1.0Citizens Utility Boardhttps://www.citizensutilityboard.orgrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="3FjinRDw2Z"><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=3FjinRDw2Z" width="600" height="338" title="“Utility Diaries: A Month of Bills in Urbana, Illinois” — Citizens Utility Board" data-secret="3FjinRDw2Z" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !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); /* ]]> */ </script> In Utility Diaries, we look at what different households across Illinois pay in a month for utility expenses.  Today’s household consists of two people in a rented house in Urbana.   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:  Gas: Ameren Illinois, $61.81 Electric: Ameren Illinois, $34.35 Water: Illinois American, $52.44 Sewer: Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District (paid by landlord) Internet: Xfinity by Comcast, $50 Cell Phone: Verizon, $42 Garbage: Mel’s Disposal, $18 Recycling: U-CYCLE (free for Urbana residents) Last Month’s Total: $216.60 Do you have an alternative electric or gas supplier?  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’s 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?   In addition to Ameren’s Power Smart Pricing program, we are enrolled in Ameren’s 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.  While we do not qualify for Ameren’s Income Qualified energy efficiency program, we were able to get a “free”* smart thermostat from Ameren, as well as discounted LED lightbulbs.  *We didn’t pay anything for the thermostat, but like all Ameren customers, we pay into the energy efficiency programs through a tax on our monthly bill.  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’re 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’ve 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’t done that yet.  Because we rent, we aren’t 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’s out of our control. We have patched up some cracks in the baseboards with caulk as DIY air sealing.  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?  We are on […]https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-11-at-8.40.41-AM-300x199.png