{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Citizens Utility Board","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org","title":"Utility Diaries: A Month of Bills in Urbana, Illinois | Citizens Utility Board","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"c9HetCJxT8\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2021\/05\/11\/utility-diaries-a-month-of-bills-in-urbana-illinois\/\">Utility Diaries: A Month of Bills in Urbana, Illinois<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2021\/05\/11\/utility-diaries-a-month-of-bills-in-urbana-illinois\/embed\/#?secret=c9HetCJxT8\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Utility Diaries: A Month of Bills in Urbana, Illinois&#8221; &#8212; Citizens Utility Board\" data-secret=\"c9HetCJxT8\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","description":"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;]","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM-300x199.png"}