don\u2019t pay any rental fees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We each have a cellphone, but only pay for one plan because the other plan is paid for by work. The paid plan is $42 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data. I paid for the (refurbished) phone upfront last year. I don\u2019t pay for a phone warranty plan, preferring to pay out of pocket if I need to replace the phone. I replace my phone about every four years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you worry about paying your utility bills?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, we have two incomes in our household and don\u2019t worry too much about paying our bills. We each pay roughly $100 per month for utility service. Our trash, internet, and water bills are relatively stable, but our gas and electric bill can fluctuate a lot, so we try to be conscious of our heating and cooling costs. If we weren\u2019t able to pay our bills, we would enroll in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/welcome-cubs-help-center\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">financial assistance programs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as soon as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a question about your utility bills? Call CUB\u2019s toll-free hotline at 1-800-669-5556 (Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm) to speak with a consumer advocate.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get your utility bills reviewed for free! Email <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ubc@citizensutilityboard.org<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to have a CUB staffer look over your bills and identify ways to save, including extra charges that may be costing you. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Utility Diaries, we look at what different households across Illinois pay in a month for utility expenses.\u00a0 Today\u2019s household consists of two people in a rented house in Urbana.\u00a0\u00a0 Housing Background Location: Urbana, IL Household Size: 2 people Housing Type: House Rent or Own: Rent Square Footage: 1,215 Year Built: 1954 Energy Usage Heating: Gas forced-air furnace Cooling: Central air Average Monthly Gas Usage: 65 therms Highest Gas Month: February, 194 therms Average Monthly Electric Usage: 361 kilowatt-hours Highest Electric Month: August, 591 kilowatt-hours Water Usage Average Monthly Water Usage: 4,000 gallons Highest Water Month: July, 4,500 gallons Telecom Plans Internet Speed: 200 Mbps Cellphone Plan: Unlimited calls, text, and data (1 line) Utility Companies and Charges Last Month:\u00a0 Gas: Ameren Illinois, $61.81 Electric: Ameren Illinois, $34.35 Water: Illinois American, $52.44 Sewer: Urbana &amp; Champaign Sanitary District (paid by landlord) Internet: Xfinity by Comcast, $50 Cell Phone: Verizon, $42 Garbage: Mel\u2019s Disposal, $18 Recycling: U-CYCLE (free for Urbana residents) Last Month\u2019s Total: $216.60 Do you have an alternative electric or gas supplier?\u00a0 We do not. The City of Urbana has a municipal aggregation contract for residential electricity supply with Homefield Energy that expires in January 2023, but we opted out of the program. Instead, we are signed up for Ameren\u2019s Power Smart Pricing program, where we pay the real-time hourly rate for electricity. Even counting the monthly program fee of $2.25, over the last 12 months, we have saved $9.74. Have you participated in any programs to save on your bills?\u00a0\u00a0 In addition to Ameren\u2019s Power Smart Pricing program, we are enrolled in Ameren\u2019s Peak Time Rewards program. Every summer, we are notified on days where Ameren expects high electricity use, and if we lower our usage that day, we get automatic credits on our bill.\u00a0 While we do not qualify for Ameren\u2019s Income Qualified energy efficiency program, we were able to get a \u201cfree\u201d* smart thermostat from Ameren, as well as discounted LED lightbulbs.\u00a0 *We didn\u2019t pay anything for the thermostat, but like all Ameren customers, we pay into the energy efficiency programs through a tax on our monthly bill.\u00a0 What do you do to save energy and water at home? We use LEDs and faucet aerators on the bathroom and kitchen sinks. We also unplug nonessential appliances (not the fridge) when we\u2019re not using them and wash clothes on the cold setting. In the winter, we keep the temperature around 66 degrees, and in the summer, 78 degrees. We\u2019ve thought about putting a plastic bottle with rocks in it in the toilet water tank to retrofit our toilets into low-flow toilets but haven\u2019t done that yet.\u00a0 Because we rent, we aren\u2019t in control of the efficiency of our furnace, AC and refrigerator\/freezer. Our home is older, very drafty and could use better insulation, but that\u2019s out of our control. We have patched up some cracks in the baseboards with caulk as DIY air sealing.\u00a0 What are the details of your telecom plans? If you have internet service, do you own your modem and router? If you have cellphone service, do you own your phone?\u00a0 We are on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[364,123,929,953,320,76,1189,500,448,69],"tags":[421,435,449,1231],"class_list":["post-31675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alternative-electricgas-suppliers","category-cable","category-clean-energy","category-dynamic-pricing","category-efficiency-2","category-electric-bills","category-energy-assistance","category-energy-efficiency","category-gas-bills","category-updates","tag-bill-analysis","tag-electric-bill","tag-gas-bill","tag-monthly-utility-bill"],"cp_meta_data":{"classic-editor-remember":["block-editor"],"_edit_last":["20"],"_wp_page_template":["default"],"_edit_lock":["1621198591:5"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["69"],"slide_template":["default"],"rs_page_bg_color":["#ffffff"],"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":[""],"_wpsp_is_facebook_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_twitter_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_linkedin_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_pinterest_share":["off"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["4"],"borntogive_page_header_show_hide":["2"],"borntogive_pages_title_show":["2"],"borntogive_pages_Choose_slider_display":["2"],"borntogive_pages_select_revolution_from_list":["3"],"borntogive_pages_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_effects":["fade"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_social_show":["1"],"borntogive_strict_no_sidebar":["0"],"borntogive_sidebar_columns_layout":["3"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_effects":["fade"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}