$400 power bill

[billdozier]

Hey guys got sent out on a service call the other day for a customer not understanding switced plugs and a 400 $ power bill. We checked egc for leakage no stray voltage. We also checked amperage on heaters and ac unit as well as subpanel feed. The heaters were old space heater types. They were pulling 15a on each leg 220 ckt. Had two heaters both puling 15a per leg. We determined this as the cause. Would there be anything else we could have done?

 

[480sparky]

Look at the KW usage on the current and several preceding bills. If it shows a spike in usage, then the bill is going to go up.

They may also just happened to get billed on the anniversary of their budget billing cycle. The utility reviewed their precious usage, and decided to start charging more per month to make up for the increased past usage. It's possible that the one bill included a one-time end-of-billing year charge.

 

[JeffD]

The meter reader may not have been reading the meter even if the bill said actual reading for the past months and when he/she finally read it his previous months guess were off. I think this happened to a lady I work with.

 

[cowboyjwc]

The meter reader may not have been reading the meter even if the bill said actual reading for the past months and when he/she finally read it his previous months guess were off. I think this happened to a lady I work with.

It happened to me. My bills were $150+, $150+, $500+, WHAT!

 

[growler]

Hey guys got sent out on a service call the other day for a customer not understanding switced plugs and a 400 $ power bill. We checked egc for leakage no stray voltage. We also checked amperage on heaters and ac unit as well as subpanel feed. The heaters were old space heater types. They were pulling 15a on each leg 220 ckt. Had two heaters both puling 15a per leg. We determined this as the cause. Would there be anything else we could have done?

A leak in the hot water system. An electric water heater uses lots of power and the cost to heat water is serious.

When I run into such things as a high power bill I just try to look at past power consumption and see if there have been any changes. If the customer hooks up a hot tub that can reall kick it up if they are not expecting it. Pool pumps running. Well pumps running ( don't get much of that here ).

Even having relatives or friends move in for a time can run up power comsumption. Lots of extra showers and clothes to wash.

Even growing your own medical Marihuana can cause a power bill to go up ( in smoke), check for glaucoma and a smile.:smile::smile:.

 

[charlie]

Hook up more stuff, the more you use, the less per kWh it costs and the more my utility stocks are worth.

 

[hockeyoligist2]

Do they have kids? My X-stepson would crank the heat up to 90, so he could sit around playing video games in his underware while we were at work.

 

[CopperTone]

I bet your wallet is glad he is now your X-stepson.

 

[ohm]

I wired a new church w/ 240V 400A 3ph. When the 1st months bill came in it was for $2500, but all we had going was a couple of strings of lights and what we used for drills & saws etc.

The pastor called and all I could do was laugh. I did a rough calc. and told him they were probably off by a factor of 10, which they were.

The POCO was playing hardball until I told the pastor to tell them he had hired a EE ($200/hr) to come in and sort it out.

They showed up the next morning and announced they had a CT problem and the bill was only $250.

 

[dduffee260]

We just finished a Mickey D's a couple of months back. 1000 amp service total electric. His bill for January was over $5000. Maybe it was the 240 kw of heating and a 90 kw water heater. You have to sell alot of Big Macs to pay that bill. Maybe he should get the Hamburgular to steal some electricity for him.

 

[iwire]

Look at the KW usage on the current and several preceding bills. If it shows a spike in usage, then the bill is going to go up.

Wow, I never knew that.


FWIW many electric bills display the usage for the previous 12 or 13 months.

 

[peter d]

We just finished a Mickey D's a couple of months back. 1000 amp service total electric. His bill for January was over $5000. Maybe it was the 240 kw of heating and a 90 kw water heater. You have to sell alot of Big Macs to pay that bill. Maybe he should get the Hamburgular to steal some electricity for him.

No natural gas available apparently? :-?

 

[480sparky]

..........FWIW many electric bills display the usage for the previous 12 or 13 months.

Most folks just look at the dollar amount. If it goes up, they automatically assume there's something wrong with their wiring.

Also, exceedingly few people actually look at their meters, let alone keep track of their monthly usage themselves. I, for one, read my meter once a month, and keep track of the readings. Sure came in handy when I got a bill for $2781, when my normal usage is around $67. Seems the meter reader made a mistake.

 

[dduffee260]

No natural gas available apparently? :-?

Peter, actually it was supposed to be gas then they gave us a change order to change it to all electric. I guess they did not want to install the gas for some strange reason. I wonder if they wished they had now?

 

[dduffee260]

As far as just paying your bill because they never make mistakes. I once had a helper who brought his months electric bill to me. He handed it to me and asked if I could set up an employee advance to pay the bill. I looked at the bill and it was $ 173,319.00 for the month. He lived in a one bedroom house with gas heat. I then handed it to the secretary and told her he needed an employee advance for his bill. We all got a good chuckle out of that one that day.

 

[iwire]

Most folks just look at the dollar amount. If it goes up, they automatically assume there's something wrong with their wiring.

I do not think that is the common response to a high electric bill.

Also, exceedingly few people actually look at their meters, let alone keep track of their monthly usage themselves. I, for one, read my meter once a month, and keep track of the readings. Sure came in handy when I got a bill for $2781, when my normal usage is around $67. Seems the meter reader made a mistake.

Are you suggesting that if you did not read your own meter that you would have paid that bill?

 

[peter d]

Peter, actually it was supposed to be gas then they gave us a change order to change it to all electric. I guess they did not want to install the gas for some strange reason. I wonder if they wished they had now?

Yes, that makes no sense whatsoever to use electricity if gas is available, unless your electric rates are nearly free (which apparently they are not.) A $5000 monthly electric bill is a massive amount of overhead even for a high volume business like McDonalds.

 

[480sparky]

Are you suggesting that if you did not read your own meter that you would have paid that bill?

Not at all. But I at least had some firepower to back me up when I called them.

 

[dduffee260]

Yes, that makes no sense whatsoever to use electricity if gas is available, unless your electric rates are nearly free (which apparently they are not.) A $5000 monthly electric bill is a massive amount of overhead even for a high volume business like McDonalds.

But when you sell BILLIONS and BILLIONS of hamburgers. $5000 is like a $10 bill to AIG. Also I do remember someone saying that the poco may not have given the owner the total electric rate. Also this bill was for January which was pretty cool for us down here. I will keep you guys posted on anything I hear about this.