My stinkin power bill was almost $300!!

[punkin]

We have tried so hard to cut back on our power usage. We turn off lights when not in use, I line dry all my clothes, we raised the air temp, I only wash full loads (clothes & dishwasher), we have high effeciency appliances.

Our house is 1600 sq. ft. but we have no shadeand it's hot. I know that adds alot, but this is way over any previous bill in past years, even when we weren't so diligent. Oh, and they also added a $25 fuel charge. My electricity is not delivered by truck and they don't use $25 to make a special trip just to read my meter once a month! There are about 20 houses within one mile of me (20 x $25)! Good grief!! un

Sorry. Just wanted to rant about one more needle stick trying to get blood out of a turnip.

 

[me&thegals]

Yikes! That is awful!

 

[Acre of Blessings]

I know how you feel about a high poser bill. But I have finially been told why ours is so high even though we unplug appliances that are not in use (microwave, coffee pot, toaster, etc.) We line dry our clothes, we have the twirley light bulbs that are only used mainly at night, We keep the curtains pulled during the day to keep the sun out, if we can cut a corner we do.

Just so you know......................................

One month we got a power bill for over $300 and I bout fell out. My hubby says to me "honey, I thought you were hanging out the clothes". I said " I am". So the following day I called and after having them tell me why out bill was so high and then me explaining that we done all the things "listed above" + some, they told me that the less kilowatts that you use, the more you pay per kilowatt. Go figure. Power companies yell"CONSERVE! CONSERVE! I quess that why, so they can charge you more.

I explained to the lady that that was not fair to the ppl trying to save money and she simply said "that's the rules". So, if you are gonna try to same money on the power bill you will be finiancially punished. Go figure.

I still do all of the above whether the charge more or not.

 

[patandchickens]

JFWIW, not *all* power companies have that kind of fee structure -- in fact, some have gone to the opposite (the intelligent way) in an effort to get people to reduce peak demand, as an alternative to an otherwise-burdened power company having to build more generating stations. So it depends where you live.

It seems to me it would be worth writing to all your congresspeople and also trying to get the local paper interested in doing a story on the subject. Now is probably a fairly vulnerable time for that kind of policies, if enough of the right people were to put pressure and publicity in the right places. It can't hurt anyhow.

I wonder if there are other things you might do to reduce the burden on your a/c? You don't mention where you live? But even if you "have to" run the a/c 24/7 (which in poorly designed modern houses in very hot, esp. humid, areas may in fact be the case), every bit that you can reduce the am't of heat coming into the house's living space means less work for the a/c and thus lower power bills.

First, if you don't have ceiling fans get them if at all possible (i.e. unless you have very low ceilings). If your ceilings are just way too low, then strategically placed "regular fans", especially good-sized tabletop-type units aimed straight up at the ceiling or as close to that as you can get it, will let you keep the thermostat set several - perhaps a good number - of degrees warmer.

Second, try to increase your attic ventilation as much as possible. Extra vents, even a power fan -- the fan will not use very much current at all and a cooler attic takes a lot of load off your house a/c which DOES suck down current hand over fist.

Third, shade the outside of the house if possible. Awnings for windows might be a good investment if you don't have them. Plant fast-growing trees on the S and W side of the house, unless there are hurricane type issues. And actually, it is AMAZING (to me anyhow) what you can do with ordinary shadecloth from the garden center. It is pretty cheap (I believe I paid like $2 per running foot for 12' wide 70% shadecloth) and, strung up over the parts of your windows that the sun hits, or stapled to a wooden frame braced in front of your windows (that's what I do for our sliding glass doors), it will DRASTICALLY reduce the amount of sun hitting your windows. Reducing sun hitting the outside of your windows makes MUCH MUCH more benefit to your household temperature 'budget' than just putting drapes on the insides of the windows (although of course that helps too).

Fourth, get a coupla good window fans - or if you can afford the investment and your climate makes it sensible get a whole-house fan (giant huge fan that mounts into your ceiling and when sucked on WHOOOOOSHES air in your windows and out thru the attic). Use them EVERY time the air temperature drops below whatever you consider your maximum thermostat setting for comfort. So if you have the thermostat set at 76 F (could prolly be higher with fans on), get in the habit of looking at the outdoor (shade) thermometer as frequently as possible, and every time it drops to 75 F or lower, turn off the a/c, open the windows and turn on the fans. There are strategic ways of doing this, too, e.g. suck air in from the coolest side of the house (often the E side) and have it going *out* on a side that is still somewhat hot outside. Keep the fans running even if you get cool (put on more clothes ) - they will cool off the 'bones' of your house to offset more heat for longer, once things get hot again outside.

