[SeekerOfLife]

We have people on the forum from all over the U.S. I have Duke Energy for my electric. Just wondering how everyone is coping with the high cost of electricity. Yesterday, I got the highest electric bill of my life. Personally, this cannot go on. I pushed to setting knob on my heater back to 50 degrees. I put extra clothes on, and a toboggan. Still felt cold. The temp dropped to 56 but for me that IS cold. Hope you all are warmer than I am.

[punkybrewster6k]

Our bill was high in December, so we shut everything down and just used the wood stove for heating and cooking this past month. We were chilly with minus temperatures outside but we managed.
Wouldnt you know, our electric bill was $100.00 MORE.
Cant wait to see this next months...

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[Nobodyandnothing]

Be careful of turning heat too low because pipes can burst and thatcan be a worse problem!

[punkybrewster6k]

Originally Posted by Nobodyandnothing

Be careful of turning heat too low because pipes can burst and thatcan be a worse problem!

Ha. Yea.
We have no furnace in the cellar. Chicken heat lamps strategicly placed down there....

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[SeekerOfLife]

Originally Posted by punkybrewster6k

Our bill was high in December, so we shut everything down and just used the wood stove for heating and cooking this past month. We were chilly with minus temperatures outside but we managed.
Wouldnt you know, our electric bill was $100.00 MORE.
Cant wait to see this next months...

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What state do you live in?

A month ago, I cut back on everything, and my bill this month was even higher. Sigh.

[punkybrewster6k]

Originally Posted by seekersinking

What state do you live in?

A month ago, I cut back on everything, and my bill this month was even higher. Sigh.

Upstate NY.
I have heard all of the Northeast Is having this issue with electric companies.

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[UnderRugSwept]

Originally Posted by seekersinking

We have people on the forum from all over the U.S. I have Duke Energy for my electric. Just wondering how everyone is coping with the high cost of electricity. Yesterday, I got the highest electric bill of my life. Personally, this cannot go on. I pushed to setting knob on my heater back to 50 degrees. I put extra clothes on, and a toboggan. Still felt cold. The temp dropped to 56 but for me that IS cold. Hope you all are warmer than I am.

Hi seekersinking ,

I have an equal payment plan. Can you enroll in something like that? I pay the same amount every month. The amount gets adjusted once a year and then I know how much I will be paying every month for that year...it's great!!

[SeekerOfLife]

Originally Posted by Elsewhere

Hi seekersinking ,

I have an equal payment plan. Can you enroll in something like that? I pay the same amount every month. The amount gets adjusted once a year and then I know how much I will be paying every month for that year...it's great!!

Thanks. I just enrolled in it. But, it will not start for another month. I could only send the electric company half of what I owed them. At least I spoke with them on the phone about the payment difficulty. (And I am sure that they record the conversation). Really appreciate the advice.

Colorado. December was cold and the bill was high. My bill actually didn't go up but I replaced a sliding glass door and added a storm door.

Do not want to look at January bill. This month it has been warm enough to shut the heat off. I say that... But I just tolerate it being 55-60 at night and bundling up. I'll use a space heater too sometimes. I am knitting my third pair of socks this year It has not been nearly as cold a winter as it has east and north.

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[SeekerOfLife]

Well, I have caved in to the cold. I have difficulty sleeping if it is too cold. After several nights of it, I have turned the heat up to 60 degrees.

[punkybrewster6k]

-21 last night windy.
I could see my breath in my room when I went to bed.
Lots of covers though and I slept like a baby. Think spring...think spring....

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I'm so sorry you guys have to suffer like this because of the electric company/companies…and here I complain when the electric bill to heat my one room apartment around 70 degrees is $60…even that seems outrageous to me, especially when the bill is $20 in the summer. I live in SE Nebraska too, so it's not like it's warm here in the Winter…meh people are getting robbed! I shall stop complaining and feel blessed to have relatively affordable heat and hope you all can be warm again soon.

[punkybrewster6k]

My issue is we heat with wood so why is my electric bill so high???
Ugg. I think we are all getting billed on a curve up here because of such cold weather.

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[possum220]

Okay........ Is your billing cycle once a month, two months or three? Just wondering.... from oz here.

[Moreta]

Our bills have been pretty low this winter b/c we heat with a wood stove, but then you have to factor in that we pay $70 for half a cord of wood, and we had about 5 deliveries this winter. Our bill is high in the summer b/c we have window units for A/C. I so wish we had central heat and air.

Sorry for those who have to have thermostat so low. I would be freezing if I put mine down to 50. I can't tolerate the cold like that even bundled up. A few more weeks of winter to get through.

