I just got my electric bill yesterday - $150. Usually, it runs around 90 dollars per month, but I've been running the a/c, several fans and the sprinkler system, so expected a higher bill during these hot months. I, too, unplug and turn off, etc. - it's just that the rates increase as the demand increases.

Ours runs between $45 and $55..2 refrigerators, freezer, computer on 24/7(unless it's storming). Dehumidifier in basement. But we do have a gas water heater and range. Oh, no A/C.

Ummm hope you guys don't fall over on this one....ours ran 501 last month....that was our house and the 5th wheel but we also had a week or so of 105 temps!! I am looking forward to next month since no one is living at the house...just the necc. running...and our ele. is included in our monthly rent here at the 5th wheel park....You don't even want to know what our last water bill was! Stacy

Bi-monthly around $300. It varies, but I don't want that averaged "balancedc " billing my provider of elec recommends. I want real meter readings and real bills. My Mom gets billed monthly. One bill suddenly jumped to $700. Turned out her freezer (in the garage) had a broken thermostat and had been running constantly.

In the winter my electric bill is usually under $100, but in the summer it is around $200 or so. We also run a dehumidifier in the basement and the A/C in the rest of the house.

Our gas and electric comes on one bill and I'm on a "budget," I pay $450 each month. In the winter my gas bill is sometimes $700 so I appreciate spreading that out over the entire year! We got a new boiler last year, but I did not notice a decrease in gas consumption.

It was about $110. last month, which I think is pretty good for an all electric house. That is with keeping the AC at about 74 degrees. Our electric has dropped about $10. a month since getting the new front loading washer and dryer.

Ours runs between $90 and $125 a month. 3 story house, 2 fridges, a big freezer, washer, dryer and heat pump/AC, etc. I'm happy, hopefully this next bill will be averaged- we had a really hot stretch and then a really cool stretch, so the AC was off for the last 10 days, yay.

holey moley...you all pay alot..

I live in a tiny house, just under 1000sqft...my power bills are usually no more than $50 anytime of the year. Usually just about $42..but the window AC unit went in yesterday afternoon...it'll pop the bill up $8-$10 for the next bill.

My natural gas bill was $48 for last month and the month before $98. Not sure why that is....we have the dryer, hot water tank, range and fireplace(our only heat source) on gas. In the coldest part of winter, my gas bill is no more than $160.

Ours was a little over $93. I was expecting it to be higher as hot as it's been. The house is total electric, two refrigerators, w/d, dishwasher, running two ceiling fans constantly. Air is always on but we have it set on 78. We also have a TV on most of the time even during the night. (Like the noise.) We have 1200+ square feet. I'm a fanatic about lights being left on, but we changed all our bulbs to those coily-things when we moved in.

wow most pay nothing lol, guess this is just another thing making orlando very expensive to live in lol! our house is 1700 sq ft. we pay $300 mo on an averaging plan. we are also ULTRA conservative.

A/C during the day is set at 82, night time is 75. things left plugged in and on during the day are only: fridge, stand-up freezer, alarm system, A/C, roomba (battery must be kept charged :-( or it will permanently die unfortunately) that is it. everything including our puter server & printer, wireless system, TV, cable, DVR, stereo/entertainment systems, Wii, lamps, laptops, kitchen apppliances even alarm clocks are unplugged unless they are in use. all lights are off during the day while we are gone. all electrical strips are switched off for everything. we have natural gas for our water heater which will soon be tankless and that bill is $20 mo.

my next move to energy efficiency will be replacing all the old windows and the glass sliding doors which are one entire wall. i think that will lower the electric since they are windows from the 70's and the poor A/C runs constantly thou outside is mid 90's from 9am-9pm 9 months out of the yr lol. we are seriously planning on going solar after we do a new roof this winter.

i'd love to move up into a 5000-7000 sq ft house next and price would not keep me from having one, it's the electric bill that would lol. i can't bare to waste such $$ on hardly even using electric. i know many people in houses of those sizes who pay more than $1500 a month just on electric. ~ liz

Ours runs different $s for the differing times of year. The DH is the most frugal THRIFTY person you will ever know. If he can save a penny from anything he will. We have the AC run 24/7 in the summer months and the bill is knockin $100.00 in the winter when we have cold spells (temps under 65 outdoors and the heat is on they run around #80.00 when the central ac/heat isn't running we have bills $45.00 to $60.00 depending on hos many house guests we have stay. LOL I found the 2 biggest savings we have ever gotten were putting an automatic on/off switch on the water heater. I installed (Yes I actually did the installation myself) the new water heater and at the same time put in the gray box to make sure it isn't running and heating H2O when I don't need it. It is off all night and most of the day. It only takes 20 min to heat the water in the tank so I have it scheduled to turn on 20 min. before I am going to use the hot water and then off in an hr or 2. The water heater only runs 4 hrs a day at most.
Then getting a new central A/C and heat system last summer was great too. My bill dropped a full $15.00 bucks a month with the newer energy efficient system. We have the AC set at 80 and that is nice when the temp outside is 99+
then we keep the heat @ 76 most of the time I would prefer not to use the heat at all but DH can't take the cold at all. 2 Large bedrooms 2 baths, large living area and medium kitchen, about 1000 square feet under Air.

