I figured there are already clocks everywhere- there's one on the battery operated programmable thermostat, one on the computer, I have one of those atomic clocks, the phone in my pocket, etc. As far as power strip effort goes, I'm already there to
manually open the door and program the cook time and power!
You are correct that the service fee is greater than the amount I pay for the actual electricity. Much of the year the same is true of my natural gas utility.
That could be fixed if these Midwestern dullards would adopt progressive billing like PG&E. I stay on the grid, though, because I have a well pump to run and I don't want to come up with an alternate method. I don't want to really invest in this place because I should get outta here (right- been saying that for 15 years).