Power Bill Suddenly Doubled-Help!
 

Last month we got a power bill for over 600.00 telling us that we have used almost 5000 kw for the month. I contacted the power company because we have never used that much electricity in the 13 years that we have lived here and nothing has changed. No new tvs or anything. They have not responded and no one has come out to check the meter. Now, yesterday I got the bill for this past month which shows again 4300 kw. Again nothing has changed other than our heat has been turned completely off because it is warming up. What could possibly be driving up our power bill like this? Still trying to get the power company to respond to our questions. So far no luck. We have lived here 13 years and never used more than 1600 kw a month and the months that we did that the AC was going full blast.We can't afford electricity at this rate. Any ideas?

I would be on the phone to customer service daily, maybe hourly, until someone could explain the increase to me. My electric service has live customer service reps and a toll free number. I would be fuming about no one getting back to me.

We dealt with a similar situation a few years back. They had installed a new meter and upon installation had not recorded the starting point on the new the correctly. For us it only occurred the first month the new meter was in place which helped isolate the issue to the meter. If repeated calls is not eliciting a response, show up at their power company's office with past bills in hand?

We had a leak in the water pipe(5 ft underground) that goes to the barn. It had the pump going and going until the water showed it'self on the surface of the ground -a long time. That had our bill way high. I kept telling my dh that I felt electricity in the back yard, course that made no sense to him. The water was hitting the buryed elec. line that goes to to the barn. Scary.

Good point shut everything off and get out there and see if the meter is still spinning like a top!

Another vote for checking the well pump and water heater.

Could someone have hooked another building or apartment into your location??

The first thing you need to do is read the meter and see if the figures fit the bill. We have had some large bills in the past when they used an estimate instead of reading the meter!

Sounds like you for certain have someone stealing your power. It's probably an illegal set up of growing lights or something like that. I would stay on the phone with the power company until they send someone out to the house, and definitely call the local sheriff's office to get them out there also. You do not want to confront these people yourself.

How does your meter get read? You read it, they read it, a digital signal? See if the numbers are really the numbers.

A leaking pipe can be running your deep well a whole lot, as others mention, underground leaks don't show but you should be able to tell if your pump is running or pipes are leaking. Water heater shorted out but you should notice the scalding hot water.

It is rare but a broken wire covering can short the wire into being a big heater, not draw enough amps to trip the breaker but still draw current constantly. Takes a bit to track that down, and it is a rare situation, but one of the possibilities. Underground, or a dead critter or frayed wire shorting to a pole or roof. Mostly underground, and again rare for it to keep up for two months, but.......

Paul

Shut all your breakers off and then have someone stand by the meter and watch it while someone else turns the breakers back on one by one (or do a lot of walking back and forth yourself) and you'll see . At some point you'll see it start to spin a lot faster than it should, and you'll know what it is. Something is grounding out somewhere, on an appliance that you don't normally think about. I'd check the hot water heater first, as it's something you never hear run.

If you can't track it down, you've already paid the price of an electrician, so I'd go that route and get someone unrelated to the power company to check your situation.

Good luck.

Working backwards, you'd have to be using about 150kwhrs every 24hr period.

Go out right now, and write down the meter reading.
Go out tomorrow at the same time, and write it down.

Did you use 150 ? (or anywhere close)

IF you did, YOU have a problem. Come back and I'll give you some suggestions on how to find it. Could be the meter, could be you actually are using that and don't know it.

IF not, and you only used something like 30-40, then THEY have a problem.

Lots of people in WV got much larger bills due to estimating for extended periods before an actual reading. The issue drew so many complaints the public service commission got involved and the utility was forced (supposedly) to hire meter readers. Then they wanted a rate increase. Of course we didn't see a drop in rates when they estimated usage instead of reading it.

As mentioned, start reading the meter yourself and keep a log.

Compare previous bills to current bills. See if you are either currently being estimated. If you are, then you can read your own meter and give your power company the reading. They should be able to explain how to properly read the meter over the phone to you.

If you are not being estimated, turn off the main circuit breaker to your home. Check the meter. If it's spinning, contact the power company. They have a problem. If it's not spinning then it's you. I would go thru each circuit of my home to try to isolate the fault. If you can't find it, contact an electrician.

Bottom line is everything after the meter is the homeowner's responsibility. Anything before the meter is the power company responsibility.

<works for a power company>

This is precisely why I log my meter reading on a daily basis.

Several years ago, we rec'd a similar power bill (almost doubled, but there was no apparent reason for the extra KWH usage). I went out and looked at the meter reading and it was a LOT (a WHOLE lot) lower than that on the bill.