CT

I think it averages around $120 a month. Last one was $68 because we were gone a lot of it. I should've unplugged everything to see how low it could go but got to busy to think of it.

I am on an averaging plan and pay about $120 a month regardless of wht it really is

We are paying between $450 and $500 a month right now. Gas is at about $50 a month.

Around 45.00 a month. We have 3 window airconditioners, freezer and a fridge.

My bill this month was $94.00. That included a few days with the air conditioning running. My bill is higher in the winter because we have a hot tub on the patio that we keep at 100 degrees, but it still is not usually over $130.00 per month.

Our heat, kitchen stove, water heater, and clothes dryer are gas, so that keeps the electricity cost down.

My electricity, water and sewer are billed together. I am on budget billing and pay $67/month. My city burns the garbage and coal to produce electricity. I don't have central A/C but have one wall and two window A/Cs. I also have two portable fans and two ceiling fans. I keep my house cool enough to be comfortable in the summer. I don't worry about the utility bills.

We have an electric hot water heater and our bill is usually between 90 and 100 dollars. It bumps up to 130 to 140 in Summer when the A/C runs.
We're in the country and heat with propane; to fill the tank each year takes 200 to 250 dollars. Most of our heat is with wood. Of course I spend 2 to 3 weeks every year cutting/ splitting/ and stacking wood. But, here in Minnesota our heating bill could easily reach 2,000+ depending on the cost of propane.

Ron

My last electric bill was $71.00.

I live in Columbus Ohio. Our summer has been very cool. Not a day over 90 degrees. My condo is 1,200 square feet. My A/C unit is 4 years old. Only 1 refrigerator & I dont cook. I have all electronics unplugged when IÂm not at home, or asleep to prevent the phantom electric escaping.

Because my condo faces East and back to the West, I have full sun all day (no shade trees). So I purchased new windows that are deep factory tinted, plus I have double cell cellular shades. I also had another 8 inches of insulation blown in the attic. Lastly, I replaced the sliding glass door in the kitchen area with triple pane French doors. What a difference.

My electric and gas bills have been cut in half, as these savings helps keep heat inside during the winter.

Our natural gas and electric utility bills average $4200/year.

2900 sq ft brick and stucco house w/9-foot ceilings and casement windows, built 2001.

Gas ($2400): Forced air heat (68F days/62F nights); 50-gallon water heaters; clothes dryer

Elec. ($1800): Central air (77F days/74F nights); dehumidifiers in basement June-October; 42" sXs fridge/freezer; cooktop; oven; mircowave; 1 large and 1 small TV; DVD-R; usual small appliances, computer, lights, ceiling fan.

We are having the coolest spring/summer in Chicagoland history, but as we all know, electric *rates* keep going up. Our bill for the month of June usage was $147.18. $11 of that was state and municipal taxes. The cost of the electricity supplied was $82 -- the rest is for SEVEN other 'related' charges (like for being a customer: $10!)

How much could it cost to buy a fleet of hampsters and wheels to generate our own electricity? LOL They'd probably keep us awake all night.

Ours has been almost $500 the last two months.

Landlord's farm workshop is on the same meter as my house and the barn (which includes light and water pump that we use to fill his sprayer and I use to water garden) as it would cost him about $40./mo. to have a separate meter. We usually estimate his usage at about 20%.

Hydro reads the meter quarterly and I read and report on the other two months, or they estimate the usage. In Feb. they estimated meter usage at 23 (highest rate of the year: usually about 12 - 14), which resulted in a fee for power of $56.33, including a fee for drop along the line, I think. There was a charge of $59.62 for delivery, including maintaining the line, admin., etc., regulatory charge of $6.49 and a debt retirement charge(1) of $6.44 and Fed. sales tax of $6.44 with another $7.02 for yard light rental and Fed. tax on that of $0.35 ... for total fee of $142.69.

In March they read the meter for a usage of 1 unit of power. The cost for power was $2.42, $28.71 for delivery, $0.52 for regulatory, Fed tax of $1.60, yard light rental of $7.10 and fed tax on that of $0.36 ... for total fee of $40.99. About 6% of that bill having been for actual power used.

Average monthly payment in 2008 was $99.54, which we estimate to be about 20% for landlord's workshop, so I estimate my monthly cost at about $80.00.

