Author Topic: nm  (Read 32685 times)

FIREandMONEY

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 54
nm
« on: September 18, 2015, 12:22:59 PM »
nm
« Last Edit: March 24, 2022, 06:21:53 PM by FIREandMONEY »

JPinDC

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 164
  • Age: 37
  • Location: DMV
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2015, 01:09:18 PM »
That's brilliant. My electric is included in rent, but I wonder what other companies I use have referral programs... Thanks for the tip!

Kimchi Bleu

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 107
  • Location: Indiana
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2015, 10:13:29 AM »
Wow, that is amazing.  Thanks for the tip!

g-money

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 7
  • Location: California
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2015, 10:26:22 AM »
Not in California.


sol

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8433
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2015, 10:35:48 AM »
My electricity bill for the past 12 months totaled negative $14,983, but I had to spend $32,400 on solar panels to make that happen, so I think your way is cheaper.

Of course, I get the smugness bonus from being carbon neutral so that has to count for something, right?

grantmeaname

  • CM*MW 2023 Attendees
  • Walrus Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 5960
  • Age: 31
  • Location: Middle West
  • Cast me away from yesterday's things
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2015, 02:03:20 PM »
Aren't referral clicks made out of anticarbon? How else could the utility pay you for them?

sol

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8433
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2015, 04:01:22 PM »
How's your negative bill/bill credits work?

We received about $9700 in federal tax rebate (reduced tax bill, so less money leaving my account but none coming in), about $5000 in production incentives (sent as a check which I recently deposited, part of Washington state incentive program), then on our bimonthly bill any net surplus is credited to our account and applied against our water bill (averages about $50/bill credit on top of free power).  We haven't yet had an actual zero dollar combined bill after fees and water use; our smallest was $2.25 ($94 for water, -$92 in power credit) for April/May because after that we started watering more.

The Money Monk

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 619
  • Location: Nevada
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2015, 06:02:32 PM »
Incredible man, nice work!

nawhite

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1081
  • Location: Golden, CO
    • The Reckless Choice
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #8 on: October 12, 2015, 09:26:10 AM »
Sounds like you need to start smelting aluminum or charging your neighbors to charge their electric cars.

realityinabox

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 85
  • Age: 36
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2015, 09:51:20 AM »
I don't get how this could be a thing.  Isn't electrical service typically a localized monopoly?  Why would they need referrals if everyone in their designated area has to use them? 

NathanP

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 137
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2015, 09:59:13 AM »
I don't get how this could be a thing.  Isn't electrical service typically a localized monopoly?  Why would they need referrals if everyone in their designated area has to use them?

+1

Why would a monopoly need to spend any money on marketing? If I were a shareholder I would not be happy.

Bob W

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2942
  • Age: 65
  • Location: Missouri
  • Live on minimum wage, earn on maximum
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #11 on: October 12, 2015, 10:11:31 AM »
One assumes that in some places there is a choice of providers.   

Dollar Slice

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9613
  • Age: 46
  • Location: New York City
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #12 on: October 12, 2015, 11:28:51 AM »
One assumes that in some places there is a choice of providers.
Yes, kind of. There is one underlying utility company that owns the infrastructure (the monopoly) but you can sign up for an ESCo who will resell you electricity or gas over that infrastructure. You still pay the utility for the delivery (AFAIK) but the actual usage goes through the ESCo.

Sort of like how at one point there might have been 10 different companies offering DSL service over the copper line to your house that was owned and maintained by the local phone company (which was a monopoly).

kudy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 945
  • Age: 41
  • Location: RV Traveling the U.S.
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #13 on: October 12, 2015, 12:27:50 PM »
Sounds like you need to start smelting aluminum or charging your neighbors to charge their electric cars.

or set up some bitcoin mining machines... or grow weed?

maco

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 418
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2015, 06:05:48 PM »
I don't get how this could be a thing.  Isn't electrical service typically a localized monopoly?  Why would they need referrals if everyone in their designated area has to use them?
Last I checked, electricity was deregulated in 23 states if I'm remembering right.

