WTB - Vaseline - Duke Energy makes it hurt.

[MinuteMan47]

Next is your water heater also. Check the temp on the thermostat(s) (top and bottom) on your water heater. Many people turn it up because they like HOT showers etc but really should not be above 120.

Like I said, I'm a stickler, and a penny pincher, last year I moved the thermostat on my water heater to just above 100. I can't stand HOT showers... and I'm usually in and out.

 

[ralphb72]

Like I said, I'm a stickler, and a penny pincher, last year I moved the thermostat on my water heater to just above 100. I can't stand HOT showers... and I'm usually in and out.

Sounds like you watch it pretty closely. We have gas heat but an older elect water heater and our budget is around $229. Of course there is almost always someone here (Wife, grown son, and two younger sons), and I don't think anyone knows how to turn off the basement lights nor the bathroom lights and we have 3 de-humidifiers in the basement plus a sump pump.

I gave up getting them to turn off the lights, but I did put in a programmable thermostat so it turns itself down at night and during the day. We had pretty much converted all of our lights to Compact Florescent bulbs but for some reason the wife does not like them so she is going back to regular incandescent bulbs.

 

[hornadylnl]

My latest bill was 1800 kwh at $211. That's for an all electric 4400sf house with the basement and main floor set at 72 and the second floor at 70. I was paying $400 a month until they fixed my geo. My bill at one of the peak construction times with the ac running like mad was $140.

 

[PatriotPride]

I will make the request.

That will be the first step.

I had this SAME issue with NIPSCO. They said I used around $250 in energy on my first bill...in a 1 bedroom apartment...for 2 weeks. I rode that company like a cheap lady of the night, and had them come out and check my meter. When they came out the first time, the tech looked at my meter and said that I must have my shower running, my fridge open, and every outlet running an electrical device. I proved to him that I didn't even have the air on. NIPSCO STILL said I owed the bill, so I had them audit AGAIN. They sent a different tech out, who said that the meter was magically fixed and I still owed the bill, so I paid it.

Just a few months ago, my budget plan payment increased by quite a bit, and my energy usage decreased. I'm religious about unplugging every appliance I can when it is not in use, and barely running the AC or heat.

Energy companies are crooks, plain and simple.

 

[Stschil]

I here ya. Im not on any budget plan because my electric is connected to SIEC (Southern Indiana Electrical Criminals). $.10 p/KWH, two people in my 1900 sqft house, I heat with a woodstove, and my bill last month was still nearly $300.

If you find a good deal on Vaseline, let me know, I need it too!

 

[hornadylnl]

My REMC charges me a $28 fee every month whether I use 1 kwh or 10,000.

 

[RelicHound]

I was on that budget billing crap for Vectren down here and I was paying $190 a month...and thats for a 1k sq foot 2bdr apartment...I never thought much of it until I talked with a neighbor and he said his bill was less than $100 a month..I canceled the budget billing{had to pay a balance of $448 to cancel the budget bill...} since I got off that BB I havent had a bill over $110 in almost a year...they usually average around $80 a month.

 

[hornadylnl]

My problem with the budget bill is this. If they under bill you, you know they will send a bill to make up the difference. How do you know they will credit you if you over paid? To me, it's almost like trusting them to handle your check book ledger. I'll do it myself.

 

[edsinger]

Well 0.10kWh is not bad, but its not great either. It could be better but let me put it into perspective. The cost to produce it is around $20Mwh with coal, and give or take $50-60MwH with NatGas. Nuclear is actually cheap but you don't see that.

Now for inflation that we are assured is not present (right!). When I lived in Southern Indiana, I was paying about $0.08 per kWH, In California in 2004 I was paying $0.14 kWh.

Indiana has the cheapest power costs because we are coal and that makes us a target among the EnviroNazi's.

Duke is no different than any other power company, except the BOD is corrupt and has put the company in big time debt. I wish it was still PSI.

Anyhow I know I pay at least $0.10kWh in NE Indiana, but it is from a municipality. Whereas across the street in the co-op its probably closer to $0.07.

Life sucks but in the grand scheme of things, we have cheap power in Indiana because of the foresight of some folks to get out of Nuclear power and its inherent red tape and build coal plants.

I have worked at coal plants, and I still have many friends that still do.

 

[Gamez235]

My electric bill have never been over 70.00, it's called a solar panel and it helps out a lot.

 

[MinuteMan47]

Ok, so the meter looks like a Schlumberger Rr 27 7/9...



I looked at my detailed usage report online. December through March are my biggest usage months, which is probably typical.

