Okay, after recovering from nearly passing out, here to make sure it's not just us. I opened the bill, saw the # & thought I must have forgotten to pay last month. Umm, nope. $562.04!!!!! This was our highest bill ever. And, I mean ever. Anyone else have this issue? I know it was cold but we have plastic on our windows, closed off the fireplace, no heat on upstairs, a beyond energy conservationist of a daughter turning off lights all the time, etc. What more can we do?? So, anyone else have this experience? BTW, some stats: 9 people living here full time, 4 tots during the weekdays. No heat kept on upstairs. Energy efficient appliances. You drive in our neighborhood, you just may see us huddled around a campfire soon. LOL. Stephanie-- mom to 7
OUCH!! We haven't seen anything unexpected like that, but then again ours hasn't come this month. I keep our upstairs and downstairs thermostat at 62 degrees and have noticed that they both have been running at night more so lately. Just an idea, do you think it might be more cost effective to install gas logs and use that to provide heat in the evenings? I know with ours that we use a lot of evenings, our power bill runs about 150-175/mo this time of year for 2400 sq ft. Don't know how that compares to you, but when the logs are on, neither heat pump kicks on and I usually don't hear one come on until about 3am or so. Just an idea. I feel for you!
Our last bill was about $300, which was double the previous month...even with gas logs being used most evenings and on the weekends. BUT, I will say that we were all home quite a bit in December and we had record low temperatures during that time. I also cook a big meal every evening, which gets the numbers up, I'm sure!! You are not alone!
Stephanie - you're not alone. Mine was only slightly less than yours!! This is the biggest bill I've ever gotten!!! Make sure the fire is big enough for all of us too!!
yup, i almost choked also. My biggest bill ever also. But xmas lights, lots of cooking many hours in the oven, emergency heat always coming on due to the cold.,,, holy crap and now i have to pay for the fun we had last month!
Same here. Mine was $412, more than ever before. And I thought I was doing a really good job of keeping the thermostat set low!! I agree that it was colder than normal and lots of Christmas cooking, kids home, etc., but geez!!
Ours was $105 more than the previous month. I tried to keep the thermostat set @ 65 all the time. Every time I turned around the "aux heat" light seemed to be on...so I expected the worst (expected it to be higher actually though).
Same here, we kept ours set 67 and the aux heat was on frequently....Just got our bill today, YIKES!...it better warm up soon....
Ours was $ 178.xx which was LESS THAN Jan. 2010...but we also do not use the dryer much, even in winter, w/4 people, thermostat is on 62-maybe 64 & we WEAR clothes in the house. We are very very careful about the power we use.
I am VERY afraid. It was high last month and I know it will be worse, but I hope not as high as yours. I run the fireplace and keep the thermostat at 67, but I don't think that is going to help enough.
Found part of our problem this morning. Heat pump is NOT working. Calling our repair guy today. It has to last, it has to last. LOL. Don't have the funds for it. Seems when something breaks,it all breaks at once. Hoping for a simple problem today. Stephanie-- mom to 7
After months of watching my PE bill go up and down, depending on the weather we were experiencing, I contacted PE and decided to go with the Equal Payment Plan. This works great with our budget and I pay the same amount each month. Just throwing a suggestion out there. Works for us - may not work for everyone! Anything's better than having to pay the Town of Clayton for their high rates! Blessings!
I should have a new PE bill by the weekend and I am scared to open it. I about passed out when I opened the natural gas bill (heat & hot water only) last night. $168 for 30 days for the heat!!!
I don't feel so bad now. When I got my bill I knew it would be higher than last months and it was. We use a combination of the heat pumps and fire place. The fire place will warm the upstairs and downstairs pretty good but our master(1st flr) stays chilly when it's on. I use the fans to try and draw the heat in the room but it doesn't work. Ahh well...I'm ready for some warmer weather and lower bills.