My electric company has a $50 bonus for both the referrer and the friend. This covers IL, MD, PA, DE, NJ, and NY, and it's all solar & wind https://ethicalelectric.com/referral/by/maco

Syonyk

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4610
    • Syonyk's Project Blog
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #15 on: October 14, 2015, 09:41:37 AM »
My electricity bill for the past 12 months totaled negative $14,983, but I had to spend $32,400 on solar panels to make that happen, so I think your way is cheaper.

Of course, I get the smugness bonus from being carbon neutral so that has to count for something, right?

Where were your panels produced?  If they came from China, roughly a quarter of their lifetime output is embodied in the panels, which are generally made with coal electricity.

sol

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8433
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #16 on: October 14, 2015, 08:20:14 PM »
My electricity bill for the past 12 months totaled negative $14,983, but I had to spend $32,400 on solar panels to make that happen, so I think your way is cheaper.

Of course, I get the smugness bonus from being carbon neutral so that has to count for something, right?

Where were your panels produced?  If they came from China, roughly a quarter of their lifetime output is embodied in the panels, which are generally made with coal electricity.

In order to get the maximum state incentive payment, I had to buy my panels and inverters from local Washington State companies. Washington is about 70% hydropowered.

Details of my installation, including the hardware specs, are in this thread:  http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/solar-panel-installation/
« Last Edit: October 14, 2015, 08:21:52 PM by sol »

patrickza

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 555
  • Age: 45
    • I live on a boat
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #17 on: October 15, 2015, 02:54:32 AM »
Wow that's quite a lifehack, well done!

ender

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7402
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2016, 08:52:57 AM »
That's awesome!

stashyMel

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 25
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2016, 06:24:33 PM »
So how much is enough? Are you trying to accumulate enough to cover your FIRE period? I'm just curious. I see this as a great novelty and obvious money save but should you stop cultivating the rebate and let it spend itself. Eventually, the power company could be onto you and put a limit on the amount that can be accumulated.

JAYSLOL

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2137
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #20 on: December 17, 2016, 08:48:53 PM »
Well, not really much of a bell curve for 2016, at least not as big of a one as I was hoping this year.  For the last 12 months, I've been averaging just over 3 referrals a month.     For about the past 6 months, this has basically allowed my credit balance to maintain around $4700.  Unfortunately, I am noticing a downward trend in my referrals over the last 6 months.  I actually had a month with NO referrals.  That's my first zero month in a long time.

Honestly, I haven't been as aggressive the last few months in trying to get my referral code out there.  Probably spent 5 minutes a month over the last 6 months.  Took way more time to make this plot than to trying to actually get the referrals.  :-D  Guess with such a large balance I am just getting lazy. 



Thats pretty badass though.  You could start an electric car charging business (or grow-op, lol) and really go after those referrals.

driventohelp

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #21 on: December 17, 2016, 11:29:46 PM »
I have been lucky enough to not pay an electric bill since February.  My electric company has one of the "referral programs" where if you get people to sign up for a new account using your code, you both get some money off your next bill.  Usually between $25-$75. 

Well, at the first of the year I started leaving reviews for the electric company on a few review websites and it has really been paying off lately.  This is the number of referrals I've been getting:

Feb: 2
Mar: 2
Apr: 4
May: 9
Jun: 19
Jul: 28
Aug: 12

That's a lot of referrals and all it took was literally 15 minutes of work by leaving reviews for the company at places like Better Business Bureau, yelp, Google Reviews, etc.  I've had hundred of dollars worth of electricity paid for since February and I have over $3k in bill credit just sitting there.  I won't have to pay for electricity for years and the best part is more referrals are still coming in.

I know not everybody can do this and it is dependent on where you live and if you can choose your electric provider.  Might be worth it for some people to look into it though.  Just google "electricity referral program" + your state.

Good luck!
Sweetness !

FrugalKube

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 175
  • Location: Pacific NW
    • The Gamer's Lounge
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #22 on: December 18, 2016, 11:40:56 PM »
I don't get how this could be a thing.  Isn't electrical service typically a localized monopoly?  Why would they need referrals if everyone in their designated area has to use them?