Went back inside, called the power company, and told them what I'd found. While they never offered an explanation for the mistake, they immediately adjusted my bill and in a few days, we received it in the mail. I thought it odd that they would adjust so quickly without sending someone out, but they did...made me go hmmmmmmmm.

I started logging my own reading that day, but it never happened again.

Sometimes the meter reader will not read the meter every month. They will estimate your power use. After several months of estimates they will actually read the meter and it is possible they were under estimating your power use. If that happens you will get a large bill.

after you get them on the phone, and check the numbers as well as all the suggestions given, dont panic if it really is your bill the power company will work out a payment plan for you they add some to each bill. I had this happen at the worst time possible, and it took me 6 months to get it paid off, the power company was not reading the meter each month but estimating my bill using a number that was when no one lived in the house full time, so when they got it read my bill was very high. So if it turns out to really be right get them to work up a payment plan.

I had an electric meter that broke. It started giving very high readings so I got big bills. It took a couple of months for me to realize that there was a problem. The electric company replaced the meter and amended my bills to the same as the year before.

Call the electric company and raise a fuss. They should have been out a day after you called. Ask if they charge to come out and then find the problem wasn't theirs. You might want to read the meter and make sure they have the correct reading. Also check daily and see what you are actually using.

I worked for a multi-million customer electric utility for 14 years. A good portion of that time was spent at customers' homes investigating issues similar to yours.

Here is what I would do if I was called out to your home:

1- read the meter. Is the reading in line with the reading on your latest bill? If not, there was either some bill estimating or a mis-read of the meter. I doubt this is the case because you now have two bills in a row showing high usage. If a bill is estimated, it is based on previous usage history, and that's not what you're describing.

2- go and turn off ALL of your circuit breakers. Every one. If there are any out in a barn or pump house connected to the same meter, turn them off as well. The disc in the meter should stop turning. If it is still running, check again that ALL the breakers are off. If they are, either something else has been connected or there is a problem with the service. Call the company and explain this.

3- if the meter disc stopped with the breakers off, then you have something using the power. Major culprits this time of year are a problem with electric heat (a bad element or other issue causing it to run) or a water heater (bad element). Another possibility is a well pump (a leak causing it to run). I would check those first, one at a time. Turn on the breaker for one of those, and check it out. If you know how to check these, a voltage meter can possibly answer your question. If you don't know how to check, start with the obvious.

I had a customer once, we went through the first two steps, and all was well. He continued to INSIST that the meter was bad, and all was right with his home. I walked around his house, and started to hear a hiss. I opened an access panel under his house and saw water streaming from a pipe. I reached in, felt it, and yep, hot water. As to the possibility of a well pump issue, I would walk the line from the pump to the house- any soggy ground? Check under the house- any water?

Of course, if you don't have electric heat, heated water or a well...then there is something else going on. It is not as easy as it sounds for someone else to hook up to your electric if you are living in a single family home- you would either see wires, or a recently dug trench to your meter box.

If you find a problem and repair it, some, not all, but some, utilities will work with you and possibly credit off some of the high usage. Most will work with you on payment arrangements.

Yeah, tell ya'll something funny along that line.

Wife's sister/husband bought a new house. Had a natural gas water heater, and the pilot light kept going out. They called the builder several times, and finally the builder said "how about I just install an electric water heater ?"....they said "Sure....we just want dependable hot water".

So the builder sends this yo-yo out to install it. The house was a tri-level, the electric panel was in the lowest level in an interior finished wall....no way to add a new breaker for the heater. The meter on the outside wall had a200 amp disconnect right under it (because it didn't back right up to the panel, as per code). The water heater was in a tall crawl space off the finished den in the lower level.

SO, the yo-yo runs a line off the disconnect (directly off the 200amp !), around the outside of the house (in plastic conduit), and then thru the brick wall into the crawl space where the water heater was located. Hooked it up, and ended their hot water problem....until an element finally burned out.

BIL calls me, says they only get a little hot water before it runs out. I told him most likely the lower element has burned out. We have a lot of lime in the water around here....it precipitates out in flakes, buries the lower elements and they overheat and burn out.....very common around here. So I told him how to change it...turn off the breaker ( I had no idea about the heater change out), drain the tank, etc...

He calls back in a little while and says "Can't find the breaker"....well, heck, just TURN OFF THE MAIN breaker....that will do it.

He calls back in a little while and says "I got the $*^#$# shocked out of me!"...

OK...NOW I'm curious enough to drive over there and look. Found what the Yo-Yo had done....it's a wonder my BIL didn't get killed....because no way was that 200amp connection on a 10-2 wire EVER gonna trip !

