Electric Bill went sky high suddenly!!

**qtkitty** · 07-23-2008, 04:54 AM

ACK!!!

This month out electric bill has went sky high it went from regularly $120 to 130 to $197 plus change!!! That's a good $70 increase.. i just don't get it our usage hasn't changed at all.

The only thing that i can think is that it could be linked with the ac suddenly making our baby monitor go haywire every time it comes on. Which it has been way hotter then what we put it on since before high summer hit. I have it set at 75 and leave it there even though at night it gets down right nippy and during the day it gets up above 80 in the house. Except it feels way hotter then 80 in the rest of the house the hall holds the cool air and it feels like you walked into a fridge compared to the rest of the house. I already have a fan blowing air from that area into the living room.

I had even started turning off the light we had left on since Ellen was born when i go to bed ( kitchen light switch is in the stupidest place which makes it difficult to get to while holding squirming baby and impossible in the dark with squirming baby.)

I'm definitely going to have to talk to the land lord about checking the AC and if he dares to stick a thermometer in the vent and then go oh its blowing cold air its okay you just need to drop the ac like he did in our last place i might be tempted to clunk him in the head with a baby bottle or what ever else is handy to throw at him.

**molly** · 07-23-2008, 09:07 AM

Ours did the same thing. Here the electric company charges a higher rate per kw during the summer. Yours is probably the same.
I hope you don't have to hit the landlord to get him to check the AC out properly !!! LOL!

**Momto2Boyz** · 07-23-2008, 09:09 AM

Ours gets higher in the summer too! I was surprised though. Last month, we were using the AC, so I was policing the other electric usage, and it actually went down $15! Go figure. I'm not looking forward to this months though!

**freyadog** · 07-23-2008, 09:12 AM

Ours usually runs about 44$. Since it has gotten hot I am sure it will go up with having to run the air in the extra bedroom where our stockpile is.

**DonnainME** · 07-23-2008, 09:16 AM

WOW that is a major increase. I just have this picture in my head of you throwing a baby bottle and knocking him out. LOL I hope you don't have to go to that extent to get him to check on the AC.

I'm hoping our electric bill either goes down or is the same. We have been able to take it down over the past few months. It went from like $225 or so to $195 then down to $153 last month. I hope this next one will be better.

**Denvergirlie** · 07-23-2008, 09:38 AM

Are you sure your rates just didn't go up? Almost nationwide electric rates have gone up and many people are reporting huge increases in electric bills.

**Russ** · 07-23-2008, 09:44 AM

Here in Michigan you can get interruptible service and a cheaper rate.

By allowing us to briefly cycle your service by remote control on very hot days or when there is a high demand for electricity, you save over the basic residential rate. The cycles are limited to 15 minutes maximum at a time followed by at least 15 minutes of operation and limited to no more than eight hours in a 24-hour period so they should not noticeably affect the temperature inside your home.

It saves about 20% on our A/C costs. We never notice it being shut off.

**cheles2kids** · 07-23-2008, 11:06 AM

Ours went up this last time too, by around $60.00.
We have a gas hot water heater, so the only thing I can contribute it too is that it's been hotter and the a/c has kicked on a bit more and also I think we had an overall utility increase.

**Domestic Gal** · 07-23-2008, 11:12 AM

With the different temps in different areas of your house I would check to see if your duck work has come apart somewhere.
If not I would get fans to push the air around.

**qtkitty** · 07-24-2008, 02:31 AM

I will have to check the bills to see if it was a rate change .. you would think they would put some notification if the rate was changing not just sneak it in there... imagine if this was direct billed to someones checking that would really screw them up.

I just don't get it ... but i know there is something not right with the ac... there is cold are coming out of all the vents.. well except for the ones i have covered.. like the front bedroom because no ones in there so i have it covered and the door closed.. and then the babies room because it was getting to cold because its RIGHT beside the ac unit and the dramatic cold was waking her up.

**rebecca** · 07-24-2008, 04:16 AM

I feel your pain! Even though mine went from $80 to $92 our electric in my city has been going up about 4% ever year. I have been working very hard to keep it low, but this month they are going to raise it again. It's getting to the point where you want to go to bed as soon as it even starts to get dark.

**qtkitty** · 07-24-2008, 05:18 AM

*lol* or invest in candles.. its almost to the point where they would be cheaper !!

Right now if im not up at night i don't end up getting much done ... i work at night half the nights a week so on my nights off i stay up til maybe 12 sometimes til 2 and work around the house when its cooler. Then crash into bed hehehe. Then ellen is up at the butt crack of dawn.