How high are your utility bills this summer?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

Poll question: How high are your utility bills this summer?

We just got one that is literally double what it usually is. For our little 1600 sq ft house we are used to paying $250 in the summer. Now we are paying $500. So I'm curious.

[ixion]

1. I live alone... and my electricity bills are larger than ever before

twice what they've been in the past.

I live in Florida, too, Grannie. I guess FPL is taking a page from California's playbook. We've had rolling blackouts this summer, too. :grr:

[bullimiami]

10. hmm. im in miami, i dont see much difference.

ixion where are you located that you have been having rolling blackouts?

[ixion]

13. I'm on a key near Sarasota, which is part of the reason for the blackouts

but I've been here three years and haven't had them as bad as this summer. I've had to pull the generator out a couple times, and there's been no hurricane.

In either case, my electric bills have been around $250 a month, which is double what I paid for peak summer months in years prior -- whether that's here or in Tampa or Miami or even Key West. I've lived all over. :-)

[Lochloosa]

2. 180 last year to over 300 this year.

1850 sq. ft.

I wonder how much those McMansions are costing. :evilgrin:

[Nickster]

3. Electricity has been about the same as last year. But I'm scared because

we are due to be deregulated early next year, so my electricity bills will skyrocket no doubt. The natural gas bill has been about average too, but I'm sure once it starts getting cold again, that'll go through the roof too.

[acmavm]

4. They're out of control. But wait 'til this winter. We ain't seen

nothing yet.

[BOSSHOG]

5. Utilities have remained the same but

20 miles south (nearer the coast) prices have gone up. Our property taxes and homeowners insurance have headed up in the last year. I cringe everytime I see a half empty school bus driving a long way on a country road. The school districts gas bill has to be obscene.

[ThomWV]

6. Bimonthly Bill Still Around $200

We are billed for electricity once every two months. Our bill has inched up from around $175 to about $200 over the last couple of years.

We do not have natural gas, though we do use bottled gas for our stove/ovens and that cost me about $100 every 6 months to refill the tanks. We do not have a water or sewage bill, we have our own well and septic system. Of course our water is pumped so our cost for water use is actually part of the electricity bill.

We heat with fuel oil supplemented by wood heat. I cut my own wood, though at 60 I'm slowing down on that front a bit. Last year we used just over 100 gallons of fuel oil, but burned one hell of a lot of wood. Most years we would go through about twice that much oil. We tend to keep the house at about 75 degrees in the winter.

Oh, our house is 2-story, 4-bedroom, just over 2,000 square feet.

I'm always amazed when I see how much others pay. Our bills aren't that bad at all.

PS: For reference, winters here in the eastern mountains (west side) of northern West Virginia are cold. Every winter has below zero nights, sometimes tens of degrees below zero. Summers are on a Par with Pittsburgh. We do not have air conditioning but it would be nice about 6 days out of the year, the rest of the year we would have no particular need for it.

[The Anti-Neo Con]

7. A lot higher this summer where I live.

Supposedly we are experiencing the hottest summer since 1980, and forecasters say we can't expect any relief until October at least.:thumbsdown:

[William769]

8. TO DAMN HIGH!

[femmedem]

9. Our electric rates went up 20% this year.

But somehow our monthly bill for a two-story, 1100 square foot house is still less than $40/month. One month we had a higher bill, but we air-conditioned the top floor. It was still under $100.

I love our little house from the 1840's. It's got southern exposure, too--just waiting for solar panels.

[filer]

11. All utilities are up.

Paid the highest electric ever this month, $195. That's for 1650 sq. ft. in Oklahoma, and we're having a hot summer, but all rates for the same usage are higher. Thank God we're not experiencing inflation! By the way, just what DO they count in that index?

[LionInWinter]

12. Mine have more than doubled.

But then again, I live in Maryland where they just took the caps off of our rates which are now going up 70%. Lovely. x(

[magellan]

14. I'd say about doubled

...considering the increases over last year, despite using significantly less electricity than the same months last year. We're in an 1800 sq foot mobile home, electric's averaging over $200/month.

[LWolf]

15. Electricity: $126.00 in August.

In the $90s in June and July. No air conditioner, lots of fans. Everything is electric but heat, and the heater's pilot is off, so no propane bill.

Some of the increase in August is because I was flood irrigating a pasture; the well pumps are part of the electric bill.

[tallahasseedem]

16. Good ol' City of Tallahassee....

my bill was $450.00 this month.

[Lowell]

17. Thanks to the Florida Public diService Commission

mine have nearly doubled this year. Using less than this time last year and paying twice as much.

[Cobalt Violet]

18. Mine has gone down. I moved.

What a difference a town makes. Our electric went from $25.00 a month this winter to $35.00 a month for the summer. My town has it's own Light and Power Department. $10.00 a month for ac isn't bad at all. It just makes me realize how much gouging is going on out there.

