Electric Bill came - kwh usage tripled!

20 years ago

Our PEPCO electric bill came in today, and I was floored when I saw the the bill for $337.66 which covers period from 1/19/06 and 2/16/06. The bill states kwh used was 3850kwh.

Now this is a deviation from our monthly electric bills. We live in 1200sq ft townhouse, my husband and I have lived here for 14 years, and our average monthly usage of electricity is 1200kwh, which runs about $120/month. No gas, so everything runs on electricity, but still this month's kwh usage is still puzzling to me. I can't imagine, how in the world my husband and myself could of used up 3850kwh within 28 days! We haven't done anything different, didn't plug any new appliances, and in fact since this past month the weather has been mild in our area, we have lowered our thermostat to 65. We normally keep it at 69.

Anything unusual like this ever happen to you?.......where suddenly kwh usage tripled for no apparent reason?

Any suggestions on what could be increasing the kwh usage?

I'm still waiting to hear back from electric company, frustrating trying to deal with them.

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Comments (7)

prettyphysicslady
20 years ago
Did you check the meter? It may be just that. My usage doubled in December. I checked the meter and they had just read it incorrectly. They corrected it on the next reading.
celticmoon
20 years ago
Go take a reading off your meter. If it is digital reading it is straightforward, if it is one of the older ones with little clock faces, reading it is a little counterintuitive (see link below).

You should be able to see right away if it was read wrongly last month because the number now will be lower than that on your bill. And you are due a heck of a credit until the meter catches up with the misread. If you are still chowing electricity, the meater will tell you that too (it's been 10 days since the reading on your bill)

I would recommmend taking serial readings, say every three days to document your current usage. Make a log, just in case you need the proof.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to read electric meter
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cburtt
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I feel your pain. I live in So. Cal and my bill went up $200 from last month for a whopping total of $600. We've been in this house for 11 years and never had a bill this high. it's just the two of us. I don't think the meter is broken, but I do think something is WRONG!!! Wish I could help you, but I am totally disgusted.
devorah
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Several possibilities come to mind: It could be a mistake. It could be that the Elec. Co. has been guessing at your usage and just recently took an actual reading and there was a catch-up. It could be that you have changed some behavior without realizing it. When this happened to me, it turned out that my husband had been leaving on all the lights in the downstairs 24 hours a day. He reasoned that since they were fluorescent (sp.?)lights, they didn't use enough energy to bother with the off-switch. WRONG! Can you ask for an energy audit? My elec. Co. will sometimes do that for free.
busyasabee
Original Author
20 years ago
I just want to update everyone regarding my Pepco bill. I was finally able to resolve the bill after several frustrating weeks. Turns out that it was a misread. They have adjusted my bills accordingly. Thanks for everyone's assistance.
jannie
20 years ago
My mom's electric bill went up suddenly. My brother found the chest freezer in the garage had broken and was running constantly.
celticmoon
20 years ago
Gotta love a happy ending. Thanks for the update!

Electric Bill came - kwh usage tripled!

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prettyphysicslady

celticmoon

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Electric Bill came - kwh usage tripled!

Comments (7)

prettyphysicslady

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busyasabeeOriginal Author

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