Your Electricity Bill

[AbbysMom]

I belong to a Facebook group for my town. Recently people were complaining about how high their electric bill was this past month. People were getting bills that were $400, $500 and $600 saying that the rates have skyrocketed. I was very nervous to open my bill when it came in because I knew it would be higher because of my window air conditioner, dehumidifier, etc. I was happy to see a total of $180, which is still kind of high.

How bad is your electric bill?

 

[sivyaleah]

Mine this past month was $305. We have central a/c and run it all the time on a rather low setting since I get warm easily. Plus, allergies.

However, this is also down from last year. We had a new front door installed before the winter and I've noticed my bills on average have decreased $20 give or take each month since we did that. We have one more door to go and I'm hoping that will also impact the billing.

 

[Mother Dragon]

Until we went to balanced billing, we would get some bills of $800 and one over $900. The worst months, surprisingly, are February and March, not the incredibly hot summer months. We have a fairly large all-electric house which we've made as energy-efficient as possible and we keep the thermostat just short of uncomfortable. Now the bill is just under $400 a month. Yes, that's awful on a retiree's budget, but still better than twice that much.

 

[Willowy]

In the summer it's sometimes as high as $250, but this summer has been cool so last month it was $180. I'm sure I could turn off the AC and open the windows a bit more often but I just hate humidity :/. In the winter it's around $100.

I'm told rural electric is expensive but apparently not as expensive as some places! Yikes! I can't imagine paying the same as a mortgage payment for electricity! How does anyone afford anything? I've seen the bills for the main Post Office, which is a big cavernous building, and they're only around $600-$800 (gas in the winter, electric in the summer).

 

[LTS3]

I just got my bill today. It's the highest it's ever been, $61 I know exactly why it's so high. I've been using the electric stove quite a bit lately. Normally my bill is somewhere between $20 and $30.

I think my parents' bill is somewhere in the very high hundreds Both my adult brothers still live at home and have their computers and gadgets constantly running, the tv is always on, the washer and dryer goes through at least a dozen+ loads a week. And no, neither brother help pay for any of the household bills and my parents won't ask them to

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
I don't see the actual bill, but every Saturday night Rick Perry toilet papers the trees in front of my house.
.

 

[Willowy]

I just got my bill today. It's the highest it's ever been, $61 I know exactly why it's so high. I've been using the electric stove quite a bit lately. Normally my bill is somewhere between $20 and $30.

Wow, that's low! Do you not use AC? That's usually the biggest expense. Electric stoves use about 1500 watts per hour, so 1.5 kWh, and average cost per kWh is around 15 cents so it shouldn't be more than 25 cents an hour. Depending where you live.

I found this chart, and wow, New England and California prices are crazy! I can see why Alaska and Hawaii charge more but you would think New England would be lower. Compare Electricity Rates by State and City for July 2017

I used to be on a hermit crab forum and people always claimed that their undertank heater jacked their electric bill up by $30-$50 a month. Um no. It's 15 watts, that's 1/3 of a kWh per day with 24-hour use. See if your neighbor is plugging their AC into yours or something because it sure isn't the little heat mat, lol.

 

[foxxycat]

I run the AC ALL THE TIME. it's around $120 a month. Gas stove. Electric dryer/washer-which is always going.

The winter it's around $170 or more because of forced hot air heating-the blower motor takes a good chunk of power.
In the past the AC only cost about $20 a month to run full time. that was a 5000 btu one. This one is 10,000. Next year I want to get a permanent mounted 20,000 btu like the one at the camp I rented=that thing was POWERFUL. Run it for half an hour and the place was cool for a few hours. I like it COLD.

Which is hard because mr Jon likes it WARM. so we always fight over the temperature. The heat is always on HIGH in winter and I die in the summer with all windows closed and no air circulation.

 

[kashmir64]

Mine was $51. It was a little higher because of the Evap Cooler. My stove, hot water and heater are all LP, so no electricity there. I wash clothes late at night or on weekends when it's not 'prime' and it's cheaper.
In the winter is when it gets high, because those little heaters. I have to have one in the pump house so it doesn't freeze. Even with the heater, everything insulated and wrapped, it did freeze one year. But, it got down to -24.

 

[Willowy]

wash clothes late at night or on weekends when it's not 'prime' and it's cheaper.