I was paying $175. last summer for electric(heat) and about $200.00 for the winter, thanks to a huge statewide company (Mass Electric). This is for a similar sized place.


I have a friend who pays Mass Electric and can't pay. His power has been off all summer. He can't afford to pay his balance and get it turned back on. He is on SSI and doesn't have anything left to pay bills.

[moc]

19. $417 for electricity last month in North Texas. Usually tops out around

$300. This is for a 2800sf rancher. Plus, we were gone for 10 days of that billing period and set the AC to 86 degrees while we were gone.

I'm scared about this month's bill. :scared:

[movie_girl99]

20. keep on eye on your meter

a friend of mine has TXU and she got a 489.00 bill, then a few days later got another one for 13.00 then a few days later got one for 7.00. She called TXU and they told her that the 13 & 7 dollar bill was ll that she owed and that she had a 489.00 credit. After 30 minutes on the phone the rep tells her that they haven't actually been reading her meter that they have been going by last years usage and then using a sliding scale to adjust for rate increases and the fact that our average temp this time last year was 94 and its 101 now. We immediately checked our meter and compared it to what our reading was on the bill. Ours was okay but just as a precaution you might keep an eye on it.

[moc]

22. Yikes! Thanks for that info! I'll definitely do that!

:wow:

[schmuls]

21. I couldn't vote because you didn't include lower bills. I refused to

turn on my AC all summer (in spite of stifling heat). Last year my bill for using AC one month was $400.00. This year my bill for the same month was $43.00!

[movie_girl99]

24. holy crap...when you say stifling heat

do you mean triple digits? That's what we've had for 38 days in a row and i don't think i could go without A/C. As it is we keep the thermo on 80 and it seems to run non stop from noon until midnight.

[schmuls]

38. 38 days?!? Where do you live? We almost reached 100 and it

was nasty! I would have loved to turn my AC on, but just couldn't afford the high prices.

[patdem]

23. On top of an increased bill I am required to pay $246.00 per month for 3

months in a row EXTRA for a deposit because I have been a slow payer. That is $738.00 in three months for NOTHING in addition to my regular bill of between $200 - $300 per month. Needless to say I am about as broke as I have EVER been!

[Pugee]

25. Wow! I could never pay some of the bills here! Mine went from 110 to 150

Especially since I am laid off indefinitely. 1000 sq. ft total electric

I quit using my older central air unit and bought 2 new energy efficient 110 AC units a few years ago. My bills went from 250 a month to 100. They had been running about 110 this year. The last month, they were running constantly due to the heat and the bill was 150.

[Tyler Durden]

26. My bills are lower.

I sealed the mofo, and bought a 14 SEER/90% heat pump system and forced combustion high efficiency water heater.

Total costs, $4800 installed.

[jhrobbins]

27. I would love a $250 electric bill.... Actually, I don't pay my electric ..

anymore because I have become disabled along with my partner and our bill got so high we just couldn't do it anymore. So, when my ex found out about it, he had it turned on again and has been paying it all spring and summer. He is truly my guardian angel - I don't know what we would have done if not for him.


O8)

[TallahasseeGrannie]

29. Now THAT's a good man!

[elehhhhna]

40. Good on him!

[slackmaster]

28. No A/C = no increase in utility bills

:shrug:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

30. Where do you live?

I'd have to move back north w/out AC. I'd rather be cold anyday. I can get warm with a nice quilt, but it's hard to get cool. Here in FL there is also a big mold problem without AC.

[slackmaster]

32. San Diego, Californistan

It was pretty hot for the last two weeks of July. Other than that the weather is pretty much always nice.

ETA our electric power rates are pretty high here. That plus gas cost me almost $60 for July.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

34. Are you affected by

the infamous rolling blackouts?

[slackmaster]

37. We had a few in 2000

Last month the power to my house went out twice on one day, July 22 IIRC, but it was a local problem with a fuse burning out.

[misternormal]

31. No slot for TOO DAMN FUCKIN' HIGH!!!! ...

... The electric company here in my part of the south just petitioned the local regulatory commission to raise rates yet again, citing some bull shit about cost recovery for "Alternative" exploration...

I mean how much can you pay a guy to drive around, lick his finger and stick out the window, looking for a windy spot to place some windmills???

[TallahasseeGrannie]

35. I'm far too polite to use such language

but I could include a TDFH category.

[MercutioATC]

33. Maybe 10% higher.

Last year summer average was $125/mo. This year it seems to be about $135.

(2000sf with central air in Cleveland)

[RB TexLa]

36. Probably up, they don't draft it out till next week

[elehhhhna]

39. Lower by 10%. Switched from Reliant to TXU. 499. last month...

July last year : 550+