I told the BIL I'd call up the builder, find out who he sent out, find that guy and take a ball bat to him !

Point of this long story is you can NEVER tell what some clown has done electrically if you didn't install everything yourself. Cutting off the main breaker "should" kill ALL your power.....but depending on how things are wired, it may, or may not. Sometimes you have to play detective to figure out what others have done.

My first thought was a private well to the house that had a hole in the water line. The water is running out, downhill, away from the house where you dont notice it. Pump is running constantly.

That is my guess.

Or, like others have said, faulty meter, someone else hooked on to your line.

Call customer service every hour, on the hour, untill you get satisfaction.

Gene

Your first mistake was not checking when you got the first high bill. As has been said, you should turn off all breakers and then start turning one on at a time.

At some point I'm guessing your meter is going to spin wildly. You then need to find out what is hooked up to that breaker.

I'm guessing though it's your water pump. Either there is a break in the line somewhere or once pressure is built up, it's running back in to the well because the foot valve isn't working properly.

Charges for peak use hours (cooking, heating and usual bathing timeframes) electricity have increased with most Alabama power suppliers in addition to most of the Alabama winter cold snap days so far hit on the February bill.

My February bill doubled and I kept my electric heat level to no warmer than 60 degrees. GF also heats with electricity but likes her house warmer and her bill almost quadrupled.

You would think it would cost the same to cool as heat with electric but electric heat runs at least 50% more than cooling because when cooling a house, the cold air sinks but when using electric to heat , a lot more heat hangs at ceiling level.

There is a difference when the bill goes up, and the Usage or KW Goes up.
Peak hours you are charged more per KW Hour in that peak usage time, but the Amount of Usage (the KWs) stay the same.
In this case the KW Usage went sky high, causing the bill to go sky high. 1600 KWs went to 4300 and 5000 KW hours. Not just the bill itself if Peak hours were in play.

That was why I mentioned both peak hour charges and the thermal dynamic differences of heating and cooling as they both have increased electricity costs in this state during the last two months however the thermal dynamics affect the hours used. Before our co-ops started charging us for peak hours increased usage during cold spells while noticeable were not as greatly noticed as they are by many now.

Thanks everyone. We believe it might be the water heater. I get the joy of flipping breakers today. We have a digital meter, so it wasn't an estimate. We had that problem before they switched out meters. No well pump, so no problem there. I highly doubt anyone is tapping into my power. Nearest house is over 300 yards away. We use mostly propane heat and wood heat. We only have one room (large room) that has central heat. The rest of the house has propane and even that room has the wood stove insert in the fireplace. Mostly wood heat in that room during the day, electric typically only on at night. No different than last year when useage was 1600kw. I actually am beginning to believe that the water heater has been going for quite some time. Our useage has steadily been increasing over the past year. Even the power company thought there was a problem last year because they sent someone out 3 times on their own, without us calling. I blamed the children especially the little one for the increase. But it can't be the children taking too long in the bath that would double it like this. Will let you all know what I find out. Blessings, Kat

Last winter was much colder and last winter the useage was much lower. We have never ever used 5000kw, not even when the whole house was heated with central heat. I am thinking the water heater. We have been here 13 years and it had some age on it then. So it is time. Will check today. Thanks, Kat

With the usage increasing over the last year, I would be suspicious of a hot water leak, as opposed to a sudden bad element. A leak that has gotten progressively worse can possibly have drained the water heater to the point that NOW an element has gone out. I would check both issues.

Some utilities offer discounts for Energy Saver appliances. It might be worth it to give yours a call.

Water heater shorting out can really send the bill soaring. Happened to my neighbor, they power company came out to find out was going on, put a meter on the water heater and disconnected it. Problem solved.

My Neighbors electric bill started going up---1st noticed a increase of about $50, then the next month it was more than double normal, he started cutting the heat down---the next bill was again more than double. We have 4 houses on one water meter---I get the water bill---which everyone pays a share---the water meter reader came to my house to inform me that my water usage had gone way up over the last 3 months(I pay my bill several months in advance----so I had not looked at the water bill) I talked to my neighbor and he told me about his electric bill----we went under his house----the line after the hot water heater was cracked and really spraying----we live on sandy land so most all the water had soaked into the ground. His hot water heater was running full blast for two to three months. You might better check that!

Hope you've discovered the problem and had it taken care of....

I had a similar problem just a couple of months ago when I received an electric bill that was doubled. It is usually around $70 per month and that one was nearly $150. I called the company and they sent a man out immediately. He stayed at the breaker box and asked me to turn on the furnace. I turned the furnace regulater up a tiny bit and, of course, it came on. He said the power usage went sky high. Then when the furnace shut itself off, the power usage went back down to practically nothing.

