Help understanding CMP options to create a long term plan to reduce bill.

Submitted by BillDStrong t3_10ne8li in Maine

Honestly, I have spent all day looking at the different plans CMP offers, trying to find something that works better than the 700 bill I got this month, and while I can find the rate per KW/h, I can't seem to find how to estimate the cost of the distribution for usage or whatever metric they charge by.

Since this is literally what they claim they do, it is got to be deliberate on their part.

Since this is a significant part of the bill, I am finding it hard to know if the New Electronic plan or the TOU plan will really save any money.

Is there some Youtube video maybe that describes the situation here in Maine better? I am really not having success hunting down documentation that will allow me to create a spreadsheet to plug in my usage to compare.

Or if anyone knows of an accurate app that does this, I would appreciate it.

I have been researching solar for more than a month to try and figure a better long term solution, but I am not really finding the tooling I hoped to figure out a good plan of action.

I really don't want to deal with salesmen at the solar companies just so I can get these estimates when I could do them myself if I just had the correct info or the right search phrase to get what I am looking for.

Thanks for any help.

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metalandmeeples t1_j68pguu wrote

$700 is likely over 2500kWh for the month which is about 4x what the average home in Maine uses according to CMP. Do you have electric heat?

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Moot_n_aboot t1_j694cao wrote

I’m wondering if it’s heatpump only heat, older hot water heater and heavy hot water usage or possibly electric space heaters. I charge an electric car and work from home and use 1/3 that amount of electricity.

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BillDStrong OP t1_j69kamd wrote

I don't, currently, have a heat pump. The house is a 2 story with a partial attic, built in the early 1900's, with 24' by 80'.

It is partially heated by oil, with the second floor unused and only enough electric heat their to prevent pipes from freezing.

Their are 4 people living in the house, with 2 living in the portion with oil heat, 2 living in a portion about 24' by 10' heated by electric heat, and an electric stove/oven to cook with.

Last month's usage was 2777kwh. I am looking into getting a heat pump for the place, but as it is such a big house, with much of it unused, sizing it correctly is fun to say the least.

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[deleted] t1_j689cng wrote

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BillDStrong OP t1_j69lpec wrote

Going by your second edit's breakeven formula, I would save over 800 a year on the ET plan.

The TOU plan seems custom made for solar installs, especially with batteries. With solar providing a large part of usage during the day and charging the batteries while the batteries are charged at night to shift the price.

I just don't see hoe that rate is better than the ET rate, unless the distribution is calculated differently.

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[deleted] t1_j69yxsl wrote

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BillDStrong OP t1_j6a5udp wrote

So I posted earlier numbers based on calcs from 2021-2022, which was 31,521KW/h. For the 2022-2023 year, the total is 19,318KW/h. That would save about 417.58 over a year at that rate. Not quite as good, but better than nothing.

There were 7-8 people living in the house during the earlier time period, which is why usage was so high.

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[deleted] t1_j69y0xk wrote

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BillDStrong OP t1_j6a6zl9 wrote

I know, I am talking about the TOU plan offered, not the seasonal, which is why I called it the TOU plan.

It is .13KW/h during peak and shoulder times and .06 during off-peak and weekends. Off-peak is 8pm to 7am, so 11 hours.

I just don't see that plan being better than ET that is at the lower rate all the time.

Adding a Heat Pump to my current set-up vs oil to go for the HP plan would increase my usage because I would be heating parts of the house I currently don't. Unless I just heat the back area that is currently heated with electric, which I don't think is good long term but may be worth it for that rate during winter.

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[deleted] t1_j6aa4tu wrote

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BillDStrong OP t1_j6ajh84 wrote

Well, it has been around for a few years so you can see a history of its changes and price increases, where we don't know for sure these new rates will stick around for any length of time, or if pricing will be worth it in year or 2.

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New_Sun6390 t1_j68cdye wrote

The simplest way to lower your electric bill is to use less electricity.

Additionally, if you are referencing the new rate option for CMP customers with heat pumps, the utility has an on-line calculator that might help. Sorry for the long url.

TOU rates generally don't work for most customers. They just don't. https://www.cmpco.com/wps/portal/cmp/account/understandyourbill/newseasonalheatpumprate/!ut/p/z1/vZPLboMwEEW_pQuWyCYQIEuCKCgK5EkAb5DLK0TBEDBJ-vc1VdKHKkpVVfVu5DvjM3fGAAEfIILPeYZpXhJ8ZHGA5FAUbMOSdOiotjSBK0mcu6a5g48TEXifBYvNTGQCydhagikKMwWgn-TDnqPBofwdQABFhFZ0D4KoqHBWh-8dcHCf4DipOYijqGwJ5WBLWNxQTOLnsq2f8uORgyS5NAluuo6ZnlZtUdWYJl3pKspjEEBFwVAepTwc45iXsIJ5PEpTXpZTIVYiIWWXndrT7dCcL6baPNQXztbwtyDgoG4vNXMdOh-wrBuWdsdy37AChjV9xXIMb3PDYnq6vGN5Q0NB31vqdagDUxuqETAGpY9hJ7HBnvPkAlxS1gXbo83vvFy5xpq99D-2WhDMhtaN_Yf8cDohjS1dSWhypcD_661jb4xqW7cz5himez4naQn8rxWA31ehKly3UMWC9-FhnBXqlTc9tdEeXgDPPWTR/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=%2FCMPAGR_Navigation%2FHeader%2FAccount%2FUnderstandYourBill%2FNEWSeasonalHeatPumprate

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BillDStrong OP t1_j69m7ul wrote

Thanks for this. The TOU rates look like they would mostly work for solar installs with a battery to help shift energy use time.

This calculator doesn't include distribution/taxes, unfortunately.

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mcot2222 t1_j68cqjb wrote

Install a sense device in your panel. https://sense.com/

This will give you very detailed data on kWh usage down to the minute. It will also be able to detect things that are using a lot of power. Start there to reduce your bill… shut things off if you can.

Secondly this device will give you enough data to know if TOU plans will save you meaningful amounts of money and it will give you the data you need to provide to a solar company. CMP rates for the various plans are all published online. Make a spreadsheet of your own and calculate the bill or use the effciency maine website calculator once you know your kWh usage and the time of day you are using power. If you have a heat pump you also can get a special rate, you might want a second sense or another device to monitor only your heat pump circuit as they are variable and hard for the sense to pick up when it’s monitoring your main supply only.

https://www.efficiencymaine.com/cmp-rate-calculator/

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