+1

Why would a monopoly need to spend any money on marketing? If I were a shareholder I would not be happy.


In Texas, we have deregulated electricity...you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation_of_the_Texas_electricity_market

Basically, when you're in Texas, you go to the site: http://www.powertochoose.org/ and select whichever company you want, based on cost, customer service, etc.  There's around 200 companies last I checked.

Wish we had something like this in Wa State...only good thing about leaving in the Eastern side of the state is the cheap hydro power

arebelspy

  • Administrator
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *****
  • Posts: 28444
  • Age: -997
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #23 on: December 19, 2016, 12:32:17 AM »
This is pretty neat. Thanks for sharing, and following up with the data!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

arebelspy

  • Administrator
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *****
  • Posts: 28444
  • Age: -997
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #24 on: December 20, 2016, 05:57:36 PM »
Plus it's a credit, not cash... They know you have to "spend" it back with them.

(Don't forget inflation in calculating how long the surplus may last. I'd look into historical energy prices in your area, as well as the type of energy and shifts for the future, if you're building that into FIRE plans.)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

eeho

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 120
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Adelaide, Australia
    • Check out my MMM journal - Stubblefaced-aussie-girl-with-a-five-year-deadline-for-fire!
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #25 on: December 21, 2016, 04:52:58 PM »
This is awesomely badass, nice work FIREandMONEY!

bassguitar115

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #26 on: August 24, 2018, 01:35:46 PM »
I'm looking into this now. Any additional tips for getting started? I'm also in Texas.

I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #27 on: August 24, 2018, 02:43:52 PM »
This is amazing.  Way to go.

We don't have provider choice here, so a no go for us.

Are the credits for your house or you as a person, or you as a person in that house? If you move to you lose all this? Does the next person get it? Or could you take it with you elsewhere?  Guess since it is minimal energy it doesn't matter, but wow.

Do you just leave your referall code in all your reviews?  I'd love to let my sister-in-law in on this! They us some random electric company in Texas, so I wonder if she has a referall program.

rivendale

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 102
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #28 on: August 31, 2018, 03:07:25 PM »
Wow, this is awesome. Too bad there's nothing like this here in CA. I'm stuck with the evil empire, SoCal Edison.

Roots&Wings

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1555
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #29 on: September 07, 2018, 07:50:39 AM »
That's a lot of referrals and all it took was literally 15 minutes of work by leaving reviews for the company at places like Better Business Bureau, yelp, Google Reviews, etc. 

Those sites allowed you to leave referral links? Or is there another way that the referral gets tied back to you?

Candace

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 582
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #30 on: September 07, 2018, 08:01:49 AM »
Once in a while there is something completely new-to-me on this site. That's part of why I keep reading. Thanks FireAndMoney!

We live in monopoly-land here in Virginia, but it's excellent to learn about what's possible elsewhere.

Roots&Wings

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1555
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #31 on: November 07, 2018, 06:13:31 AM »
Awesome update, and congrats on the twins! You're well prepared for the increased energy costs :)

Sugaree

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1667
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #32 on: November 11, 2018, 06:38:03 PM »
I'm jealous.  Not only do I not have a choice of electrical suppliers, they don't buy electricity back from solar panels and charge a fee (per kw per month I think) for using solar panels.

Syonyk

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4610
    • Syonyk's Project Blog
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #33 on: November 11, 2018, 08:13:01 PM »
I'm jealous.  Not only do I not have a choice of electrical suppliers, they don't buy electricity back from solar panels and charge a fee (per kw per month I think) for using solar panels.

It's reasonable to charge you something for your use of the grid as your ideal, seasonal (or longer) term battery of perfect behavior.

"I give you a kWh when I find convenient, you give me a kWh when I find convenient, all for free" isn't exactly the sort of thing that keeps power grids functioning long term.  Net metering is a damned amazing deal for homeowners.  If you find a couple bucks a month inconvenient, you can drop quite a few grand on battery banks, and live within your few-day energy budget... you'll probably appreciate the power grid a lot more after doing that for a year or two in most areas.

