Electric Bill Rant!

bare · #1 09/02/05, 02:53 PM

I've been dreading this bill all month and it finally arrived yesterday. After years of complaining about the increasing number of weeks sweltering in the summer heat, I broke down and bought an air conditioner. You know how it is, buy a new snowblower and it won't snow for two more years. Buy a new air conditioner and the heat spell is only three or four weeks. They were blissful weeks though. It was so nice to come in at the end of a hot day and turn that puppy on.

So, back to the bill. Last year in the same period I used a grand total of 445 KWH. This year was 616!

How can that be? Not much has changed. All I can think of is the extra 22' freezer, the air conditioner, the new entertainment center. Without all the "extra" charges from the cooperative, my bill would be 28.71. The extra charges bring it to a tad over sixty bucks.

I remember back to my grid-less days, cobbled together electrical systems, but always had batteries in the mix. Expensive batteries that would give out in two or three years despite my excellent care. I believe back then my biggest expense was pants. I swear, I couldn't LOOK at a battery without my pants falling off in tatters.

Sorry for the rant.

::bare, happily ensconced in his air-conditioned and gridded lair::

ArkansasLady · #2 09/02/05, 03:05 PM

I will trade you my bill for yours any month of the year.......

mine was 219.00 and I was happy it was that low, with having 9 people in my house for a week of the month, and being all electric, which included all the extra showers, and loads of laundry..and cooking...yeah I will take your 61.00 bill and you can have mine...

~C~

mightybooboo · #3 09/02/05, 04:11 PM

Man,10 cents/Kw delivered,thats a mighty fine deal.

BooBoo

bill not in oh · #4 09/02/05, 04:23 PM

Bare.......

Did you see them actually read your meter? Here they will occasionally estimate my useage based on my historic use adjusted for the variance in the history of the residences where they do actually read the meters. Then they adjust my next bill based on the actual reading for two months minus their estimate. We get that with the electric and gas companies. I got a major surprise two years ago with a gas bill generated this way - December was pleasantly surprising at $85 - the next one was four hundred and change...

Hope this is NOT your situation....

OldFarmGal · #5 09/02/05, 04:25 PM

ROFL!!! That isn't an electric bill. I'LL show you an electric bill!!! Pick a month. Any month...

mightybooboo · #6 09/02/05, 04:37 PM

Not reading the meter/estimates.I paid my gas almost 1000 in advance.During the winter I was getting 100 or something bills.Come March I get a bill for like 500 bucks,plus my prepaid was zero! You guessed it,the infamous 'estimated' bill.And not like they couldnt read it,just chose to conveniently not to so you arent aware of the crazy numbers and cut back?

Anywho,thanks for the reminder to check my actual gas usage this winter.

BooBoo

katlupe · #7 09/02/05, 05:43 PM

I can't believe you had that much trouble living off the grid. My batteries aren't the most expensive, but are going strong after 6 years, and have never given us the least bit of trouble.

I'll take my 0 bill over a $61. bill any day. Even my propane bill isn't that high, and I cook and refrigerate on it.

bare · #8 09/02/05, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill in oh

Bare.......

Did you see them actually read your meter? Here they will occasionally estimate my useage based on my historic use adjusted for the variance in the history of the residences where they do actually read the meters. Then they adjust my next bill based on the actual reading for two months minus their estimate. We get that with the electric and gas companies. I got a major surprise two years ago with a gas bill generated this way - December was pleasantly surprising at $85 - the next one was four hundred and change...

Hope this is NOT your situation....

Actually, up until a couple years ago, we had to read our own meters and send them the results. Now they've installed what they call "turtles", that record the actual reading and somehow lets them know in the office what the actual reading is.

I don't know katlupe, I never had that kind of luck with batteries, though, I have to admit, back in those days, most of our batteries were either used golf cart batteries or used telephone batteries, with the odd deep cycle included. I do keep a set of six trojans here now for backup, and they are much more trouble free, although I still avoid looking at them as much as possible. Pants are a lot more expensive these days.

texican · #9 09/02/05, 10:20 PM

We've got the 'remote read' meters here also...the info is requested by the office over the electric lines, the meter reads itself, and send the kw info back, and the bill is processed.............this same technology is being field tested in Houston for High Speed internet access via the electric grid.

I was offgrid for 14 years, when i got on the grid my bills were originally in the 30$ range, then I got the Mongo icebox (compared to the tiny 8' Sibir), a freezer, couple extra computers, 'real lights', big tv, big stereo, big everything....after living like a refugee, it was time to splurge....

Now, my bills are in the mid 50's each month...still charge the 8$ meter reading fee even though a machine's doing the reading....the electricity is 6.9c/kw and now their adding a fuel surcharge of .9999999c/kw It all works out to less than 2$/day, cheaper than the batteries I was always buying for the solar system...

stanb999 · #10 09/03/05, 05:34 AM

Here in PA the bill is never over 50-60 bucks. But we use coal and nuclear for our local energy production. It's 11 cents peak- 5.5 cents off peak. But it always seems we must run the lights all day because thats when most energy is always used.

But electric is probably the cheapest energy in PA. Except coal for heat. at 100 a ton it cost approx 500.00 for heat and hot water.