June Electric Bill

IHateCNBC · 07-20-2006, 06:16 AM

Wow.* *

My June 2006 electric bill went up 312% month over month.

$73 to $228.*

June 2005 my electric bill was $62.*

Good thing there is no inflation.* *

Dawg52 · 07-20-2006, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IHateCNBC

Wow.* *

My June 2006 electric bill went up 312% month over month.

$73 to $228.*

June 2005 my electric bill was $62.*

Good thing there is no inflation.* *

I don't know about where you live, but this has been the hottest summer we have had since 1980. I didn't get that kind of an increase though.*

lets-retire · 07-20-2006, 06:56 AM

The last time I had an increase like that I checked my meter and discovered the company had misread it. I also replaced my a/c and wound up saving $80-90 per month.

Scrooge · 07-20-2006, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IHateCNBC

Good thing there is no inflation.* *

Utilities are generally tightly regulated, which can result in residential prices lagging behind market prices for a while and then catching up rather abruptly. Sometimes utilities try to sweeten the pill, for example:

Quote:

Pepco announced on April 1 that due to dramatic increases in the cost of fuel for generating electricity, rates for its Maryland residential customers would go up an average of about 39 percent beginning June 1, 2006. Given the magnitude of this electric rate increase, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a Pepco proposal to give residential customers the option to phase in the new rates over a one-year period.

And yes, more efficient air conditioners can save you a bundle. I had mine replaced last year and my June 2006 bill is one of the lowest summer bills I have ever had.

HFWR · 07-20-2006, 07:28 AM

May '05 - $125 > May '06 - $178
June '05 - $195 > June '06 - $272

I believe natural gas fuels many Texas generators...

Plus, this summer, so far, has been hotter (i.e. more normal) than last...

justin · 07-20-2006, 07:30 AM

My bill went down from ~$150 to $120 from June 05 to June 06. We have the air set lower this year too. I don't remember any cool times this summer, but maybe last summer was particularly hot?

I do know that the local util co is proposing a big double digit rate hike soon.

astromeria · 07-20-2006, 07:36 AM

June 2005--$127
June 2006--$132

BUT...we were away the last half of June 2006 and left the thermostat at 82F, and the 2006 bill had one more day (DH normalized them per day to 2005--$4.14 and 2006--$3.86). Just goes to show how much we could save if we left it at 82 :P

EDIT Forgot that we were also away for a week in June 2005! But we only left the thermostat at 80 that time. I think we should travel more in the summer...and the winter

Andre1969 · 07-20-2006, 07:42 AM

Where I live the billing cycle ends about 2/3 of the way through the month. I remember the bill from ~May 20 to ~June 20 was about $118, which was actually DOWN from about $150 the same time last year. On average, the temps were a bit higher this year, but it was actually a rapid change. I remember going from running the furnace to running the a/c almost within a week.

I can think of a few things that might have helped the bill go down, though.
1) For the most part I've only been running two air conditioners instead of 3
2) I bought a new, more efficient a/c unit earlier in the year to replace this heavy, ancient, inefficient Airtemp by Chrysler unit I had been using. I'm not sure how old it was, but I thought Airtemp division went away about the same time Iacocca went to Chrysler, back in the late 70's!
3) I have two refrigerators. One of them used to sit out on an enclosed side porch off the kitchen, which gets deathly hot in the summertime. That was our beer fridge, so needless to say we'd go out there alot, opening that door and letting the heat into the kitchen. I moved the 2nd fridge into the kitchen, so we hardly ever open that door anymore. Plus, I'm sure the fridge doesn't have to work as hard in the kitchen as it did on that porch.

I haven't gotten the bill for June-July yet. I'm sure it won't be a pretty sight. Last year it was only around $130. However, it's been hotter during the same period of this year, plus I think they raised electric rates by 15% starting July 1. As long as it's not over $200 I won't cry too much.

brewer12345 · 07-20-2006, 07:45 AM

$194 was the bill I got yesterday. But we are now cooling more of the house, with the new baby and many visitors, and the local utility bumped up summer rates by about 2 cents a KWH (~30% increase).

**Sarah in SC** · 07-20-2006, 07:55 AM

June 2005 $98
June 2006 $117

As soon as it gets cooler, I'm putting in some of that radiant foil stuff Nords suggests. Ours is a rural electric cooperative, but price still up for same usage.
That beer fridge will cost you--we used to keep one on the back porch at the beach--now we just keep all the beer in the main fridge and buy less food!

