Estimate a Full Year of Ohio Energy Use From a Few Bills
Ohio energy shopping has two seasons that matter — and they don’t line up for electricity and gas. Electric load often peaks in both winter heating and summer cooling. Gas is overwhelmingly a winter story. Ranking every offer at one “typical month” hides that. Territory pages now let you rebuild a full year from the bills you actually have.
Electric territories
- Open an electric utility page (for example AEP Ohio or AES Ohio).
- Click Estimate full year from partial bills.
- Enter kWh into the correct months. We apply Ohio’s residential electric seasonality (EIA) to fill blanks, then re-rank offers by estimated 12-month supply cost (rate × monthly usage + monthly fee, summed).
- Use each row’s Monthly button for month-by-month $ and cumulative spend — useful when a cheap annual total still has a painful January or July.
If the territory shows a Price to Compare, annual mode also rolls default-rate savings across the same 12 months so you aren’t comparing apples to one mild month.
Gas territories
Same button, different curve. Ohio residential gas consumption (EIA statewide shape) can run on the order of ~10× higher in deep winter than in midsummer. Enter usage in the same unit the table uses (Ccf or MMBtu — match your bill and the rate column). We only use the EIA series for shape, not as your absolute annual total.
Variable / SCO-linked offers still move with the market; the estimator prices the usage path at today’s listed rates. Re-check before you sign if wholesale has moved.
Good inputs, honest limits
- One month works; a winter and a shoulder month work better for electric; for gas, a January or February bill is gold.
- Don’t mis-label months. The math divides your actual by that month’s index.
- Statewide ≠ your furnace efficiency or heat-pump vs gas setup. Level comes from you; shape comes from the curve.
- Intro/promo teasers and early-termination fees are still filters and fine print — annual $ is supply math, not a contract lawyer.
Bottom line
Ohio’s dual-fuel choice rewards people who think in years, not single bills. Enter what you have, let the right fuel curve fill the rest, sort by 12-month cost, then open Monthly on the leaders to see whether the savings fit your cash flow. Pair with Price to Compare and how to switch when you’re ready to act.