One elderly male resident in two br. farmhouse, stove, frig, microwave, washer, seldom-used dryer, water pumps, water heater, oil furnace, old chest freezer, rarely-used ceiling fan in L.R., rarely-used TV, incessantly-used radio, much-used computer, bread machine, no a/c. (not a great deal of hot air in this house). I try to be careful re power usage (except for frequently using lights at night and sleeping through much of the morning). I use a number of fluorescent lights, including the little curly ones.

ole joyful

1. The provincial power system hasn't built a new generating system in over 30 years, so you'd think that they'd have a substantial fund in the capital till, available to build a new one when needed.

Unfortunately, due to delays in completion and cost overruns when building new units years ago, several of them of the nuclear variety, they are carrying a large debt, which we are helping retire through our monthly bills.

They've been finding that the nuclear generators don't last as long as was expected and that the cost of repairs are high, plus they are out of commission for long periods for those refurbishings.

Recently, due to reduction in usage, a private agency that (purchased? is leasing?) one/some of the nuclear generators declined to refurbish one of them, which it had been expected to do.

So it appears that they've been under-pricing power during substantial periods in the past ... and are they still doing it?

o j

P.S. to colored thumb ... before you crown your hubby as prince of frugal, how about reading my thread last night, "ole frugal joyful's current dilemma"?

Also my thread of about 5 years ago over, still there, on "Money Saving Tips" re recycled toilet paper (which terminology actually was in error: it should have been "reused", as no reprocessing was involved. Several claimed to have got a good laugh out of that one: always gratifying to brighten someone's day, right?

o j

I can't believe some of the electric bills. Wow. I just looked back at my last bills and my last 12 months averaged $36.33 with a low bill of about $27 and a high about $48. Now in fairness, I have natural gas furnace and water heater, but have electric stove and an electric dryer. I've been eating out a lot lately so the stove/ovens don't get used much lately but when I do cook I still use the convection oven, Nescos, and microwave. I use a window a/c unit and have a fan going a lot on warmer days that don't require a/c. Older TV on a lot and now my computer runs pretty much nonstop but it's a notebook so the power is much less than my old desktop units. Lately I've been running 2 notebooks (I'm getting my old one going again). Motion light outside. I have flurorescent lights in the basement and CFLs in most of the other lights inside and out. This has made a big difference in power use. Well, "big" being relative, considering what I pay vs what others pay. And I too wind up being up a lot at night so I'm burning lights when I probably should be sleeping if I were in "farm mode".

Because it varies as to what people have for electric or gas (or wood or other source) appliances, heat and the like, I should throw in that my natural gas bill ran from a low of $19 to a high of $198 in the last 12 months. (Guess which months were lowest and which were highest!) But it averaged out to $76/mo over the year. This is for heat, water heating and running two pilot lights.

So I am pretty satisfied with myself for the improvements I've made in conservation and thrift and also considering I'm keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than I used to so I'm also gaining benefit. These bills are very comparable to 30 years ago moneywise. And considering how the rates have changed over the years, I'm pleased. People talk about economizing and thrift, but I enjoy comparing my bills to most people! :D

The best money saver I found was sending DD off to college. When she is gone our electric, gas, and grocery bills are all cut by at least a third. Seriously though, I replaced our pathway or garden lights with solar this year and the best I can tell it has saved us about $12 to $15 a month. I gave $54 for a set of 18 solar lights and they have already paid for themselves-we have also replaced light bulbs with the CFLs and that has made a difference too.
Last month our electric bill was $114-AC running constantly because our temps where in the 90s everyday, this next bill should be lower as temps have been unseasonably cool for this time of year-in the 80s for our highs.
In our county there are 2 electric companies-depending on which part of the county you live in determines which company you get. We of course have the company with the higher rate-they will boldly admit that their rate is higher and they make no apologies for it. They send a little booklet out each month-it contains human interest stories, jokes, recipes, things like that-about a 20 page book-I figure that is what I'm paying the higher rate for it can't be the electricity-I have been with both companies and it all seemed the same to me.

Mine is from $50 to $60 a month. No a/c.

One difference with the lower bills is you need to add your gas bill to your electric for a total of what we with all electric use monthly. We don't have a choice where we live (heaven forbid there'd be an unslightly gas tank in the yard). I'd love a gas stove and water heater!!

Last electric portion of our bill was $91.00. That's about average for us. We have an older fridge 9 years) and a small chest freezer. Ceiling fans run in 3 rooms during the warmer evenings /nights. Dishwasher and clothes washer are run almost daily or at least every other day. Front load washer made a huge difference in our gas portion since our water heater is gas but also saved electrical due to shorter drying times.

