Ameren offers a plan that meters the electricity hour by hour.  The rates for basic use changes every hour, every day.  I can look up the rates on the internet to find the best time to use electricity, if I have a choice. https://www2.ameren.com/RetailEnergy/realtimeprices.aspx


Yes, there are a host of other charges as well, like taxes and delivery fees.  The basic meter fee with REA depends on the size of the transformer, consistant for a building that may not use electricity all the time, or a grain bin setup that only uses it during dryer season and when unloading grain.


I do remember when we did not have electricity, when I think of those days, the large bills I sometime pay seems cheap.  Also remember what it cost to run the generator for a week during an ice storm, and again it seems cheap.  We really get a lot of bang for the buck in our electricity, even as hard as it is getting to pay every month.