Many customers pay higher electric or gas bills, depending on the season, but you don’t have to. UniSource’s Budget Billing program lets you make the same monthly payment year round so you don’t have to sweat unanticipated expenses.

Budget Billing divides the cost of your estimated annual usage into 12 equal payments, with periodic adjustments if your usage varies. One customer shares why she signed up for Budget Billing and how it cools down her summer electric bills:

Patty Molina previously didn’t think much about fluctuations in her electric bill at her three-bedroom Rio Rico house. “We just managed it,” Molina said.

But when her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2014 car accident and their household went down to one income, Molina was forced to carefully examine all of their expenses.

Worried about paying her electric bill, especially with a brand-new HVAC unit, she called UniSource for help. That’s when she found out about Budget Billing. Molina immediately signed up. It was a dramatic difference.

“I knew exactly what I needed to set aside for that bill. That’s what made it easy. There were no surprises,” Molina said.

In addition to Budget Billing, Molina and her three daughters – who were ages 15, 13, and 9 at the time – took extra steps to manage electric bills. “We don’t go crazy with the AC. I maintain it at 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter. We have ceiling fans in every room and that helps,” Molina said.

Molina’s positive experience with Budget Billing has led her to suggest it to others. She recently shared information about the program with a coworker, a single mom with three children who was struggling with her electric bills.

“My advice to others is, if you don’t have it and think it would be helpful, it’s worth signing up,” Molina said.

Ready to sign up? Find more information about Budget Billing and join now.