Some plans bake a recurring “autopay & paperless” credit into the advertised average, or bundle a “free” smart thermostat whose cost is recovered through a higher energy rate. Both make the headline price look lower than the rate you actually pay.
Real example — Watt a Deal 12. Its $5.00/mo autopay-and-paperless credit is included in the advertised price — but it’s conditional: opt out, lose a valid email, or let an autopay invoice go overdue and the credit vanishes, quietly raising your rate. A gift you can forfeit isn’t a discount.
Read the credit’s conditions. If keeping it depends on never slipping up, price the plan without it.