My APARTMENTS Electric Bill was $400!! Advice??

[Glenn]

Here is a thing to try. Have someone watch the meter & then turn off everything. Unplug every thing. If the meter doesnt stop you know you have a thief somewhere. $400 for that size unit just isnt right. As someone mentioned a programable thermastat will help. Set it high during the day when your both working & have it kick in about an hour before you get home. That will certainly help. Good luck & let us know what the electric company says.

 

[windycitymom]

Call your electric company and tell them about your situation - perhaps someone will come out and do a free analysis for you since your bill is so high.

You also said you weren't budget savvy, so may I recommend a great book: Make Money Not Excuses by Jean Chatzky.

 

[did2008]

When I was growing up in South Alabama we didn't have AC at all. I used to take a wet washcloth to bed with me--wipe your face and stomach with it and lay under the fan. Very nice

How could you bear it with only a washcloth and a fan in South Alabama and no A/C? I can barely bear it with A/C myself.

 

[DisneyTN]

Having a fan next to your bed at night is also a good way to tune out other unwelcome noises that could possibly disturb your sleep. The constant hum sound of the fan is easy to get used to, and over-shadows other noises.

 

[tink2dw]

I had a 1 bedroom apartment. Everything was going along swimmingly. Then I got a huge bill. I freaked! I called the landlord, a lawyer. He told me to call the electric co. and read them the numbers. It happened that our reader went on vacation and estimated ALL the meters on his route. Boy was he way way off on the whole route. I only owed $89.00 not the $300 the idiot estimated.

 

[beavismom]

I am glad you called the electric company to come and check it out because there is something very wrong here. We have a 4000 sq. ft. house in Texas which is having a record heat wave and we have pool pump to run and I still only have a $450 electric bill. My bet is that someone has tapped into your meter.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Unfortunately I can't do the window unit, we have the large side openeing windows!

They make air conditioners for side-opening windows. We got ours at Home Depot and I am sure I have seen them at Wal Mart.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Hey there! Another NJ renter here (well, only for another 4 days), but we had a similar issue here in this apt and one in NYC. The NYC one it turned out was we were paying for the basement apartment as well as our own!!

This one I had PSEG come out and do an analysis. He shut down our meter (1st floor) and some of the basement lights went out too - it seems we are also paying for the washer/dryer that we also PAY TO USE with quarters!!! We close on our first house on Friday and I can't wait to get out of here! I was also told that I could call the police and charge them with theft of services.

Anyway, sorry to ramble, but definitely have them check it out and post back with the results!

 

[Chicago526]

wow that's a lot! I own a 1300 sqft home, our central a/c has been broken for years with no money to fix it. So we have a window unit in our bedroom and one in my office (i work from home). We have box fans in the family room and a ceiling fan in the kitchen (when it's really hot we grill out so I don't die from heat stroke trying to cook!). Our highest summer bill so far this year has been $100, though I expect our next bill to be a bit higher than that.

You can buy an inexpensive window unit for about $100 for your bedroom. That will let you sleep at night but still keep your electric bill down. Then when you move, you can take it with you. Still have the power company look at your meter though, you never know, it could just be a busted meter or some other electrical problem unrelated to your a/c.

 

[Nie0214]

I live alone in a small 1 bedroom, I don't run my AC all the time (maybe 3 days a month, if that) and my bill was $45 last month. $400 is WAY off. My mother has a unit like yours (she lives in RI) that has two air conditioners with thermostats and the side-open windows.. she says her bill is $25 a month.

$400 is WAY too high for a 1 bedroom. Hopefully you find out the problem! Let us know how it goes.

 

[crisi]

How could you bear it with only a washcloth and a fan in South Alabama and no A/C? I can barely bear it with A/C myself.

The same way people did for thousands of years without air conditioning. Wasn't that long ago that people didn't have FANS. You sleep on screen porches or out on the roof. You use fans. You dampen your sheets. You build houses that actually get cross breezes. Mostly you are hot and sweaty, but you get used to it.

 

[iggbees]

wow 400$?? that's insane. we recently moved from a 700 sq. ft. apartment (~100$ in the summer) to a 1,200 sq ft condo and we pay less now (~70$ with a washer and dryer!) than we did with the apartment. we are lucky because our town owns the electric plant, so they charge much less than normal. i don't think i would have stayed at our apartment if the cost of the electricity was 400$ a month though! i would be on that landlord's you know what making sure that whatever it is that's causing the 400$ a month is fixed!


eta. i was talking to someone who said that when they were living in an apartment, they were paying enormous amounts of money for electricity and found out it was because the washer and dryers (3 of each) were attached to their electric bill. she said she only found that out after they had been living there for a number of years.

