Cutting down on electricity use

In the post-Pepco overbilling fury, I decided that even though we aren't excessive users of energy (compared to other non-Amish Americans) I don't really want a single unnecessary cent of my money lining the pockets of Pepco's execs. So this involves some decisions about what is necessary. Clean clothes = necessary. Because I use cloth diapers this necessitates use of the dryer more than I'd like as they take forever to line dry and when it is humid they do not dry at all. Running a dryer load of only cloth diapers is wasteful, so other clothes get thrown in too. Necessary evil for us. Hot meals = necessary. As healthy as an all raw diet may be, it simply won't work for our family. So use of the refrigerator and stove/oven are also necessities. Some cooling of the house when it tops 80 outside? Necessary luxury. How we cool it and how much we cool it leaves a lot of wiggle room though. Ceiling fans and oscillating fans combined with opening windows for cool morning and night air seems to be doing the trick pretty well. Is it warmer than ideal for me? Sure, but I'm willing to tolerate 5 degrees hotter in the house to avoid turning the AC on. If you turn on your AC and go watch your meter spin, you'll find a really strong visual motivator to turn it off if you can bear it. I'm now checking my meter regularly to monitor use. I'm trying to cut back whenever possible.

Also, another option to stop putting extra money in the Pepco coffers is to go with an alternate supplier. Yes, you still have to pay Pepco for delivery, and yes, this is annoying in the extreme, but the delivery rate is not what kills you on the bill. We are going with Clean Currents now and getting wind generated electric. You have to do it in 1 or 2 year contracts, so make sure you read the fine print. It's not a good move if you are planning to move out of state. But you lock in a rate that right now is a full 1.5 cents lower than the current Pepco rate. That's 10% less you'd spend than if you use the SOS through Pepco.

I'll try to keep tabs on the meter and keep posting about how much of a dent we can put in our use. This wasn't the primary issue for our huge bill, that was just Pepco lying about our meter read, but I'm angry enough that trying to cut down on use to keep from paying Pepco any more money than I absolutely have to seems appealing.