We set the thermostat on 86 during the day (while we are gone) and 79 once we get home.
Sarah

HFWR · 07-20-2006, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclesters

That beer fridge will cost you--we used to keep one on the back porch at the beach--now we just keep all the beer in the main fridge and buy less food!*

Yeah, you don't want to eat on an empty stomach... :P

unclemick · 07-20-2006, 08:04 AM

Hmmm

Louisiana - last June - $221 - 1345 sq ft - 5 cents/kwh
Missouri -this June --- $160 - 1100 sq ft - 7 cents/kwh

My killer is water/sewer, trash, gas all new up here - add 81 bucks per month and I haven't started watering the lawn much yet.

heh heh heh

BarbaraAnne · 07-20-2006, 08:27 AM

In the Dallas area its 14.4 cents per kWh!!* After deregulation we pay among the highest rates in the country!* We personally use one of the lowest cost providers,as the largest provider, TXU, charges 15 cents per kWH!

With temperatures over 100 I don't even want to tell you what our bill is...it gives me a headache...

justin · 07-20-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclesters

We set the thermostat on 86 during the day (while we are gone) and 79 once we get home.
Sarah

Wow! We set the thermostat at 75 during the day while we are gone, then 74 on weekends during the day (when we are there sometimes) and 71 between 9 pm and 9 am. (We like it cool I guess). I don't know how much extra it costs to have a very comfortable environment inside, but it's worth it!

Brat · 07-20-2006, 08:50 AM

Cooling?? Open the windows and enjoy the sea breeze! God provided an efficeint, cost effective, heat pump that cools the air in the summer and moderates winter's chill.

astromeria · 07-20-2006, 08:50 AM

When we first moved here, I tried 78 all day (remember I'm ER--at home) and 75 at night. Now I do 75 when I'm at home, 78-82 when I'm out (depends on how long I'm out). And I run the ceiling fans. And I drink ice water. Sometimes I think I got stuck in a permanent hot flash!

As for $ per KWH...we use SCE&G (South Carolina Electric & Gas):

First 800 KWH = 8.888 cents
Remainder = 9.702 cents

We used 1264 KWH in June 2006, and we were away and left the thermostat @ 82 half the time. But our house is almost 2500 sq ft.

Texas Proud · 07-20-2006, 08:52 AM

I got the 'cheap' provider at 13.1 cents plus billing fee which made it 13.4...

But, the old provider was in the 16.5 cents per KWH...

Scrooge · 07-20-2006, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin

(We like it cool I guess).* I don't know how much extra it costs to have a very comfortable environment inside, but it's worth it!

Different people have VERY different comfort zones.

When I was in my mid-20s and had almost no body fat (a nurse once told me that it was unhealthy

), I had the thermostat set to 88-90F during the winter season. (Hurray for "all utilities included"!)

<10 years and 50 pounds later, my comfort zone was in the high 60s. Now that my body weight is somewhere in between these two extremes, I like the mid-70s.

astromeria · 07-20-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat

Cooling?? Open the windows and enjoy the sea breeze! God provided an efficeint, cost effective, heat pump that cools the air in the summer and moderates winter's chill.

That worked beautifully when we lived in San Francisco--we didn't even have A/C, and just a tiny electric baseboard heater in each room. (No comment on God's provisions for the sultry and freezing parts of the world

eridanus · 07-20-2006, 09:14 AM

I keep it at 86 when I'm gone and 76 when I'm at home. With fans on, I'm comfortable.

I used 413 KWH last month and I pay 5.25 cents/KWH.

07-20-2006, 06:16 AM	#1
IHateCNBC Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 104	June Electric Bill Wow.* * My June 2006 electric bill went up 312% month over month. $73 to $228.* June 2005 my electric bill was $62.* Good thing there is no inflation.* *

07-20-2006, 06:56 AM	#3
lets-retire Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,192	Re: June Electric Bill The last time I had an increase like that I checked my meter and discovered the company had misread it. I also replaced my a/c and wound up saving $80-90 per month. __________________ You don't want to work. You want to live like a king, but the big bad world don't owe you a thing. Get over it--The Eagles

07-20-2006, 07:28 AM	#5
HFWR Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: May 2005 Location: DFW Posts: 5,142	Re: June Electric Bill May '05 - $125 > May '06 - $178 June '05 - $195 > June '06 - $272 I believe natural gas fuels many Texas generators... Plus, this summer, so far, has been hotter (i.e. more normal) than last... __________________ Have Funds, Will Retire I will now proceed to entangle the entire area...

07-20-2006, 07:30 AM	#6
justin Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4,010	Re: June Electric Bill My bill went down from ~$150 to $120 from June 05 to June 06. We have the air set lower this year too. I don't remember any cool times this summer, but maybe last summer was particularly hot? I do know that the local util co is proposing a big double digit rate hike soon.

07-20-2006, 07:36 AM	#7
astromeria Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,380	Re: June Electric Bill June 2005--$127 June 2006--$132 BUT...we were away the last half of June 2006 and left the thermostat at 82F, and the 2006 bill had one more day (DH normalized them per day to 2005--$4.14 and 2006--$3.86). Just goes to show how much we could save if we left it at 82 :P EDIT Forgot that we were also away for a week in June 2005! But we only left the thermostat at 80 that time. I think we should travel more in the summer...and the winter __________________ You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need.

