(OT) Please advise on electricity

I just got the first electric bill for this house, and I am positively
stunned at the amount. They say I used 1,433 KWH electric in one month.

How is that possible? I have a small fridge, the water heater was off for
the first week and set on 110 F. the rest of the time. Aside from those big
consumers of power, all I've used has been lights, the computer (shut down
every night), occasional TV (19" screen if that matters) and once a week
vacuuming for maybe ten minutes.

My neighbors who heat with electricity and use an electric clothes dryer
almost daily in addition to a 32" TV, larger water heater, electric stove (I
use gas) and much larger fridge, plus a stand alone freezer, had an electric
bill two-thirds lower than mine for the same month!

Could the new meter loop be defective? Is there such a thing as a "leak" of
electricity in a house?

The reading on the water bill was also insane. It says I used 3,690 gallons
in one month, and that is simply not possible!!! I spent ten years living
in the desert and having to haul every drop from a well 7 miles away on an
unmaintained dirt road, and from that I really learned to conserve water. To
this day it is painful for me to have to flush a toilet. At the farm I would
leave my bathwater in the tub and dip it out for flushing. Here I just flush
twice a day. Remember, I live alone. And I take "military" showers. I think
I've washed maybe six loads of laundry here so far and that's for TWO
months, and there is no dishwasher, I fill the sink.

No way on earth have I used 123 gallons/day on average. No way!!! I'd be
very surprised to see proof that I had used half that amount.

Maybe they didn't actually read the water meter, and just made a guess?
Could they have done the same with the electric meter? The people who lived
here before were constantly using electric heaters, which I have never
done.... This is totally maddening.... I will just not be able to afford to
live here if these bills are correct.

jmcquown...

I don't know about where you live but in the Memphis area they definitely
*do* estimate bills from time to time. It says so when they've done it on
the bill. My feeling about that is this: If they get to estimate how much
I use, can I estimate what I think I owe them? Only seems fair, right?

I'd be calling them about the bill first thing Monday morning. You don't
seem like one of those electric hog types to me, Pat.

sriddles...

Pat, that sounds like an error in billing. That's not unusual,
especially for the meter reader to make a mistake. And sometimes, in
this town, they don't read the meter every month. They "estimate". If
that's what happened, your next bill will be way low, when they
actually read the meter.
Your water bill can be way high if you have a leak under the house, or
if the toilet is hanging and running all the time.
I am in electric-bill shock also, and have already inquired and found
out it isn't a mistake. I don't know how many kilowatts, but the bill
was $183. I am *bad* to leave lights on (DH calls it "Motel 6"--the
commercials that say "We leave the light on for you."
But we haven't run either the a/c or the heat this month. I hung out
clothes and didn't use the dryer. I can't believe that lights,
computer, 1 TV that only runs in the late evening, amounted to that
much. We did water some, and the pump runs on electricity. I think they
have raised the amount charged per kilowatt or something.

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

Did you have workmen there doing alterations before you
moved in? That kind of usage sounds as though it might be
from construction. If the meters were already on, with
service in your name, that might account for it. (If that's
the case, don't pay your contractors without deducting
whatever utility usage is attributable to them.)

I'd CERTAINLY complain to your utility services - it's not
unheard of for unscrupulous neighbors to "pirate" utilities,
if they know how to rig meters. (Cable TV companies have to
run frequent checks to foil people doing unofficial DIY
hookups to get "free" cable.)

It can happen in reverse, too. When my brother was an
apprentice electrician, he put in some additional outlets in
our house, and in rerouting to the meter, managed to connect
something wrong. For two months our meter indicated no
electrical usage at all!

Helen Wheels...

The electricity definitely doesn't sound right and the water sounds
downright ridiculous. I use similar appliances to you (except that I

Bill Stock...

Sounds like an error in the reading or an estimate as the others have said.
Check the reading on the bill vs. the reading on the meter now. Your lawyer

Pat...

I just did. See update below.

Pat...

HAHAHA like *I* can afford a lawyer haahahahahaaaaa

should have checked to make sure all of the previous bills (water, hydro,
taxes) were up to date when the sale closed.

Pat...

There were renters in here when I bought the place. They were paying their
own utilities. Everything was shut off when they left. It remained shut off
until I put in a newer meter loop, then turned back on, in my name.

Bill Stock...

Our last hydro bill was $350 and they're raising the rates again tomorrow.
We don't even have an electric hot water heater. I can't wait until the AC
kicks in. The average home owner won't be able to afford the energy bills
the way it's going.

_have_ got an electric oven but I don't use it very often) and my usage
is normally between 500 and 630 kWH per _two_ months. It sounds like
they may not have actually read the meter when the property was
transferred into your name and instead just estimated where the meter
started off when you moved in, assuming that you'd use about the same as
the previous residents. I'd check that with the power company first. If
you're able to get at your meters you should be able to read them
yourself - if I were you I'd do so, and start keeping records of the
numbers on the meters at least once per week, at least until you get a
good idea of what you're really using. You might also need to get the
power/water company to check the meter - it could be faulty. But it
doesn't seem likely that both the power and water meters would go wrong
at once - it seems more likely that some of the previous residents'
usage is being charged to you.

Pat...

What you're saying could not have happened. The electricity here was shut
clean off when the renters moved out and was left off for quite some time
until I upgraded the meter loop. The electric guys were here at the same
time, when the change was completed, and so was I.

Helen Wheels...

I guess that rules out that one then. Could they just have read the
meter wrong?

Dunno how easy it is to argue this sort of stuff with your power company
though. Things like figuring out the proportions of water and power
bills due to the buyer and seller are normally sorted out by settlement
agents or lawyers when a property is sold here in Australia. I'd be
checking with them too. But start keeping your own records - they'll be
useful if you need to argue it further.
Best of luck anyway.

mlbriggs...

Upon re-reading, a memory returned. A number of years ago, our condo's
electric bill was huge. An inspector from the electric company came in
for an inspection. He observed a wire running from the light pole to an
apartment building on the other side of the fence. That was it! Someone
there had tapped into our line and was getting free power. As I recall,
the power company billed the offending party and corrected our billing.
Call and ask the power company for a re-reading and inspection. MLB

sriddles...

This really does happen. Last month a house burned here, and after
inspection, the fire marshall found that they had somehow funkily wired
into the electricity themselves, and were basically stealing
electricity.

mlbriggs...

Call and ask for a re-reading .....then you will know how to proceed. MLB