The way the ultilties work are all seperate companies.I think after a year you can ask to be put on a budget plan for the electric,I think the gas too,but I only have the furnace that runs on gas so the only time I have high bills is maybe 3 months,depends how cold the winter is.the water bill unbelievably is the least expensive(go figure) and the city just started charging about 5 years ago for garbage pick up,I guess it use to be free in city limits.But you are right solar power is the way to go,we have on average 350 days of sunshine every year