Why am I interested in going offgrid even though I live in the city?
My income is $1,419 per month on social security.
My electric bill averages $650 per month because I’m on average billing because of the wild swings as shown in the electric.
This is not sustainable and I expect the bill to grow substantially with what is happening in the global economy.
I asked claude to help me analyze my electic bill for the last year and this is what he came up with.
Here’s what your actual electricity usage would have cost each month without the Average Monthly Billing program, based on the “Current Charges” on each bill:
| Billing Period | kWh Used | Actual Charges |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 22 – May 21, 2025 | 2,352 | $323.08 |
| May 21 – Jun 20, 2025 | 3,136 | $429.68 |
| Jun 20 – Jul 22, 2025 | 3,164 | $546.35 |
| Jul 22 – Aug 20, 2025 | 3,123 | $544.25 |
| Aug 20 – Sep 19, 2025 | 2,860 | $517.93 |
| Sep 19 – Oct 20, 2025 | 2,718 | $492.13 |
| Oct 20 – Nov 18, 2025 | 2,411 | $436.91 |
| Nov 18 – Dec 19, 2025 | 3,873 | $699.88 |
| Dec 19, 2025 – Jan 22, 2026 | 4,676 | $844.31 |
| Jan 22 – Feb 20, 2026 | 4,366 | $788.55 |
| Feb 20 – Mar 23, 2026 | 2,191 | $391.71 |
| Mar 23 – Apr 22, 2026 | 1,757 | $314.76 |
A few things stand out: your winter months (Dec–Feb) are by far your heaviest usage, with the Jan 2026 period hitting 4,676 kWh and $844. Spring is your lowest usage period. The Average Monthly Billing plan smooths out those peaks by spreading the cost more evenly, which is why you’ve been paying roughly $536–$603/month instead of swinging between ~$315 and ~$844.