My electric bill tripled

chic

chic

SF VIP
Location
U.S.
Eek. I almost had a heart attack. There seems to be no reason for this and I couldn't get anything but useless automation when I called. Has anyone had a problem like this? Is there a solution? There was no notice of of increases to be expected. It just happened out of nowhere and I wonder if there is an error because they list my usage as far more than it is.
 

I've heard they can come out and test the equipment . Keep trying to reach them. ( I HATE those "press 1 for ...." recordings ! ) Hope you reach a human ,soon.
 
If you have your previous electric bill compare it to the latest one for kilowatt hours used. Then go out to your meter and compare what the reading actually is. There are youtube videos that show how to read an electric meter. If you do manage to talk to a company customer service rep knowing what the numbers are can be helpful.
 

Happened to a lot of us in CT during Jan/Feb- do you use Eversource? It was explained to me but I never really understood. But, if the bill is saying it was your usage, something's wrong.
 
I hate to see the next one here in Houston as our highs have been in the middle 90's each day and supposed to be 100 this weekend!!
 
Many times utility companies will send estimated bills for a couple of months, then get an actual meter reading to get caught up. (This is in areas where they still have actual human meter readers.) If you check the reading on your meter you can see for yourself whether you have been overcharged.

We have our electricity on balanced billing so we pay the same amount each month all year. About $200 a month is automatically drafted from our checking account.
 
Manatee said:
Electric is only $87 for our little place. It is the #@&*% cable/internet/phone bundle that gripes me.
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Me too, Manatee. My electric is less than my bundled cable/internet/phone with Spectrum, here in Fl, as well.

Although, in the hottest months, my electric bill gets closer to the bundle amount, but still not that as much.
 
Oh, and I forgot to add that electric rates do increase in the summertime. They have that supply & demand thing going on to gouge us. :D The only way to verify your bill is to read your meter yourself; it's not difficult to do.
 
I never use more than 550 KWH even in the coldest winter months or the hottest summer ones. They based my May bill on 1390 KWH of use! So it skyrocketed from $100 - 300+. I can't afford this. It's ridiculous and incorrect anyway. I couldn't get hold of a human through the phone number provided on my bill. What a shock right? So I emailed them. It will take two business days but I hope they rectify this.
 
I had solar panels installed last September. They cost me about $65 a month, and my electric bill this month is $16. And the A/C ran every day last month. Not sure why yours would triple unless it is some sort of "true up". Way back when, I was on a flat monthly payment plan and once a year there would be a true up - sometimes you owed a lot, sometimes they owed me.
 
Chic, do you think that somebody is tapping into your feed?

Any evening after dark,switch off your main switch, then go
outside and see if there is any change there, switch back on
and do the same check.

I had a friend who did this and found that the street lights had
been attached to his supply.

Mike.
 
chic said:
I never use more than 550 KWH even in the coldest winter months or the hottest summer ones. They based my May bill on 1390 KWH of use! So it skyrocketed from $100 - 300+. I can't afford this. It's ridiculous and incorrect anyway. I couldn't get hold of a human through the phone number provided on my bill. What a shock right? So I emailed them. It will take two business days but I hope they rectify this.
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I hope you do better than I did. I monitor my usage a couple times a week because I know it can get out of hand $$, but I think living for 14 years -off-grid with no full time electric has made me understand what I really need as far as electric usage. Anyway I was checking it the other day and looking at a daily usage of 4Kw and one day of 69Kw really stands out. When I spoke with them they said there is nothing they can due because my usage is checked every 15 minutes and I have to pay for it.

Screenshot-2018-5-31 CoServ com - Dashboard.jpg

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Because I know what I was using (as far as electric during that time period ) and I know it was nothing different than any other day it meant that an appliance went nuts and over used some power, and the only appliance always running is the refrigerator so even though I think I found the source I still have to pay the electric company and have to keep a refrigerator that has some kind of defect.

I hope you have better luck than I.
 
Chic, how aggravating, yes, $300, this surely must be an error on their part. It will get resolved once you contact them and explain what happened, I'm sure. Just a pain in the butt, right?. Let us know what happens after you contact them.
 
Pete - Can I assume it's self-defrosting? Sounds like the defrost function went haywire. Just my guess, of course.
 
chic said:
I never use more than 550 KWH even in the coldest winter months or the hottest summer ones. They based my May bill on 1390 KWH of use! So it skyrocketed from $100 - 300+. I can't afford this. It's ridiculous and incorrect anyway. I couldn't get hold of a human through the phone number provided on my bill. What a shock right? So I emailed them. It will take two business days but I hope they rectify this.
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In our case, when our bill went from $280/month to $692 one January in Virginia, the culprit was a failing heat pump. Ugh! $$$$$
An energy audit (which should be available at little or no cost from your utility), would provide clues as to what has changed. . .:confused:
 
CindyLouWho said:
Chic, how aggravating, yes, $300, this surely must be an error on their part. It will get resolved once you contact them and explain what happened, I'm sure. Just a pain in the butt, right?. Let us know what happens after you contact them.
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Thanks. I think so too. At least I do hope. I'm with National Grid and have never had a problem like this before. I haven't yet received a response to my email, but I also have an address to write to about the problem and they can't cut off my electricity while the situation is being investigated. There's just no way a person goes from using 400-500 KWH a month to 1390 without some kind of error somewhere. It's off the charts. Fingers crossed things will work out. It's so much nicer when you can talk to a human.
 
Hoot N Annie said:
Pete - Can I assume it's self-defrosting? Sounds like the defrost function went haywire. Just my guess, of course.
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My assumption also, but to stay on for almost 8 hours is not a defrost mode. I have been around when the temp goes up near +40 but only for a couple minutes and then back below freezing. I am thinking that something caused the defrost 'mode' to stay on for hours but how does one prove that to the office manager?
 

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