r/saskatchewan • u/HarbourJayKay • 4d ago
Equalized Payment Plans
Historically my “settle up” month has been August for both SaskEnergy and SaskPower.
My bill for SaskEnergy shows that I have paid $150 more than my actual use. My bill for SaskPower shows that I have paid $78 more than my actual use.
Both are asking me to make a monthly payment for August (in the past I would get a “bye” month and not have to make a payment”.
Both indicate that I will have a slightly lower payment next year.
Do people not on the EPP find large fluctuations in their payment amounts? I’m thinking of stopping the EPP, because why overpay and let them make interest on my payment when I have a credit balance.
Thank you!
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u/rocky_balbiotite 4d ago
I'm not on EPP and yeah my bills fluctuate based on use. Gas is low in the summer and high in the winter.
What's the appeal of an EPP? Predictability month to month?
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u/HarbourJayKay 4d ago
Yes, I pay the same amount each month and then usually get a free month. I’m in a credit situation this month but they aren’t “settling up” like they usually do in August.
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u/jenna_kay 4d ago
Call them & find out why the credit isn't being applied; I worked at SKPower years ago & you're correct, you should have a bill-free month.
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u/prairiefiresk 4d ago
Im not on EPP and I do tend to have large fluctuations between the estimated and actual reads. These happen every 3ish months so they aren't huge. And I equalize my own payments but setting an auto-payment with my bank that is a bit more than my average monthly bill. So I always have a credit with Saskpower.
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u/WhyDidIReply 3d ago
I got up to $1200 in credit with saskenergy using epp...
About 6mo ago they sent me a letter that I dont have to pay them until the balance is used up.
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u/houseonpost 4d ago
How much interest will you earn? I view it as a first world problem. I actually enjoy the odd free month.
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u/HarbourJayKay 4d ago
That’s what I’m saying though, I usually get my free month in August. And even though I have credit balances, they are asking for a payment but lowering my payments going forward. I don’t know why it’s different this year.
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u/LowIncident694 4d ago
Are you sure your settle up month is actually August?
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u/erpatel 4d ago
Cash crunch? I would be worried about that too lol
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u/HarbourJayKay 4d ago
It’s more of a “if I keep paying you the credit just gets bigger so am I helping you out or helping me out?”
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u/jumping_juni_per 4d ago
Are you reading your bill correctly? Both settle up... they don't add that credit to next year. You will have lower bills because the system estimates your monthly bills by what you paid previously. If you ended this year with a credit, then they would lower your bills next year to match closer to actual usage.
If your bill is showing a credit, you don't owe anything
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u/HarbourJayKay 4d ago
My bill is showing a credit but they are still asking for the monthly EPP payment. In the past I got a “bye” month to account for the credit.
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u/Crazy-Canuck463 4d ago
My fluctuations with saskpwr are huge. For some reason this spring, in March I used like 580kwh. And in May I nearly used 1200. I still have no idea why.
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u/j_man_32 4d ago
My parents used to be on EPP they 2 years in a row where they were stuck with settle ups around $1000 in January, I can’t remember if it was gas or power or maybe both.
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u/Humble-Area4616 4d ago
People hate it when this happens, but this is literally what you want. It's like at tax time, everyone always wants a refund, but that literally means that you gave the government a tax free loan throughout the year.
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u/Historical_Fly_880 4d ago
I paid out almost exactly the correct amount, 12 dollars short. So they upped my payment 15 per month. If everything remains the same I'll have 2 months free next year. I'm thinking they treat this like an interest free loan.
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u/king_weenus 4d ago
My gas bill is about 30 bucks a month in summer and 150 bucks in winter... 1500 square foot house with a heated two car garage... No gas appliances except the water heater. It's just me and my 15 year old and occasionally my other two kids come home for the weekend.
My electric bill is a little harder to nail down... I have a hot tub but I'll shut down for the coldest part of winter because I just won't use it in -40 and it costs like $150 a month at that temperature.
I drive an electric car and that adds another hundred to $150 a month because I drive 5000 km each month.
But I also have solar so that offsets things in the summer and not so much in the winter. I also do not have air conditioning.
My electric bill runs me about a hundred bucks a month in the summer and upwards of 300 bucks a month in the winter.
I should mention that both my electric and my gas are smart meters so my usage is updated hourly and my billing are always up to date. I never get estimates anymore.
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u/MapOne1746 4d ago
Stay on EPP with energy. If you over paid they will lower your EPP. However, with gas you'll always accumulate a credit going into the winter months. It helps offset the higher winter months. There is no "catch up bill" with energy. They just adjust your EPP if needed.
Saskpower there ARE catch up bills. I've had them 3 times. I personally went off EPP for 2 years to let my usage "reset". And went back on. My catch up bill was under $1.
Even if it shows credits. Still make your payments. And as always, years will fluctuate depending on environmental changes (colder winters, shorter winters, etc) for energy.
To add. I work for energy. And if the bill shows a credit on your EPP balance thats an EPP credit. Not an overpayment credit. If the balance owing at the bottom in the blue box is blank. You don't have to pay. If it shows a fee, say $80 (if thats your EPP) then you pay.
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u/MapOne1746 4d ago
You can send me a screenshot of your bill if you want and I can help explain a bit better. You can crop all your personal information
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u/BobLoblawwwwww 4d ago
With SaskPower they either send you a cheque, or a bill on your settle up month. Saskenergy rolls your overusage or underusage by increasing or lowering your EPPthe next year. You'll always have a monthly bill for each.
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u/HowardandStella 3d ago
Yes I noticed this as well. My settle up month is November and last year, I had a substantial amount in my favor but had to make the payment and then my monthly charge was lowered.
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u/Aggravating-Access91 3d ago
For our family, we moved into a new place where the previous owners kept a garage out back heated. The garage is not insulated very well/has some major gaps in insulation and was running the entire time we were going through the buying process. When we purchased we were in the equalized payments route however we noticed they were charging us more than 100 over what our actual usage was (even in winter) so we have since taken ourselves out of the program because we do not want to have another 800 dollar plus surplus with Sask energy. Personally would rather just pay for what you actually use. It’s also a good way to learn if something is going wrong/a leak or a problem. If suddenly your bill goes up by 50 dollars in a month you stop and ask hey why. Whereas on an equalized payment we never really looked. Just my two cents.
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u/THIESN123 Hello 3d ago
We bought our current house in Oct 2023.
The previous owner had 100$ a month EPP for saskenergy. So we kept it the same.
House has a natural gas furnace and gas in demand water heater.
In sept of 2024 we added solar and a air sourced heat pump.
In early 2024 we got notice that our saskenergy EPP is being reduced to 50$ a month and we had over 300$ in credits.
We are still around 300$ in credits and have never had a free month
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u/HarbourJayKay 1d ago
That’s ridiculous that they have continued to make you pay with a credit of that size. But thanks for the info! Perhaps it’s a practice they have discontinued.
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u/EasilyDarcy 4d ago
I created my own EPP because when I went to do the actual one it was more than what my bills were when I wasn’t on EPP. Now I have $400 credit, so I can save a couple bucks on bills when I need to.
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u/Humble-Area4616 4d ago
Go look at your bills and see what your own fluctuations will be, the actual amount for each month is listed in your account.