Best wishes,

Pat

 

[FarmerChick]

WOW Punkin that is just a horrible bill.

I am 1700 sq ft and run AC, pool filter, have 2 barns on this power and I pay only $142 per month. I do conserve wherever I can of course.

Maybe you need some more insulation in the attic or such??

Also you can request a power audit. They come to your home and see what is wrong...sometimes you are paying for power not used, it is leaked power. So maybe working with the power company might help you????

I know I can't be swinging a $300 per month bill...that would hurt big time for me.

best of luck and I hope you can get that lowered.

My June power used last year was about 1900 ---with conserving this years was just under 1700---so I saved 200 kw over last year with being conscious. I save, am not charged more for using lower power. That is just insane what I read about that other power company upping the price for lower usage....What the..?---LOL

With a power bill that high and you can't lower it, them maybe an outside source of power would be worth investing....like a wood or coal stove for winter heating. (If your heat is electric like mine, I have a heat pump).

well just throwing out some suggestions and they might help ya!

Karen

 

[punkin]

Today my DH compared our bills from last year. Our usage has not gone up for the same time period, the cost has gone up over 18% plus the fuel surgage. It has been hot here, 100 degrees yesterday. We have the attic fan, ceiling fans and an 8 ft. front porch that faces east. I guess I am doing the right things, it's just the cost of everything is going up.

My dad live right across the road. He has a 2 story house and he stays in the basement where it is naturally cooler. He does not have to run the air, just a fan when it gets really hot. His house is shaded for the most part. His bill was about $60 with a $4 fuel surcharge. Mine was almost $300 and my fuel surcharge was $25. The more you use the more your surcharge is even though it costs no more fuel to get the electricity to you. That stinks un

 

[Better Half]

Wow, that a high power bill. The KWHS charge must be high. Is the power created from propane or natural gas? That maybe where the fuel surcharge comes from.

I'd get the power company out to your house to do an audit. You may have a faulty meter or a leak someplace.

Here the first 600 KWHS is one charge then after that the price goes up. I'd like to keep our usage under 600 but haven't had any luck. Perhaps I spend too much time online. We don't need AC, it's currently only 67F right now in the middle of Summer in the middle of the day.

 

[punkin]

Wow, that a high power bill. The KWHS charge must be high. Is the power created from propane or natural gas? That maybe where the fuel surcharge comes from.

I'd get the power company out to your house to do an audit. You may have a faulty meter or a leak someplace.

Here the first 600 KWHS is one charge then after that the price goes up. I'd like to keep our usage under 600 but haven't had any luck. Perhaps I spend too much time online. We don't need AC, it's currently only 67F right now in the middle of Summer in the middle of the day.

We are on the TVA grid. Ahh, 67 degrees...lucky if it's that low during the night now. The highs have consistently been in the mid to upper 90s.

 

[Beekissed]

Pat had plenty of good suggestions! I've read about people who place trellis on the sunny side of their house and grow vines that flourish in the spring and summer and die off in the winter. Decorative and useful in reducing the heat absorption of your house. We also use blinds effectively, to block out sun, with just about 6 inches open at the bottom for air flow. Then, when the sun has left that side of the house, we pull the blinds elsewhere and raise the rest for airflow.

We used to have a whole-house air conditioner, but learned to live without it where we live now. We use fans, do most of our activity in the cool of the morning and evenings, and relax in front of the fans for more sedate endeavors.

We also put most of our appliances and electrical items on power bars that we can turn off to avoid "phantom" usage. This has a dual effect...these electrical items that use power, even while off, will emit heat during this time also. Using this method eliminates that extra heat.

I try to limit my baking for early morning or late evening. Keep a jug of ice water in the fridge at all times, for a quick cool down.

We live in an old farm house, so not too many energy efficient features here, but our highest electric bill has been $83 and that was just once. We had a few more that were around $30-$40 but most have been around $17-$21. That is winter and summer. Personally, I think God has just blessed us supremely and it has little to do with our usage, but I still try to do my part! The kids think I'm just an energy miser...