Utilities in Ankeny
- Thread starter cybychoice
- Start date
$135 for both gas and electricity?
Using the numbers in the article posted, I calculated that I'd have saved around $60/month over the past year with MidAmerican. Annoying, but not the end of the world. Good thing to keep in mind when we move here in a year or two.
I track it, so I can give you the past 4 years...
2014: $157.33
2013: $143.53
2012: $127.16
2011: $132.26
So far this year, our average is $156.09, but January is always our highest month, so this year we should be in the $140's per month range.
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I can't quite pinpoint it, but this story bothered me. There was a similar story on the news about 2 years ago, of a homeowner saying the same thing.
Well, those statements don't go together. You did choose the co-op when you chose to buy that land. It was public information, and the electric boundaries haven't changed. Yes, it was your mistake to "just assume."
We all make mistakes, but we don't all complain to the local TV station about having to live with our mistakes...
We are building in Northeast Ankeny (NE 49th Street) and looks like we will end up in the Consumers Co-Op Service Area. Our house will be a little over 2,000SF so would it be safe to assume the following for utilities?:
Electric (Consumers): $160/mo
Gas (Mid-American): $60/mo
Water/Recycling: $60/mo
Trash: $15/mo
In fairness most people probably wouldn't think to figure out if their utility provider was different if they were moving a mile away in the same town. That said, the idea that this guy is second-guessing his move because his electric bill went up about $30-35 a month is pretty silly. I can't imagine complaining to the news media about that.
I can't speak from experience on Consumers but from what I've heard/read you're more or less on target with all those figures.
Got a response from Consumers Energy:
"There are many variables to consider when a new home has no history. Number of family members, insulation, orientation, type of heating and cooling, window U value and solar heat gain coefficient, shading coefficients, and so on. I can tell you that our residential flat rate is 12.25 cents per kilowatt hour with a service charge of $30.50/month for a 15kVa transformer placement. We also have a Time of Day program that sets your kWh at 7.6 cents for 22 hours with the peak from 5-7 p.m. at 37.7 cents. We also have a Heat Plus Rate that would entail an electric water heater to qualify and any heating or cooling of a conditioned space that uses some form of electric heat would be at 6.02 cent from October through May and 11.07 cents June through September. The added cost for the second meter is $5/month. Insulation is a big factor to consider when building new so you can reduce not only the size of the equipment but also reduce the energy usage on either gas, electric, or both. Please feel free to call and discuss further at your convenience. A word of caution, if you are considering floor heat below slab, make sure the contractor does not use a reflective bubble foil. He should use a minimum 2†extruded polystyrene and a vertical barrier at the footing 2’-4’ down. Thank you for contacting us!"
Looks like they have Time of Day Program that charges 7.6cents/kwhr for 22 hours in a day with the other 2 hours at 37.7 cents/kwhr. Seems pretty simple to disable your air conditioning for the time period 5-7PM to avoid these high charges.
Anybody have any recommendations on Electric/Gas for Electric water heater and how costs would be compared?
"There are many variables to consider when a new home has no history. Number of family members, insulation, orientation, type of heating and cooling, window U value and solar heat gain coefficient, shading coefficients, and so on. I can tell you that our residential flat rate is 12.25 cents per kilowatt hour with a service charge of $30.50/month for a 15kVa transformer placement. We also have a Time of Day program that sets your kWh at 7.6 cents for 22 hours with the peak from 5-7 p.m. at 37.7 cents. We also have a Heat Plus Rate that would entail an electric water heater to qualify and any heating or cooling of a conditioned space that uses some form of electric heat would be at 6.02 cent from October through May and 11.07 cents June through September. The added cost for the second meter is $5/month. Insulation is a big factor to consider when building new so you can reduce not only the size of the equipment but also reduce the energy usage on either gas, electric, or both. Please feel free to call and discuss further at your convenience. A word of caution, if you are considering floor heat below slab, make sure the contractor does not use a reflective bubble foil. He should use a minimum 2†extruded polystyrene and a vertical barrier at the footing 2’-4’ down. Thank you for contacting us!"
Looks like they have Time of Day Program that charges 7.6cents/kwhr for 22 hours in a day with the other 2 hours at 37.7 cents/kwhr. Seems pretty simple to disable your air conditioning for the time period 5-7PM to avoid these high charges.
Anybody have any recommendations on Electric/Gas for Electric water heater and how costs would be compared?
Our average since moving in September to the Co-op has been around $60 more a month. We found out during the buying process that we were in the co-op, literally being on the wrong side of the street. Oh well, we love the home and wouldn't change a thing for that, but I'm going to look into the Time of Day program. Thanks for the thread.
I have a call in to the guy that responded to me to discuss the Time of Day program in further detail and will report back any new info.
Gas water heaters are more energy efficient. If you are willing to invest the money I would suggest a tankless water heater too. If you properly maintain them not only are they the more efficient because it only uses energy when there is demand for hot water but it should last over twice as long as a tank water heater.
one thing I was considering is potentially including some solar panels (I haven't seen any over there, but I don't think there was anything in the covenants against it).
If you did that + battery backup (or just the battery), you could switch over to the battery from 5-7 without needing to turn anything off.
Sorry to resurrect a dead thread. I'm considering a buy in that Consumer's energy territory. Did you get any info on the Time of Day program?
I can't speak to the Time of Day program, but I'm in north Ankeny and have Consumer's. I have a ranch house that is a little over 1300 sq ft on the main floor, so 2600 sq ft total, and our budget billing is $95 per month.
Sounds like a lot of CF'ers are living in the Otter Creek Development and that's awesome! We are waiting for Final Plat Approval on 49th Street before we start building and it seems to drag...
Anyone have any updates with City of Ankeny/DRA Properties with Otter Creek Plat 6?
Anyone have any updates with City of Ankeny/DRA Properties with Otter Creek Plat 6?
