Do most people not understand how their electricity bills are calculated?

[spacejamz]

In a local facebook group, someone was talking about how their electric bill jumped to $400 a month...I live near Dallas, so the summer months are definitely higher...

I posted something along the lines of comparing how many kw hours difference they used from the prior month to the current month and if they knew what their rate was...She never replied back to my comment but replied back on several others afterwards about people who also complained about their bills jumping...it seems they only looked at the amount due and were afraid to look at how many kw they used.

In reading many of the responses there, it seemed that most people had no clue how to estimate what their bill is or even use the online tools from the various electric providers that will tell you what your estimated bill will be which is updated every day based on your usage...there were a ton of replies "OMG my next bill is going to be insane"

And several people mentioned they used a service called Energy Ogre where you pay $10/month and this company will find the cheapest rates for you when your electric contract is up....that is $120/year for this...can't believe that they won't take 30-60 minutes to do this own their own...I know it can be daunting with promotions like Free nights/Free weekends, etc but just applying some common sense can be figured out....

 

[Svnla]

$400 a month? Yike. Our last bill was about $100 and I thought it was too high because the AC ran almost none stop.

 

[Sonikku]

My mother pays $180 a month on her $800 a month Social Security income. Paying 18 cents a kw hour in NYS is the pits.

 

[BoomerD]

It would be nice to have the option to choose a different electric provider...not an option here in WA.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

In a local facebook group, someone was talking about how their electric bill jumped to $400 a month...I live near Dallas, so the summer months are definitely higher...

I posted something along the lines of comparing how many kw hours difference they used from the prior month to the current month and if they knew what their rate was...She never replied back to my comment but replied back on several others afterwards about people who also complained about their bills jumping...it seems they only looked at the amount due and were afraid to look at how many kw they used.

In reading many of the responses there, it seemed that most people had no clue how to estimate what their bill is or even use the online tools from the various electric providers that will tell you what your estimated bill will be which is updated every day based on your usage...there were a ton of replies "OMG my next bill is going to be insane"

And several people mentioned they used a service called Energy Ogre where you pay $10/month and this company will find the cheapest rates for you when your electric contract is up....that is $120/year for this...can't believe that they won't take 30-60 minutes to do this own their own...I know it can be daunting with promotions like Free nights/Free weekends, etc but just applying some common sense can be figured out....

In all liklihood, they signed up for a plan that expired - and since they didn't renew a plan it defaulted to one with an overall high Kwh and they are simply too stupid to understand how it works. Personally, I wish it was treated more like a public utility that had a simple base rate in Texas, but whatever.

 

[lxskllr]

I have "budget billing" where they estimate what you use, and charge the same amount every month. It's reconciled in the fall, and you either pay the amount owed, or are credited with the overage+simple interest.

 

[Meghan54]

I have "budget billing" where they estimate what you use, and charge the same amount every month. It's reconciled in the fall, and you either pay the amount owed, or are credited with the overage+simple interest.

We have two programs avail. with GA Power....one is like yours, Budget Billing. And it's run the same way....level billing, reconciliation every 12 months.

They also have a second program called Flat Billing.....again, based on your elec. usage history over the past 12-36 months. Provides a flat payment for 12 months, but there's no reconciliation at the end. There is, tho, if you drop out before completion of the 12 month cycle or if your monthly usage as compared to the same month in the previous year, excluding the effects of weather, is 50% greater.

 

[highland145]

What I really hate is the weather normalization charge. Too hot during the winter and SCE&G doesn't make enough $$, bam, we're charging you more.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What I really hate is the weather normalization charge. Too hot during the winter and SCE&G doesn't make enough $$, bam, we're charging you more.

They get away with that?

I heat my apt. in the winter with my PCs.

 

[highland145]

They get away with that?

I heat my apt. in the winter with my PCs.

Here are the bullet point for why it's a good thing. Like I trust SCE&G when they got millions in bonuses...They're regulated by the public service commission who make $190K/year.


+1 on the computer heat source.

 

[RLGL]

A choice of where to purchase your electric from? Unheard of in the Twin Cities area.

 

[ultimatebob]

Energy Ogre sounds kind of handy. There are a bunch of energy providers here in CT that offer great teaser rates (like 30% off market rates) for electricity that expire after three months and then shoot up past what the power company charges. I'd pay $10 a month for a service that jumps between those companies offering the teaser rates.

 

[rh71]

We have one of the highest rates in the nation on LI. Still, with a 2700sf house, we're not too bad at an avg of $100/mo. (higher in summer, lower in winters).

I do see people on local forums complaining the same way - that they have no idea why their price jumped. It's a simple matter of checking your KWH and what could have spiked it.

I put something together to try and see where my costs are and could be. You can see the various columns are what you have to consider. Your rate (as an avg) could be calculated by dividing your latest bill total by total KWH used.

You can download to try it out for yourself:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kz7q6nphgdvmrof/electricCosts.xlsx?dl=0

 

[VirtualLarry]

Or get a few Kill-A-Watt EZ P4460 units, and plug your devices into them, and leave them running, to get an accumulated total cost for the month. (Those things are REALLY handy, I should buy some more some time.)

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yikes, sounds like they may be secretly connected to Hydro One. That is one heck of a crazy bill. I wonder if they are the type of people that think it's more efficient to let the A/C run all day long to maintain temperature, instead of only turning it on as needed.

 

[Slew Foot]

My mother pays $180 a month on her $800 a month Social Security income. Paying 18 cents a kw hour in NYS is the pits.

Lol, 30-40 cents/KwH here in CA. Good thing I have solar panels