I wish they did that around here. Rural electric for me is $33 for service, 13 cents per kWh for the first 600, then 8.6 cents a kWh for anything over that. They don't have time differentials. I assume that's because farmers are running grain dryers and calf warmers all day and all night so it doesn't make much difference. If you get an electric water heater from them and let them control it they give you a penny per kWh off, but electric water heaters cost too much to run so it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[artiemom]

My electric bill was $80 last month. I do keep the AC on every night and have it on most days. It will go down a lot in September, October, November and December.

I seem to do a lot of laundry.. more because of Artie's stuff. I am trying to use more cold water when I wash. I also have the water temp up higher than normal. I prefer really hot water.

In the winter it is about $60.. I do keep the lights on. I am not working, so I do have either the TV or the stereo going.. and of course, I am on the computer a lot.

My gas bill last month was $8 ... I love it!!

I do have a very frugal cousin who has his electric bill down to $20 a month.. He owns a house and uses a flashlight rather than put a lamp on--he is crazy.

My gas bill decreased about $20 per month last winter because they installed a new HVAC system in my apartment.

 

[LTS3]

Wow, that's low! Do you not use AC? That's usually the biggest expense. Electric stoves use about 1500 watts per hour, so 1.5 kWh, and average cost per kWh is around 15 cents so it shouldn't be more than 25 cents an hour. Depending where you live.

I rarely use my central AC. I'll only turn it on if it's over 100F and humid and gross. I just keep the windows open and shades pulled down to keep the inside cool. The cats have never had a problem. I have tiled floors in the kitchen and bathroom if they need something cool to lie on and there's always the cold air draft coming under the door from the building hallway which does have AC.

The provider I use currently has a $10.759 per kWh rate.

 

[Kat0121]

I have Florida Power & Light. I run the AC almost year round. I just got my bill that's due 9/3. It's $138.79. That's about average for this time of year. In the "winter" it will be in the $40-$60 range.

 

[neely]

I like to compare my electric bill from year to year. I've had the windows open more this summer than any I can remember in a long time. I don't put the a/c on until the temps get in the mid 80's, the humidity is high or Carleton gives me a look as if to say, "c'mon mom, are you kidding me?" Our most recent bill was $80 which is relatively low compared to previous summers. Wintertime in the midwest is a different story with the gas bill.

 

[Winchester]

We have total electric heat in the house and we're on the budget plan, so we know every month what the bill will be. This year, we're running around $150 per month. We do not have central AC (we keep talking about it, but that's as far as we get).

We have the pool pump. We don't turn the heat on in the house until we can close the pool. We don't open the pool until we turn the heat off in the house. That way, one cancels out the other, although the pool pump isn't really that bad to operate. In the winter, we do tend to keep the house a bit on the cooler side and we walk around in sweats all the time. We do run the electric blanket at night (I can't get through the winter without the electric blanket) and during the day when we're at home for the cats. When they know the electric blanket is turned on, they all spend the day back in bed. I run the dryer several times a week and we have two freezers in the basement.

We get a statement from our electric company that compares our usage to that of our neighbors; we're usually right in the middle. We use less and less electricity every month, but our bill continues to increase every year.

 

[AbbysMom]

I found this chart, and wow, New England and California prices are crazy! I can see why Alaska and Hawaii charge more but you would think New England would be lower.

Yeah, the cost of living is not cheap around here.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

my electricity bill isn't bad really. this month's electric bill was about forty dollars.

 

[muffy]

My electric bill is about $75 in the spring and summer and has gotten as high as $300 in the winter. My house is tiny and I have all electric.

Muffy

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

It varies from $175 to $275. We have 200 square feet of heated and cooled space, two computers, fridge, electric stove, washer, freezer, another small refrigerator, an ice machine, electric dryer, dishwasher and probably more. Plus sometimes the heat or air is running on a separate system in the garage if my cat is in there.

 

[theyremine]

I, too, am in MA. Last month's bill was quite a bit higher ($120) and this month's just a bit higher than normal ($100) for this time of year (usually $80-90). I do run central air, but I conserve (lots of insulation, cold water wash, efficient light bulbs etc) Actually, when the energy reports come from the electric/gas I'm usually one of the most efficient. I guess rates are up.