In the kingdom of Deregulation, citizens are faced with many options for electric service to power their cottages and castles. Everyone needs electricity. How else to pop thy popcorn, or cool thy ale?
Here enter the other electric providers. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll refer to them collectively as “The Sheriff of Nottingham.”
Now, the other providers are by no means evil. They just really, really like money. Specifically yours.
“Thou needs electricity?” asks the Sheriff. “Forsooth, thou must put thee forth a deposit! Hand over thy fattest bag of gold, or thou wilt remain powerless.”
Yes, the citizens of Deregulation must pay a hefty deposit to start service. As the Sheriff deals with many scalawags and hooligans, perhaps we may understand why they ask for so much up front.
The days pass as your pay your monthly electric bill. Deciding to be frugal, you do your best to get the lowest electric bill. You are very careful to turn your air conditioner very low, wash clothes only once a month, and
maybe even use those swirly lightbulbs. While the Californians applaud thy earth-friendliness, the Sheriff is not so happy when he sees your usage.
“What? Thou only used three hundred and twenty hours of kilowatts? Fie! Thou shalt pay an extra sixpence and a haypenny on thy normal rate.”
Stunned, you ask him why your rate has gone up for using so little.
“Bubble and squeak! Art thou so foolish? Didst thou not read the fine print of thy contract?”
No, you did not, you reply.
“Electric providers slightly raise their rates if you use under the allotted amount of kilowatts. This has always been the case, wastrel! Now pay thy sixpence and haypennys, or out you go.”
As you may remember, the other providers, er, the Sheriff, really like money. Specifically yours. When you use very little electricity, they get less money. So they charge a higher rate. Yes, all of them.
True, everyone in the kingdom of Deregulation must also pay taxes and fees on electricity. These fees make your “average price per kWh” higher than the rate you signed up for, but it does not mean your rate changes. You simply have to pay for fees the providers incur. That’s not so bad.
Charging a higher rate when you conserve energy, however, is a bit shambly. Does this seem right? Hardly so! That’s when BearBills enters in.
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll call BearBills “Robin Hood the Bold Defender of Citizens Who Desire Straightforward Electricity.” Perhaps our artist drew the biceps too small.
BearBills, er, Robin Hood, decided that customers didn’t need to deal with such a large deposit. After all, electricity can be expensive, especially when you’re trying to heat a castle (or tiled apartment with tall ceilings) in winter. So BearBills partnered with a provider who would waive starting deposits for BearBills customers. These citizens using BearBills now pay nothing toward electricity until their first bill!
BearBills also set a rate that won’t change based on usage. Whether you own a peasant’s cottage or a castle in the clouds, when you sign up with BearBills and get locked into a rate, that rate is what you pay no matter how much you use. Of course, everyone must pay taxes and fees in the kingdom of Deregulation. But it is only the BearBills customers who get a fair rate that will never go up or down once they sign up.
And the disgruntled Sheriff mutters and scowls, taking another uneasy pinch of snuff.
[Disclaimer: this is only a humorous story to help customers understand how BearBills electricity works. It is not intended to be a full representation of BearBills service or other electric providers. For more information about BearBills' electric rate and the benefits of using BearBills, please e-mail info@bearbills.com]