I did see a decrease in usage from supplementing my heat pump with the kerosene heater this year compared to last. The only month that was higher was December. December of 2009 I used 2,200 kw/h, and December of 2010 I used 2,800 , other than that there was a decrease.

Here's a run down of the months - (approx)

Jan ; 2010 - 5,500 kw/h --- 2011- 4,100 kw/h
Feb ; 2010 - 4,400 kw/h ------ 2011- 3,700 kw/h
Mar ; 2010 - 3,700 kw/h ------ 2011- 2,500 kw/h
Apr ; 2010 - 1,800 kw/h -------2011- 1,800 kw/h
May; 2010 - 1,200 kw/h
June; 2010- 900 kw/h
July; 2010 - 1,400 kw/h
Aug; 2010 - 1,700 kw/h
Sept; 2010 - 1,700 kw/h
Oct; 2010 - 1,000 kw/h
Nov; 2010 - 1,100 kw/h
Dec; 2010 - 2,800 kw/h

 

[4sarge]

a BIG Thank You for Hope & Change Obama. Our REMC increased (doubled) our Rates 6 months of the year all during the months of Peak Use. Their Reason was that Obama FORCED them to do it. Our Usage is Down BUT Our monthly Bill is Higher than ever before

 

[femurphy77]

When I first moved to Indiana I got on the budget plan with the coop that served the area I lived in. After 6 years living here I got a divorce and when I went down to turn off the power so she could put it in her name they told me I owed them $1500. Imagine my excitement at hearing this!!

They told me that it wasn't there fault that I hadn't requested an update based on my usage.

I had always used the budget plan prior to moving up here and when I closed that account I paid the last months bill which was around 75% of the budgeted payment. Where I lived the monthly payment was based on a rolling year, in other words the previous 12 months just so you wouldn't get one of those huge final bills. I was told they didn't do it that way here because it was too much trouble and nobody knew how to do it anyway! Gee imagine that, a bunch of dumb okies could figure it out!

They willingly set up a payment plan for me, they told me I could pay as much as I could afford as long as I paid each month. If I had any self control I would have done it $5 at a time.

 

[E5RANGER375]

get off the budget brother.

i hate on the bill when they estimate and overcharge me. sure i get a credit the next month when they actually read my meter (i think its only water now), but how stupid is that? they usually overcharge a lot too. one month I didnt even have to pay a bill because they overcharged me a whole month of usage. someone needs to do a better job at regulating these utility companies.

minuteman47, you might also have someone look at your furnace to make sure its running efficiently. also your outside unit.

 

[edsinger]

minuteman47, you might also have someone look at your furnace to make sure its running efficiently. also your outside unit.

^^ This ^^

 

[hornadylnl]

Iirc, you have a heat pump. I'm guessing it's not working correctly and you're using your back up heat much more than you should. Turn off the breakers for your backup heat and wait 24-48 hours. See if your actual temp is lower than your set temp. A heat pump should have no trouble keeping up in our current temperatures.

 

[MinuteMan47]

...haven't had the heat or air on for the last month or so.

If my emergency backup were to kick on there is a red light on my thermostat that will flash.

 

[hornadylnl]

I can't possibly see where your electricity consumption is coming from then if your heat is off.

 

[MinuteMan47]

I'm waiting on ralph to weigh in again. Since I posted my actual usage and it shows a significant decrease from last year (during the winter months) I should expect my bills to lower, not go UP right???...

 

[ralphb72]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Yes, I see that Jan, Feb, and March are quite a bit lower, but remember, with the budget plan it is not so much about what you use, but how much you have paid compared to how much you were charged. It's all based on the past and so when you make a change like that, that lowers your usage, it could be a year before you see the effect on your budget bill.

What will happen when your budget goes up and you don't use near as much as you did during the 12 mos that they used to calculate it is that next time you will have a big credit, then the budget amount will go down again and hopefully you won't have colder winter with higher usage or it will just yo-yo back and forth.

The Clerks that you talk to when you call in probably look at the $ and not at the usage. If you ask to talk to the billing supervisor you may be able to have them re-calculate your budget based on your lowered usage. We have done that before for someone. We have also had people who pay their budget balance in order to bring the new budget bill lower.

I'll do some stuff in excel with the numbers you sent me, it won't be exact, but to check it like they do, I would need your balance that you owed before the first bill (Jan 2010) and how much you were charged for each month along with how much you actually paid. You can send me your email in a PM or just email me at ralphb72@gmail.com so I can send it to you.