Power bill doubles

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shockin

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I have a customer who has seen their electric bill go from $75-100 per month to $175 this month. The AC was used during previous months but not this month, so you would think it would actually be lower. The previous months were actual readings not estimates. Any thoughts on where to start looking?

Thanks in advance.
 
A troubled electric hot water heater could run the bill up quite high. Ask
customer if they have noticed abnormally hot water.
 
There may have been a seasonal rate change during the previous month.
Compare each month's bill side by side.
 
Look at the KwH used, not the dollars spent.

I'm driving less miles these days, but my gasoline bill has doubled over the past year. Has there been a rate increase?
 
I don't know how they read the meters where you are but there is such a thing as curbing the meter. The reader looks at the last few months usage and writes in an average. If he happens to miss the usage the next time it is read his missed figures show up as usage from the last month when it could be several months of errors catching up.
 
480sparky said:
Look at the KwH used, not the dollars spent.

I'm driving less miles these days, but my gasoline bill has doubled over the past year. Has there been a rate increase?
Click to expand...

Yes! Yes! Yes!
 
Thanks for the responces so far. The water heater is gas, so that's not it. It's not the sump pump, and they don't have a well. There is no underground to go bad.

I'll have to get a copy of the bills and review the kW usage and see how it compares. I would guess if the utility rate doubled I would have had a lot more similar calls.
 
My electric rate raised 23% from one month to the next. A town near me 27%.

Take a look at the bills, many show the KWH used for each of the past 12 or 13 months so you can tell if the usage changed or the rate very easily.
 
If there is an actual kw hour usage increase, some of the usual suspects:
  • underground feeder bad and leaking into the earth
  • water heater
  • sump pump
  • a/c low on refrigerant and the compressor running 24/7 to keep up
  • heat running at the same time as the a/c, so the a/c runs constantly to overcome the heat.
  • neighbors stealing power
  • well pump
 
Our local area had the updated meters installed to be read from hand held tryquarters... Good Luck...
 
tlaidman said:
I don't know how they read the meters where you are but there is such a thing as curbing the meter. The reader looks at the last few months usage and writes in an average. If he happens to miss the usage the next time it is read his missed figures show up as usage from the last month when it could be several months of errors catching up.
Click to expand...
THEY ain't no meter readers anymore.Its all digital.
 
cadpoint said:
Our local area had the updated meters installed to be read from hand held tryquarters... Good Luck...
Click to expand...
Are tryquarters any thing like tri-corders?
tricorder3.jpg
 
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boboelectric said:
THEY ain't no meter readers anymore.Its all digital.
Click to expand...

not here. less than 10% of the jobs I go on have the digital meters. the company that comes to read mine is a subcontractor for the poco.
 
shockin said:
I have a customer who has seen their electric bill go from $75-100 per month to $175 this month. The AC was used during previous months but not this month, so you would think it would actually be lower. The previous months were actual readings not estimates. Any thoughts on where to start looking?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the actual bills? My water, sewer, and electric are all on one, and mine went up almost $100, but it was a combination of more water (equates to more sewer) and an electric rate hike. kWH was actually less than last month.
 
As others have said, compare the KWH usage. If it has increased drastically, you need to look for the culprit. The good news is that this does not take any fancy equipment and it is not rocket science. Turn off all known loads in the building (at the loads, not at the breaker) and then use your amprobe to check the load on each circuit. When you find the circuit that still as a substantial load on it, you have found the problem. It could be anything. We had one once, the owner complained that her bill was substantially higher than all of her neighbors with identical apartments. Traced it to her water-bed heater that was drawing several amps 24/7.
 
I had a lady call me regarding high bills this last spring, she was living with her sister and had had her house winterized (water was shut off). I put my amprobe on and found about 13 amps in one of the hots. traced it to a plug in 1500 watt heater in a well house that was running 24/7.
 
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