In thinking of this, a similar incident occurred during the summer a few years back and it turned out to be the switch on my ... whatever that thing is called that regulates water as it goes into the pressure tank ... as it was faulty and was CONTINUOUSLY going off and on. (Turns out it wore out trying to keep up with a water leak that showed up where the water line was running from that area to the barn.) Fixed the leak and the switch and the power bill went back down to normal.

As others have suggested, it may be the electric water heater. It happened to my friend. She could not figure out why the power bill jumped along with the water bill. As soon as she told me about it, I said go check the water heater! She did, and it was running continuously, having a leak under the floor and water was constantly draining out, which meant it was trying to heat the water coming in and was running 24/7.

Hope you have found the problem by now and are able to fix it.

Freezer with freon leak can make its compressor run full time and really run up an electric bill. Ask me how I know....

Thanks to everyone, I believe I have found the problem and it is my fault completely. Last year I was ill and I didn't get all the windows covered in the house like I normally do. The windows in our bedroom do seal well, they are the worst in the house. These are the main ones that should be covered and didn't get covered. Well, the propane heat doesn't get to that room because of where it is (old house, crappy add-ons, etc.). In winters past it hasn't been that big of a deal because the windows were covered and we like to sleep in a cold room anyway. However, this year many nights we have used a small space heater to keep the room above the frigid outside temps. Last night I turned off the water heater and that one small space heater was going in our bedroom because the wind was blowing through the windows and it was cold. The heater was set on low. Well, my meter reading went from 1630 at 9:30 pm to 1632 at 6:15 am. That is a lot of useage and the hot water heater was off at the breaker, so the only thing it could have been was the space heater in our room and the fact that I didn't cover the windows like I do most winters. I really didn't realize how much all that work of covering those widows, which go all the way around the room on 3 sides would make. But now I do know. Hate to cover them now because spring is right around the corner for us and just as soon as I get them covered it will be time to uncover them. So, I did it to myself and that realization really stinks. Thanks all, Kat

Huh ? Looks like only 2kwhrs.....unless there is a digit missing from your reading.

A few lights and your fridge could have easily used that.

You're looking for something like 60-75kwhrs in that same time period to equal what you're being charged for in a month.

I don't think you're gotten your answer yet.

This. Very much this. I really doubt a small space heater could be causing this without you being aware of it- a VERY hot room.

Based on your earlier post that usage has been increasing for a while, I still believe you are looking at a water heater or less likely, a central heat issue (bad elements and/or a leak).

Yes what is said in the two posts. At that rate it would only be 720 Kw for 30 days.
Something else is jumping it up 3500 Kw from your normal rate on a monthly basis.

Even at the height of using electricity in the winter, when I had critters to take care and with using 3 stock tanks, each with a 1500 WATT heater in them, two at 55 gallons and one 150 gallon.
Not one having any insulation around them just out in a open air and in barns that had no doors on them. So it was just as cold in those buildings as outside.
Plus I was plugging in the car overnight as well and that is another 1500 watt heater~
Never getting turned off and with temps into the minus 20 range those heaters would be going continuously. Along with all my electronics I have on, plus a electric stove, a electric water heater, and in all that I never, ever, went over 1700 Kw in any given month.

Something is amiss big time, and something is very wrong somewhere, to be at such a high Kw every month in usage~! A small room heater turned down low even left on all the time would not be driving that bill that high in usage.
Of which there is another thing I use in the winter is a 1500 watt small space heater in the bedroom and that runs pretty much all night long on these cold nights as well.~!
Plus when I had animals to look after I had so many lights on outside, 1000 WATT quarts ones, the place looked like a well lit christmas tree. LOL

When I had a big jump in my bill it exposed a power company error... Got a bill that was so big I could never use that much power even with everything in the house turned on 24/7. Called and they could tell me when the high use started. Turns out my neighbor had a pipe break and called a restoration company that brought in about 100kw of electric heat to dry out the place. Why on my bill? Turned out a few years before the power company installed new meters and switched mine with my neighbors, he had been billed for my use and me for his. We never noticed.

Mine is multiplied by a constant of 80, so that is 160 kwH overnight. I still can't believe that one small heater pulled that amount though. I know someone who runs a similar small heater constantly, daily and never has a power bill like mine. Still trying to figure things out, but I am about at the point of confusing myself. Hubby working doubles all weekend so not available to help.

We have a "hunting cabin" that usually used $20/mo. in power. Suddenly, it jumped to $60-70. Turned out to be a short in the electric underground dog fence. Once that was repaired, it went back down to $20.