We are on budget billing where they average your bills from the year before and that is what you pay each month. We pay $230.00 a month for this year. We have a 2,800 sq.ft. house plus work shop with ac and heat and stable with fans and partially heated. Heated swimming pool. I think that our bill is pretty good. We don't turn on our AC's until after Mothers day each year.

We average about $60 a month. I'm always turning off lights when I leave the room and the tv when I'm not watching it.

SamKaren
your resident DJ

Our house is all-electric. We are on budget...at $250 per month. House is 5,000 sq. ft. with dual-zoned heat/air-conditioning (two furnaces and two heat pumps). We have two kitchens, so two refrigerators, plus a large freezer, and an oversized hot water heater (to accommodate the jacuzzi). Given that we are home all day and keep the thermostat at comfortable levels (approximately 72 degrees, year round), I think our bills are reasonable.

We are total electric, can burn wood in the winter if we have to and have for most of our years here, but not last year. Our bill is for our house and also for a house out back that we keep heated in the winter and cool in the summer. Since I am a kept woman, I never see the electric bill. It goes to my husband's business. Only at times I hear a roar about it and and he pays it! I think though in the winter it is between $200 and $300. Two freezers and two refrigerators, window air conditioners, wife that likes to bake a lot :)

Sue

I'm in southern Maine (I think location makes a big difference). In the fall and spring it is about $80-90, in the winter it is about $110 and in the summer (with AC set at 78 when we aren't home and 72 when we are home) it is about $130. We run a dehumidifier from June to September. We do not have an electric hot water heater (we have hydro-air oil heat with a super-stor). Our house is about 4000 sf.

Year to date total for electric: $545

So that averages out to just under $78 per month.

Anywhere from $375 to $500, winter or summer. Bummer.

I'm in Northern Virginia. Decent electric rates. I have an all electric house, and am on the budget pay plan, which allows you to have the same payment every month. The payment is adjusted, as necessary, every 6 months.

Right now I'm paying $106.50 a month, but that includes waterline insurance.

I've been trying to cut back, but I've been running the dehumidifier in the basement pretty much nonstop because it's so damp down there.

During the summer months, my electrci bill runs between $50 to $90 per month. Its about $30 more when the air conditioner runs (whole house A/C).

Before I got A/C, I ran a dehumidifier in the basement. It had a problem of freezing up. I found that was due to too much humidity coupled with the cooler basement air. The solution was to raise is a couple of feet off the floor. Since the basement can not be tightly sealed away from the rest of the house, it gets to be a loosing proposition because the humidity continues to be replenished from upstairs.

Whole house A/C was the answer. It reduces the temperature difference between the basement and upper floor and effectively dries the air. Whats more, the A/C does not use much more electricity than a humidifier and fans in the upper floor. To a small degree, it reduces the load of the refrigerator and freezer since their ambient air temp is lowered.

I've been lucky this summer. I used the A/C for two weeks in June and none since. However, August is coming and I can expect to start it again. Around here, the first 3 weeks of August can be like July.

i do have to say that thou our electric is high even thou we unplug all but 5 things lol we never have to heat the house in the winter. we've gone yrs in a row w/o ever turning on the heat which is cheaper than the electric, being natural gas. 8 yrs ago we started off w/ $150 electric bills but constant rate increase have pushed it up to $300 mo. even when our useage is at an all time low, unplugging everything lol. this yr alone the increase from Progress Energy is 25% increase. last yrs was 17%.

i'm looking at replacing all the windows and sliding doors over the next 2 yrs. they are the only thing in our 30+ yr old house that is over a few yrs old and affects energy use. good quality, highly efficient sliders are going to run atleast $2-3K a price my DH balks at but i point out at the current electric increase rates we will be paying $600 mo. in 4 yrs if we don't plug up the inefficient windows/doors. the rate increase over the next 4 yrs will also make the $15-20K solar system we want next yr, pay back quick too lol. ~ liz

i'm very worried, i think we bought too big of dehumidifier for a small bathroo, it throwns out heat also in there and it turns off and on all day and night. am i gonna get a killer electric bill?
i'm gonna have a hard time taking it back due to it's about 40 lbs...our bathroom upstairs was actually getting mold, real bad, yet know it isn't. thanks
boo

We live on the bluff where the wind comes across the bay right through the house. It averages out to about $200 a month even in the winter with the gas fireplace on.
Our neighbor just spent a BUNDLE on penquin windows. I don't think we would live long enough to see a profit!

We live in a small 2 bedroom ranch style apartment. It is ALL electric. We don't have a washer and dryer. My electric bill was $175 last month. I nearly fell over when I saw it!! :( Blah!

Ours was $48 this month.....no air conditioning but a big old upright freezer that hadn't been defrosted for over a year.
I should see a reduction now that I have defrosted it.
It might be lower if DH wouldn't sleep for hours in front of the TV with the lamps on......but he denies he is asleep. LOL