Learn / MeterMiser tutorial

Get the most from MeterMiser

MeterMiser works best when three things are true: your accounts are set up with real numbers from your bills, you act on the pick when it's worth it, and you keep your info current so the watching stays accurate. This tutorial walks through all of it, with example screens to match against what you see. Ten minutes, start to finish, with a bill in hand.

1. 1

   Start your Standard account

   Create your account, then choose Standard — $3/mo, billed annually ($36/yr). Standard is the tier that shows you which plan we'd pick and watches the market for you every day; the free tier shows only the savings amount. Claimed a gift link instead? You already have Standard for a year — skip to step 2.

   In the app, look for: the Upgrade button on your dashboard, or the plan picker right after signup.

2. 2

   Add your electric AND gas accounts

   The fastest way: snap a photo of your bill and the scanner pre-fills your supplier, rate, and usage — you review every value before it saves. Or type it in yourself. Add both fuels if you have both: they're shopped separately in Ohio, and gas is where many households have never once checked.

   Never picked a supplier? Leave the rate blank and we benchmark you against your utility's current default price (the Price to Compare) from PUCO data.

   Add accountExample

   Utility type

   Electric

   Utility company

   Your utility (from your bill)

   Current supplier

   Example Energy Co. — or blank if you never picked one

   Current rate

   $0.0812 / kWh

   Bill guide step 3 shows where to find it

   Yearly usage

   10,400 kWh

   The 12-month total from your bill's usage chart

   Contract end date

   2027-03-31

   Powers your renewal reminder

   Guides: electric bill · gas bill

3. 3

   Use your real yearly usage

   Your bill's 12-month usage total is the single most valuable number you can give us. Plans with monthly fees look cheap at high usage and expensive at low usage — the math flips depending on your number. With your real usage in, every dollar figure you see is computed for your home, not an average one.

   In the app, look for: the yearly usage field on each account — the bill scanner fills it from the usage chart when it can.

4. 4

   Read your pick like a pro

   Your dashboard shows the best qualifying plan for each account. Every plan we'll ever recommend passes the same four rules — fixed rate (not a teaser), $0 monthly fee, $0 early-termination fee, and a term of at least 3 months — and the savings figure is your usage times the rate difference, rounded down. If two plans cost the same, we pick the longer term so you're protected longer.

   Dashboard — savings cardExample

   Your best qualifying plan — Electric

   Save at least $164/yr

   Example Energy Co.

   $0.0655 / kWh

   Fixed rate$0 monthly fee$0 early-termination fee12-month term

   Switch and save →Compare offers ▾

   vs. your rate at your usage · rounded down · rates change daily

   Seeing "nothing qualifying beats your current rate" instead? That's a good place to be — we keep watching daily and tell you the moment it changes.

5. 5

   Switch safely when the pick is worth it

   MeterMiser never switches you — you enroll with the supplier, so nobody can slam your account. Before you do, run the checklist: does your current contract have an exit fee? Are you in a city aggregation you'd lose? Then enroll on the supplier's site with your utility account number. The switch takes 1–2 billing cycles, nothing turns off, and the wires-and-delivery side of your bill doesn't change.

   In the app, look for: the Switch and save button on each fuel card — clicking it opens the before-you-switch checklist, which walks these questions in order.

6. 6

   After you switch, update your account — the step everyone forgets

   When the new supplier shows up on your bill, come back and update the account: new supplier, new rate, new contract end date. This is what keeps everything downstream honest — your savings math compares against what you actually pay now, and your renewal reminder fires before the new contract ends instead of never.

   Edit account — after switchingExample

   Current supplier

   Example Energy Co. (new!)

   Current rate

   $0.0655 / kWh (new!)

   Contract end date

   2027-08-31 (new!)

   Reminder

   60 days before the contract ends

   We'll nudge you before renewal, not after

7. 7

   Tune your alerts, then let the watch work

   Rates refresh every day from PUCO data. With Standard, each account has an alert switch and an advanced menu: set the smallest savings worth hearing about, and block term lengths you'd never sign. Then let it run — you'll get at most one cheaper-plan alert per account every two weeks, never for teaser rates, and a reminder ahead of your contract's end date.

   Account — alert settingsExample

   Rate alerts for this accountON

   Only alert me for savings of at least

   $25 / yr

   Your bar — start low, raise it if alerts feel small

   Never offer me these terms

   1 month · 36 months

   Block lengths you'd never sign

   What an alert looks likeExample

   MeterMiser: A better electric plan just showed up — save about $86/yr

   Example Power LLC is offering a fixed 9-month plan with no monthly fee and no early-termination fee that beats your current rate by about $86/yr at your usage.

   You'll never get one of these for teaser rates — and at most one every two weeks per account.

Every utility arranges its bill a little differently — the sample above is a teaching diagram, not any company's actual bill. The pieces shown are on yours, even if they're in different spots or use slightly different words. This guide is general information, not financial advice; always confirm rates and terms with a supplier before signing anything.