07-20-2006, 07:42 AM	#8
Andre1969 Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 839	Re: June Electric Bill Where I live the billing cycle ends about 2/3 of the way through the month. I remember the bill from ~May 20 to ~June 20 was about $118, which was actually DOWN from about $150 the same time last year. On average, the temps were a bit higher this year, but it was actually a rapid change. I remember going from running the furnace to running the a/c almost within a week. I can think of a few things that might have helped the bill go down, though. 1) For the most part I've only been running two air conditioners instead of 3 2) I bought a new, more efficient a/c unit earlier in the year to replace this heavy, ancient, inefficient Airtemp by Chrysler unit I had been using. I'm not sure how old it was, but I thought Airtemp division went away about the same time Iacocca went to Chrysler, back in the late 70's! 3) I have two refrigerators. One of them used to sit out on an enclosed side porch off the kitchen, which gets deathly hot in the summertime. That was our beer fridge, so needless to say we'd go out there alot, opening that door and letting the heat into the kitchen. I moved the 2nd fridge into the kitchen, so we hardly ever open that door anymore. Plus, I'm sure the fridge doesn't have to work as hard in the kitchen as it did on that porch. I haven't gotten the bill for June-July yet. I'm sure it won't be a pretty sight. Last year it was only around $130. However, it's been hotter during the same period of this year, plus I think they raised electric rates by 15% starting July 1. As long as it's not over $200 I won't cry too much.

07-20-2006, 07:45 AM	#9
brewer12345 Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,044	Re: June Electric Bill $194 was the bill I got yesterday. But we are now cooling more of the house, with the new baby and many visitors, and the local utility bumped up summer rates by about 2 cents a KWH (~30% increase). __________________ "When caught between two evils I generally pick the one I haven't tried before." - Mae West

07-20-2006, 07:55 AM	#10
Sarah in SC Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 1,918	Re: June Electric Bill June 2005 $98 June 2006 $117 As soon as it gets cooler, I'm putting in some of that radiant foil stuff Nords suggests. Ours is a rural electric cooperative, but price still up for same usage. That beer fridge will cost you--we used to keep one on the back porch at the beach--now we just keep all the beer in the main fridge and buy less food! We set the thermostat on 86 during the day (while we are gone) and 79 once we get home. Sarah __________________ "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt DINKS, 37 and 45, plan for his ER at 50, mine few yrs later.

07-20-2006, 08:04 AM	#12
unclemick Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 5,255	Re: June Electric Bill Hmmm Louisiana - last June - $221 - 1345 sq ft - 5 cents/kwh Missouri -this June --- $160 - 1100 sq ft - 7 cents/kwh My killer is water/sewer, trash, gas all new up here - add 81 bucks per month and I haven't started watering the lawn much yet. heh heh heh

07-20-2006, 08:27 AM	#13
BarbaraAnne Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 133	Re: June Electric Bill In the Dallas area its 14.4 cents per kWh!!* After deregulation we pay among the highest rates in the country!* We personally use one of the lowest cost providers,as the largest provider, TXU, charges 15 cents per kWH! With temperatures over 100 I don't even want to tell you what our bill is...it gives me a headache...

07-20-2006, 08:50 AM	#15
Brat Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,715	Re: June Electric Bill Cooling?? Open the windows and enjoy the sea breeze! God provided an efficeint, cost effective, heat pump that cools the air in the summer and moderates winter's chill. __________________ Duck bjorn.

07-20-2006, 08:50 AM	#16
astromeria Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,380	Re: June Electric Bill When we first moved here, I tried 78 all day (remember I'm ER--at home) and 75 at night. Now I do 75 when I'm at home, 78-82 when I'm out (depends on how long I'm out). And I run the ceiling fans. And I drink ice water. Sometimes I think I got stuck in a permanent hot flash! As for $ per KWH...we use SCE&G (South Carolina Electric & Gas): First 800 KWH = 8.888 cents Remainder = 9.702 cents We used 1264 KWH in June 2006, and we were away and left the thermostat @ 82 half the time. But our house is almost 2500 sq ft. __________________ You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need.

07-20-2006, 08:52 AM	#17
Texas Proud Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,011	Re: June Electric Bill I got the 'cheap' provider at 13.1 cents plus billing fee which made it 13.4... But, the old provider was in the 16.5 cents per KWH...

07-20-2006, 09:14 AM	#20
eridanus Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,075	Re: June Electric Bill I keep it at 86 when I'm gone and 76 when I'm at home. With fans on, I'm comfortable. I used 413 KWH last month and I pay 5.25 cents/KWH.