Outrageous electric bill help

[bigpern23]

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.

 

[LongTimeListener]

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 "**** 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.

 

[bigpern23]

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

 

[LongTimeListener]

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.

 

[21]

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.

 

[bigpern23]

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

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

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

 

[Stitch]

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

 

[imjustagirl]

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.

Jeebus, how big is your house?

 

[EStreetJoe]

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.

 

[old_tony]

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

 

[YGBFKM]

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.

 

[TwoGloves]

Look for long extension cords running from your outdoor outlets back to neighbor's grow house.

Fixed!

 

[BTExpress]

SmartMeters were installed in our neighborhood a few months ago.

December electric bill was $240, about $90 higher than any previous bill since I had this house built in 1996.

January's was back to normal . . . $64.

I did read somewhere that heating takes about 3 times as much energy as cooling.

 

[Batman]

Might seem silly, but it could be a simple answer since the bill is twice the normal amount ... did they bill you for two months? Could be an accounting error or maybe they were late reading the meter one month and tried to pull a 2-for-1.

 

[HeinekenMan]

If you've been there for one year, your first bill was for February, which only has 28 days. You're probably looking at a January bill for 31 days. Plus, January is often colder than February. Plus, a lot of power companies have increased rates since last year. You also might have been setting the temperature for warmer than last year. A few degrees can make a big difference. The home also might have developed some leaks or maybe you forgot to close the storm windows. If you ask, the power company will tell what was charged for the same time period last year. Even if you weren't living there at the time.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Look for long extension cords running from your outdoor outlets back to neighbor's grow house.

Fixed!

I know TwoGloves is joking (not sure about o_t), but this is actually a plausible explanation. I've read stories from quite a few places about foreclosed homes that are either rented out or squatted, and pot dealers set up shop there for a couple of months to get through a cycle or two and then move on while the house is completely trashed. One thing the growers do is steal neighbors' electricity because a massive spike in one house's electrical bill sets off red flags that prompt the power company to call the cops.

 

[HeinekenMan]

Yep. But grow lights running 24 hours a day uses up a lot more than $200 of electricity.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Yep. But grow lights running 24 hours a day uses up a lot more than $200 of electricity.

Right but in this scenario they would be siphoning it from several neighbors in addition to generators and whatnot.

Plausible but far-fetched. Power company ****-up is still the leader in the clubhouse.

 

[sgreenwell]

BigPern, what 21 says is absolutely correct. You should definitely fight that bill. My parents have a huge garage that isn't heated, and it has no electricity, but it started showing up on their property record. The electric company started including that square footage in their "estimate", making the bill jump up an obscene amount.

For my current place, my roommate protested after our bill jumped by $40 one month. They took some cash off after actually coming out and doing a reading.