Utilities Question? Penn Power, Columbia Gas, Etc.. (Pittsburgh: house, vs)

[RyanR]

For electric, I have Penn Power and have had no complaints. Their rates are fair and they're reliable and quick on service. I think for fixed vs variable, it all pretty much washes out. They wouldn't offer it if it really made a difference in their profits. It's a marketing or "feel good" option. We're a family of 4 in an 3000+ sq/ft all electric house and our bills are pretty constant at around $200/month.

I would take Armstrong over DirecTV any day. Armstrong's customer service is 2nd to none. If you have a problem (which is very rare), they're normally there the same day at no charge. I've heard hundreds of horror stories about Directv's customer service. Their offerings are comparable to any other other TV/phone/internet provider in terms of services provided. What I do like about Armstrong is you're not as locked in as other companies. We've had no problems changing services from month-to-month based on our wants/needs for that period.

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by RyanR

For electric, I have Penn Power and have had no complaints. Their rates are fair and they're reliable and quick on service. I think for fixed vs variable, it all pretty much washes out. They wouldn't offer it if it really made a difference in their profits. It's a marketing or "feel good" option. We're a family of 4 in an 3000+ sq/ft all electric house and our bills are pretty constant at around $200/month.

I would take Armstrong over DirecTV any day. Armstrong's customer service is 2nd to none. If you have a problem (which is very rare), they're normally there the same day at no charge. I've heard hundreds of horror stories about Directv's customer service. Their offerings are comparable to any other other TV/phone/internet provider in terms of services provided. What I do like about Armstrong is you're not as locked in as other companies. We've had no problems changing services from month-to-month based on our wants/needs for that period.

Thank you! Yeah I think the apartments might be all electric, but I would need to look again. I know none of them had gas stoves which is what I'm use to having.

I love DirecTV. I've had no issues with customer service and we've had them 9 years now. They always have deals and come to fix issues of we need them. Maybe we are just lucky. I know I can't get them in the apartments

Armstrong is just cable? Is Zoom there Internet?

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by shadowfax

Variable rates seem like a great idea until we have a winter like 2013/14. I made the mistake of going with a variable rate company. My electric bill went from about $30 a month in August to $90 a month in December to over $400 for the months of Jan and Feb. Some people ended up with bills over $1000 for One month.

Stick with a fixed rate company, preferably one with no contract. Yes it might cost a little more at first but you have the option to change companies if they suddenly jack up their rates.

Oh wow that is a huge increase and you never know how the winter will be. Looks like fixed is the way to go. When I was looking last night I had never seen so many choices. It was a lot.

The advice has been great

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Armstrong is just cable? Is Zoom there Internet?

Armstrong is the name of the company. Zoom (xxx@zoominternet.net) is the name for their internet service.

Since you mentioned apartment, are you allowed to pick your own electric provider (any landlord rules?)? At minimum, you'll need to make sure you have your own meter.

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Armstrong is the name of the company. Zoom (xxx@zoominternet.net) is the name for their internet service.

Since you mentioned apartment, are you allowed to pick your own electric provider (any landlord rules?)? At minimum, you'll need to make sure you have your own meter.

The one I am really looking into they said you can. The leasing office lady was the one who told me about the options to choose. She told me to make sure I always read the fine print though if I pick a company that isn't Penn Power.

The one I am looking at I know has a deal with Armstrong and they pay for it. She said if I wanted a different speed or more channels than they bill me the difference.

[RyanR]

If you don't spend a lot of time on an Xbox, their standard speed and data is fine for most. We used to have extra channels but switched to Netflix and Amazon Prime instead.

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by RyanR

If you don't spend a lot of time on an Xbox, their standard speed and data is fine for most. We used to have extra channels but switched to Netflix and Amazon Prime instead.

I don't use Xbox. What is the standard? We use to have Verizon DSL before e switched to Comcast and I know with DSL we couldn't go anything. I have Netflix now and I might add Hulu or something as long as the Internet can handle it.

Thanks for the advice.

[RyanR]

Here's a page with their internet options.
Armstrong Zoom Internet Service Levels

I believe their standard household service option is "Zoom".

We run Zoom III but I think that's more for the monthly data allowance than the speed. I think the standard Zoom allows 150G/month. Zoom III gives us 500G/month and since my son has an Xbox, we burn through all of that.

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Here's a page with their internet options.
Armstrong Zoom Internet Service Levels

I believe their standard household service option is "Zoom".

We run Zoom III but I think that's more for the monthly data allowance than the speed. I think the standard Zoom allows 150G/month. Zoom III gives us 500G/month and since my son has an Xbox, we burn through all of that.

Data allowance like how Verizon has data for phones? Oh. Comcast here isn't one of the states that does data allowances. I just know we have a speed. That's interesting.

[RyanR]

Yes on the data allowances. Watching Armstrong TV doesn't count but your internet usage (including streaming video) has an allowance. Unless you're running a Xbox or some other data heavy internet application, it's normally not an issue for a household.

From their site:
Typical Usage by Account Type: Residential: 79 GB, Business: 95 GB