Salim

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1332
  • Age: 72
  • over the hills
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #34 on: December 14, 2018, 05:06:21 AM »
I’m sorry your electric company’s referral program is ending. At least you are fixed for a good long while.

I’m going to see if our company has a referral program. Thanks so much for posting this.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2018, 05:08:52 AM by Salim »

givemesunshine

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 76
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #35 on: December 18, 2018, 07:18:32 PM »
Sorry to hear your referral program is ending - you inspired me to see if I could do similar and have so far received $450 in gift cards. Thanks for the post and the great work!

tj

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2109
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Orange County CA
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #36 on: June 18, 2019, 02:27:18 PM »
Can't you use Arcadia Power?

Link is in my sig.

Allegedly you get $1k in credits after referring 10 people for a free account.

Cheapskate_McScrooge

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #37 on: July 03, 2019, 07:06:16 AM »
So, it turns out the reason why the program was ending was because the electric company got bought out.  I was worried that my credits were going to go away, but the company sent me my remaining bill credits in a check today. Ended up being around $3500.

Definitely some of the easier money I've made in my life.  I hope to switch over and try this tactic at another electric company.

I'll let you know it goes!

Could you describe the reviews that you submit? My cell phone provider has a referral program and think I might give your strategy a try. Do you say "Here is my referral link"? Or are you more subtle? Also, when your electric company did have a referral program, did you only write a few reviews and leave it or did you have to keep up with them, writing on different sights consistently? Thanks!

A Fella from Stella

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 524
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #38 on: July 18, 2019, 03:16:11 PM »
This is great. What state do you live in?

SteadyDoinIt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 53
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #39 on: July 19, 2019, 08:30:30 AM »
Took this advice and posted on yelp, google reviews, bbb, and my neighborhood fb group. We'll see if it pans out.

PM me if you're in the market, and I'll send my code.

Focus_on_the_fire

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 120
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #40 on: October 05, 2019, 10:25:12 AM »
My electricity bill for the past 12 months totaled negative $14,983, but I had to spend $32,400 on solar panels to make that happen, so I think your way is cheaper.

Of course, I get the smugness bonus from being carbon neutral so that has to count for something, right?

sol, I'm in western WA and I've been interested in solar panels, but I wasn't sure how much converting would cost. If you don't mind me asking, what size/style of house do you have?

looshi

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 7
    • Decade to Decadence
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #41 on: October 06, 2019, 07:16:02 PM »
Can't you use Arcadia Power?

Link is in my sig.

Allegedly you get $1k in credits after referring 10 people for a free account.

I've also been using Arcadia to save on my electric. I'm a big fan of their automatic rate monitoring so I don't have to keep tabs on electric rates.

Since I've started using the referrals I've earned $160 from 6 completed referrals. If anyone else is interested my referral link is www.arcadiapower.com/referral/?promo=kyle2773

Alfred J Quack

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 420
  • Location: Netherlands
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #42 on: October 18, 2019, 09:05:38 AM »
My electricity bill for the past 12 months totaled negative $14,983, but I had to spend $32,400 on solar panels to make that happen, so I think your way is cheaper.

Of course, I get the smugness bonus from being carbon neutral so that has to count for something, right?

Woah, I smell a south-park reference!
I also have 6 solar panels, ánd an energy efficient heat-pump too :P

tj

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2109
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Orange County CA
Re: My Electricity bill is Negative $3000
« Reply #43 on: December 17, 2019, 05:41:36 PM »
Can't you use Arcadia Power?

Link is in my sig.

Allegedly you get $1k in credits after referring 10 people for a free account.

I've also been using Arcadia to save on my electric. I'm a big fan of their automatic rate monitoring so I don't have to keep tabs on electric rates.

Since I've started using the referrals I've earned $160 from 6 completed referrals. If anyone else is interested my referral link is www.arcadiapower.com/referral/?promo=kyle2773

That seems suspicious since you earn $5 per referral.