GASP!!! Got my electric bill...

[The Captain]

For the last month. We've been breaking records for over 90 and 100 degrees here.

$298!

Now I live in an area with some of the highest electric rates, but really?

[binl1908]

A few years ago my BIL ran into some financial trouble, and was having a hard time with his bills. He asked me if I could go over his budget with him and figure out if anything was out of whack. One of the first things he showed me was a $600+ dollar electric bill !!!! It seems my SIL liked to keep her home chilly during the summer, and particularly hated to come home from work to a "hot house", so she'd set the temp to 64 before she went out to work in the morning......

Of course in the winter the heat was always set to 74...... ??

[The Captain]

During the summer we set it @77, during the winter 65

[marvholly]

captain
I keep my thermostat set about where you do at least during the day when I am home.

My first thought was that you must live in CA or IL. I am in IL. I have had bills approaching $300 during the hotest months. this year is WAAAY hotter than I can ever remember. 33/more days above 90 so far.

My last bill surprised me, expected $250, got $171.

[happyscooter]

We built our house and know how good it is insulated. We keep our thermostat at 78 and we are in the south with 90 plus temps. When I tell people that it stays at 78 unless we have a lot of people over, they think I am crazy. Most people I know keep theirs on 74.

[Opti]

Jul 25, 2012 6:47:13 GMT -5 The Captain said:

During the summer we set it @77, during the winter 65

I hope my bill isn't worse than yours. I set it at 75 because the unit I'm given in the rental doesn't keep up on hot days. Its been up to 85 inside, so if I set it any higher I and the fish would cook.

This place is badly insulated and gets sun all day long which doesn't help. I feel lucky if by the time I sleep its dropped back into the 70s which lately isn't all that often.

[Colleenz]

I hear you - $256 here for last month (usual summer bill is mid to high $100s). It actually prompted me to go to our states PUCO site and shop rates. I found a 10% lower rate for the electricity generation, which is about half of the bill. Not a ton of saving, but a buck is a buck.

[zibazinski]

Wow, I'm from the south and I kept it on 80 during the day and 78 at night. Do the same here. Winter heat was usually on 70. I can't handle the cold very well.

[wvugurl26]

I expect mine will be bad. Probably over $100 as hot as it has been. AC was normally at 80 when I was gone and down to 75 a little before I went to bed. They will do the reading Friday. If it is under $100 it will be because there was no electric for 3 days and during the two of the hottest days the AC was not getting full power due to emergency cycling.

I have turned it down to 74 at night now and kick it to 77 when I get home. My asthma has been kicking my butt so I need it cooler.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Mine was bad too. It was about $200, when it ranges in the $110-$130 area normally. So, not quite as bad, but still a surprise! We've been keeping it between 75-77, but it didn't seem to help.

[phil5185]

33/more days above 90 so far.

LOL - in PHX we call that a cold-snap.

[swamp]

Jul 25, 2012 8:09:51 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

33/more days above 90 so far.

LOL - in PHX we call that a cold-snap.

In NOrthern NY we call it Hell.

[midjd]

EEEK! I'm sorry, Captain! What is your electric rate? I've seen some on here as high as $0.45/kWh.

I just got our bill last week... I was dreading it, too (we set all kinds of records in June for number of 100+ degree days). Surprised that it was only $127. We signed up for the Power Manager program where they cycle your a/c off during times of peak demand... if it hadn't been for that, our bill would've been about $20 higher. (Our typical summer bill is around $100, winter $80).

We keep it on 73-74 in the summer and 67 in the winter. Winter is the killer, utility-wise... our house retains a/c pretty well (lots of trees, no east/west-facing windows) but in a cold month we can run through $200 of gas.

[973beachbum]

Jul 25, 2012 8:09:51 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

33/more days above 90 so far.

LOL - in PHX we call that a cold-snap.

You get a lot of 99% humidity days out there?

[Gardening Grandma]

In NOrthern NY we call it Hell.



Our budget payment plan (based on average use throughout the year) is $105

[susanb]

Captain, I feel your pain. My last power bill was $486. We have our a/c programmed to stay at 78 in the evenings/all weekend and 85 in the daytime on the weekdays.

Vegas is a little hot in the summer.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2012 7:48:40 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Wow, I'm from the south and I kept it on 80 during the day and 78 at night. Do the same here. Winter heat was usually on 70. I can't handle the cold very well.

If my wife would let me get away with 78 at night...that would be great. When I leave the house for work I set it at 81, but she "needs" it on 68 to go to sleep.

[Gardening Grandma]

I'm with your wife. I can't sleep if it is 70. When I go south, I crank the air conditioner as cold as possible and it's still too hot.....

In the winter, I can always turn up the heating pad, so we set the thermometer to 65 at night.

[spicyhotpepper]

Jul 25, 2012 6:59:35 GMT -5 marvholly said:

captain
I keep my thermostat set about where you do at least during the day when I am home.

My first thought was that you must live in CA or IL. I am in IL. I have had bills approaching $300 during the hotest months. this year is WAAAY hotter than I can ever remember. 33/more days above 90 so far.

My last bill surprised me, expected $250, got $171.

I'm shocked at these rates. I also live in IL and my recent bill was $61.72... I live in a ~1200sq ft townhome with all west windows and usually keep it at 76-78. That amount did include a $10 credit from ComEd for doing their A/C cycling thing. Maybe you guys have bigger houses?

[wvugurl26]

Rates are pretty high here but I have a small apartment, under 1000 sq feet all on one level. I work a lot and travel.

[bean29]

wow. you made me look at my Electric bill.