 

[dturner]

I live in a 1206 sqft. apartment and my electric bill for July was $385.00 - I've been in the same place for over 8 years and it's the highest bill I've ever seen. When it's not summer my bill averages $165.00. I keep the thermostat at 78 - I change the filter every month, I have dark blankets over the windows. I also live on the 3rd floor on a corner so 3 sides of my apartment are exposed.

I also have the air conditioner unit checked yearly by maintenance and it seems to be ok.

I'm in Texas and we've had temperatures over 100 for awhile now. Saw on the news an air conditioner guy talking about how people think their units are not working property when in fact they are. He said that air conditioner units are only made to cool down when it's 95 degrees or cooler outside, anything above 95 degrees and the air conditioner will just run and run and run which mine does.

 

[mpls_mm]

Just a thought, but there could be something not kosher going on, too. We lived in an apartment and got a HUGE electric bill; turns out that two apartments were on the same meter. The electric company should come and check this out for free. 400 for a 1 BR would be really expensive even in winter with electric heat! Good luck!

I second that, my first little apartment turned out to have the community washer and dryer hooked up to it. It was running constantly, we had figured it was a window unit too, we called the power company out. The owner acted like he had no idea.

 

[nordkin]

I supervise the Metering Department for an electric company. It is possible you are paying for something else other than your apartment. To check this out, turn all you circuit breakers off, preferably at night, then go check your meter and see if it is still spinning. You have to wait a couple of minutes for the last of the energy to work its way through to your apartment. If it is still spinning then something else is hooked into your meter. The issue then becomes one with the landlord as electric companies are only responsible for the lines to the meter. We have had many cases like this and unfortunately it is up to the person to settle things with the landlord money wise and to get the wiring corrected. As far as the electric company is concerned the electric was used and needs to be paid for. Another problem may be your meter was read incorrectly. If this is the case who ever the electric company sends out should take a reading to insure they have the correct reading. If all of the above turns out not to be the problem, request to have your meter tested. They do occassionaly go bad, but it is rare. Good Luck!!

 

[semo233]

Something's not right.
Have the electric company check to make sure your meter is not hooked up to anyone else's electricity!
If you have your own circuit breaker box, turn off all of your circuit breakers. Then turn on one at a time and look to see which breaker is making the meter spin the fastest. This will help you narrow down where the huge draw is from.

When we first moved into our house 15 years ago, I got an electric bill that I KNEW was too high. When I contacted the elect co, they simply said it was in-line with what the previous owners had been paying. I made several phone calls and finally had someone suggest the above. I found that our well pump was making the meter spin!! We had the pump checked and there was a crack in a pipe leading to the house. The pump was running 24 hrs a day!! After we had it fixed, the reduction in our elect bill paid for the well guy's bill in about 3 or 4 months!

 

[Nie0214]

Keep us updated on this!

 

[fla4fun]

Thanks everyone for even more help!! Unfortunately I can't do the window unit, we have the large side openeing windows! We have been keeping the ac on everyday, all day, at aound 75. I kept it on 78 today, it wasn't that hot outside. It's my darn boyfriend who keeps it running so crazy all day! Maybe he's the culprit this whole time!!

But I seriously cannot wait for the electric company to come out, and hope they get to the bottom of this!! I recently changed my air filter too. But in the end, we might just end up on the budget plan til we hopefully move.

When you say side opening windows, do you mean sliding from side to side? If so, you can use a mobile ac unit (they actually sit in the room on wheels) and put the vent vertically in the window opening. We had to use one of those in our office when the ac went out and there was a big delay getting it fixed. It made the room comfortable and it can easily be moved from room to room so you can cool where you are, and if you move, it’s easy to take with you since there is no permanent mounting whatsoever.

That is one high electric bill. My house is almost 4000 sq ft, and in the summer the bill runs around $120-125 with the ac set at 78-80 degrees and an electric hot water tank. Even before I replaced the fridge and ac unit a couple years ago with more energy efficient models, it never went above $200.

 

[Pooh2]

Zombie thread!
Hope that bill is squared away by now!

 

[tvguy]

Zombie thread!
Hope that bill is squared away by now!

$400 in 2008 would be $469.49 today.