Outrageous electric bill help

Just got my most recent electric bill and it totals $359. My house is heated by electricity, but this is an insane bill for an 800-square-foot house. We've been here a year and usually pay around $125-$150/month. At no point has the bill been higher than $208. I can't figure out why it's so high (even higher than during Christmas when the tree was lit).

I want to dispute this bill, but I'm pretty sure they're just going to say, "Well, that's what you used."

Anybody know where I can find a listing of daily temperatures for 2010 and 2011? I want to compare temps to last year because I don't think it's been so much colder this year that my bill would be $150 higher than the same period last year.

 

Do you live in an area that just installed the so-called SmartMeters? PG&E just did that in California and it has become legalized swindling. Thousands of people are experiencing what you're describing, and PG&E has so far been able to say "fuck you, we're right." Of course, they're trying to dig out from the gas pipe that just exploded south of S.F., killing people and destroying homes, so neither they nor the state regulators have much concern right now for actual consumers.

 

I'm in the Northeast ... no clue about SmartMeters.

 

Teh Google from 2009:

http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/10/26/daily20-Five-New-England-states-land-226M-for-smart-meters.html

At least 832,000 smart meters will be installed across New England as a part of smart grid projects receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant funding.

 

Call and find out of they did an actual reading or an estimate. Last year I got a bill that was close to $1000, more than double the usual bill. Turns out if they can't read the meter, they estimate. Took me a couple months to work it out, but finally resolved it.

 

Good advice, 21 ... there's a good chance with all this snow that they couldn't read it.

 

Check to make sure your hot water heater is functioning properly. A bad element means the others have to work overtime.

 

I had one bill estimated last year. When the electric company read the meter the next month, the bill was fixed.

 

Jeebus, how big is your house?

 

If you know where your meter is, check what the reading says. Compare it to what's on the bill. If the figure on the bill is out of whack then call and complain. I did that last year with one of my PSE&G bills and the issue was resolved in the form of a big credit to me on the following month's bill after I paid the incorrect estimated bill in full.

Here in NJ, with PSE&G, on the bill they show you the previous year's useage and the average temperature for the month the previous year and the current year so you can compare.

 

Look for long extension cords running from your outdoor outlets back to neighbors' houses.

 

We live in a 1-BR house and last month's bill was $350. Most of that was due, I think, to the auxiliary heat kicking on all the time. We've since bought an electric fireplace which allows us to keep the heat lower and, for the most part, has prevented the auxiliary from kicking on. But I'm avoiding the mailbox this week.