As someone who has only wrote checks to the permanent roommates I honestly had no idea about bills. So first things first is determining which companies provide utilities in the area.
1. You can probably ask co-workers who live nearby. Beware that even within a city there can be different electricity providers.
2. Apply for service through company website. We have Duke Energy for electricity and Orange County Florida Utilities for water. I had to fill out a few forms online that ask me the address and start date of the service.
3. Prepare yourself for deposits. Call for clarification. So one expense I never accounted for was deposits for utilities. Freakin' Duke Energy wanted a $275 deposit in cash. It was shady. They wanted me to bring cash to an AMSCOT to pay this deposit before they started services. Really now!? AMSCOTS charge a fee for transfers and usually are not located in good areas. I ended up calling them and flat out refusing to go to a cash place like that. I definitely remember telling the woman, "Look I'm trying to give you money. I really don't have a choice. Please take it." They charged me a fee on top of the fee for transaction. Talk about nickle and diming, but what else can you do. You can't turn on a TV using candles. The water company was a little bit more reasonable with their deposit, which was just added to my first bill. I just highly doubt that these companies physically send someone to turn on/off their service.
4. Start your utilities either a day after closing or a few days. It's Florida, when things sit for too long it gets hot and because it rains all the time hot, wet, sun = mold.
5. If you're not moving in quickly, once those utilities are on make sure you turn off the lights. Shouldn't waste it if you don't have to.
6. First bill will come in the mail around the end of the month. I like to pay bills online because it's faster. Save money on postage and saves trees by being paperless.
Story time: I paid my electric bill twice. I tried to pay online through the Duke Energy site. Being a company that clearly doesn't care about user experience, they tried to accept my payment. For whatever reason, the payment didn't go through. Did they email me. No of course not. Being paranoid I checked a little bit later. I freaked then tried to send the money via Suntrust. That went through, but then so did the original payment I tried to make.
Yes I know what you're saying...this would never have happen if you paid with a check. NO! I refuse. Ain't no body got time for checks and mailing things. Stamps are a pain in the butt. So I ended up calling the company and they assured me that the extra payment would come as a credit on my future bill. Fine. We shall see. If I had to pick a villain in the story of life it's going to be this energy company.
I also feel like water should be free. That's just me being an idealist. It falls from the sky and then is cleaned by the Earth. Give me free clean water. By the way, the water in Orlando smells horrible. I cannot imagine drinking tap water without a filter. Ew. I am starting to understand why people choose to live off the grid. Whenever new roommate and I move to a freestanding house I'm going to look for solar panels. I'm tired of giving money to the man.
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