This is an unusually hot summer for us. (Wisconsin)

The electric portion of my bill is $264.65 and Gas is $23.84. Total electricity used 1851 Kwh X .003620/kwh.

The electric portion of my bill one year ago was $139.56 and was 1163 kWh at .003620/kWh.

My bill says we had 11 Heating Degree Days/392 /Cooling /Degree Days

vs.
last year's
218 Heating Degree Days /100 Cooling Degree Days
Whatever that means.

No biggie for me we can afford $95 to be comfortable.

We are supposed to hit 100 degrees again today.

I usually try to keep my house a consistent 72 degrees although this summer we have had it up to about 74 during the day.

[Tiny]

Jul 25, 2012 9:35:23 GMT -5 @lonewolf said:

How do some of you get away with bills like 60 dollars??? Is it lower rates or are you living in a tent?
I thought rates were pretty much standard throughout the country. No?

Rates aren't standard. Com Ed in Illinois charges .08 or there abouts) a kilowatt hour. Just the delivery and other fees is about $20.00 a month, then there's the taxes. I usually joke about how even without power for the month I'd still have a $30 electric bill...
I think parts of California pay close to .50 a kilowatt hour. So you can see there's quite a variance in costs. I think it also depends on how your electric is generated: nuclear, dam/water, coal, natural gas, or 'other'. You probably get a report each year of how your electricity was generated. Chicago (and much of Illinois) is powered predominantly by nuclear power...

FWIW: I've got a moderately insulated 1200 sq foot brick house with a brand spanking new A/C unit and my June bill was abut $90.00. I haven't been running a de-humidifier in the basement as it's been so dry and it's not needed - that saved me about $20.00 I guesstimate. I'm expecting my July (which I'll get in early August) to be about $125.00 - $150. The temp is set at 78 degrees - but I lower it when I have guests or I'm spending alot of time at home. Haven't been home much and haven't had anyone over... so it's been pretty steady. (the cats don't seem to mind - I catch them ROASTING in a spot of sun that comes into the dining during the day for an a hour or so every afternoon).

[midjd]

Jul 25, 2012 9:35:23 GMT -5 @lonewolf said:

How do some of you get away with bills like 60 dollars??? Is it lower rates or are you living in a tent?
I thought rates were pretty much standard throughout the country. No?

There's a pretty big range. When we lived in NYC, it was about $0.28/kWh (I think...). Our current rate is $0.11 or so. I know some posters from the Southwest have talked about it being $0.45 or higher. I think the cost depends on the source (nuclear/coal/etc.) and what kind of infrastructure is available.

It does make a huge difference, though... our house is almost 4000 sf and our bill is cheaper here than it was when we lived in a 600sf apartment in NY.

If they jacked the rates up, I think a lot of people would be hurting... houses around here tend to be pretty large and/or inefficient.

ETA - ATS beat me to it.

[Deleted]

When I am home, I keep the house comfortable. No sense in working to pay the bills to be uncomfortable in my own home.

[Sam_2.0]

House is set to 78 when we are home, 89 when we are gone (basically off). At night its only been cooling down to the mid 80's here, so the AC is constantly running.

The cooling degree days this year have been much higher than last year. At work we get a monthly report for our area - June's report showed a 15% increase over last year!! YTD had 39% more than last year.

[schildi]

Jul 25, 2012 9:43:18 GMT -5 bean29 said:

The electric portion of my bill is $264.65 and Gas is $23.84. Total electricity used 1851 Kwh X .003620/kwh.

The electric portion of my bill one year ago was $139.56 and was 1163 kWh at .003620/kWh.

Wow, I wish we had those electric rates.
Oh, wait a minute: 1163 kWh for $139.56 is $0.12/kWh, not .003620/kWh.

Our power bill (gas / electric combined) is around $70 - $90 in the summer, and $140 - $170 in the winter.
We pay $0.085/kWh (total for all these little per kWh fees), plus a $7.49 monthly base fee.

[MarleyKeezy78]

Gosh, I though our bill this month was high because it's the first full month of running our pool pump 24/7 on top of running the air for 100+ degree and lots of 90+ degree weather! $247 this month was
For me, although we are on the budget plan so everthing evens out over the course of the year.

[alabamagal]

Ours ranges from $250 (for the very short spring and fall seasons) to $500 (peak summer or if it is very cold). We have all electric cooling, heat, hot water heater, stove etc. so that is our only utility bill. The money also includes our water bill, sewage and garbage bills which are probably $100 per month, so the electricity part is a bit less. Since I pay in one bill, I just think of it as electric.

We have an older ranch house, so it's not very energy efficient. I know we could make some improvements, but kind of at the bottom of our list right now.

We keep temp at 72 for heat. In summer we have to keep temp at 74 or 75. If we try to raise the temp the humidity goes up too much. Also where we live there is very little time between the AC months (March to October) and when you have to run heat (ok we are wimps in the south about cold), so we very rarely even bother opening our windows since ours are old and a PITA.

[thyme4change]

$300 /month - I pay that at least 4 times a year. My last bill was four-bills!

[Sam_2.0]

Lone: Here's what I pay

RESIDENTIAL GENERAL USE:
Customer Charge (Per Month) $9.00
Summer ----------------------------------------------Winter
Season ---------------------------------------------Season
Energy Charge (Per kWh)
First 600 kWh per month $0.11028 ------------$0.09914
Next 400 kWh per month $0.11028 ------------$0.05945
Over 1000 kWh per month $0.11028 -----------$0.04968

We have tiered rates, except its all the same in the summer.