[SeekerOfLife]

Originally Posted by possum220

Okay........ Is your billing cycle once a month, two months or three? Just wondering.... from oz here.

I am billed once a month. From late spring to early fall my bill is about $40. Then it quickly rises to the highest points in January, February, and March. The bills are for the prior 30 days. My last bill was $199. I have plastic on my windows, weather stripping on my doors, heat set to 60 degrees. I does not seem that my tiny one bedroom house is energy efficient. I will soon start looking for a more economical way to live. My landlord will not do anything to make it energy efficient. He says it is just cold.
This week I signed up for the plan to pay the same every month. They said my average electric bill is $80 per month. However, Duke Energy raises their rates twice a year. So, it will not get any better.

[SeekerOfLife]

Originally Posted by notgoodenuf

Sorry for those who have to have thermostat so low. I would be freezing if I put mine down to 50. I can't tolerate the cold like that even bundled up. A few more weeks of winter to get through.

I found that I could not tolerate 50 degrees either. I put on a lot of clothes, and had lots of blankets on my bed, but had trouble sleeping due to the cold. I am so ready for spring.

[punkybrewster6k]

Originally Posted by possum220

Okay........ Is your billing cycle once a month, two months or three? Just wondering.... from oz here.

Every month. It makes no sense.

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[Erti]

Originally Posted by punkybrewster6k

Every month. It makes no sense.

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Maybe someone is playing with the thermostat while you are gone?

Originally Posted by seekersinking

I am billed once a month. From late spring to early fall my bill is about $40. Then it quickly rises to the highest points in January, February, and March. The bills are for the prior 30 days. My last bill was $199. I have plastic on my windows, weather stripping on my doors, heat set to 60 degrees. I does not seem that my tiny one bedroom house is energy efficient. I will soon start looking for a more economical way to live. My landlord will not do anything to make it energy efficient. He says it is just cold.
This week I signed up for the plan to pay the same every month. They said my average electric bill is $80 per month. However, Duke Energy raises their rates twice a year. So, it will not get any better.

A lot of times I've noticed people think they have put the plastic on right but if it is loose at all it might as well be a curtain with about as much insulation. It has to be taught so there is a pocket of air filling it. The trapped air is what provides the insulation.

I friend started a Facebook post on bed warmers. He filled a gallon jug with hot water and put it at under the covers. I'd be afraid it would leak . Others filled cloth or heavy zip bags with rice and microwaved it. Everyone swore it worked all night.

Here's another economical idea for a small room. It will not work in a large room and I have noticed some candles burn hotter than others. Soy burns cooler. I wouldn't leave it unattended

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flow...Lights-Heater/

Somebody told me something about physics and heating a room. Something about the heater working harder at lower temps because of the sensor. At a higher temp the walls hold the heat more efficiently causing the heater not to have to work so hard. I have no idea if this is true. The material of the building might matter too. It might be something worth googling.

A few cities have programs where they will visit for free, assess your place and give suggestions to weatherize it. Duke could probably refer you. Maybe they can help apartment dwellers too. I don't know.

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[punkybrewster6k]

Originally Posted by Erti

Maybe someone is playing with the thermostat while you are gone?

We heat with wood so we do not have a thermostat. We have no furnace.
I'm hoping it's just because we've had an unusualy cold winter. But that still does not explain why everyone electric bill is so high even ours when we don't use a lot of electricity.

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[Fresia]

I tried to cap the electric bill with the averaged plan and it has been true to the same amount for about two years now, so have been fortunate. The gas bill on the other hand, signed up for the averaged plan too, but those rates per gallon keep going up. I cannot turn the heat below 55, despite 62-64 preferred, mostly too afraid of the pipes freezing when it is -20 but also just cannot function otherwise. I have used more wood this year to supplement it but still does not seem to be enough. I cannot keep this chilled feeling out of my bones. I am so ready for spring; I think the first day is Mar 20th this year. We still have 5 feet of snow on the ground so spring actually may be a little later this year for us. Praying not. I just wish they had told when I moved here, that yes, there were four seasons, which was excited about; they forgot to mention winter was the longest.

Originally Posted by punkybrewster6k

We heat with wood so we do not have a thermostat. We have no furnace.
I'm hoping it's just because we've had an unusualy cold winter. But that still does not explain why everyone electric bill is so high even ours when we don't use a lot of electricity.

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Doesn't the bill have usage and last years usage?

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A- double check that meters are getting read correctly.
B- there are often local services that will come out and do just an energy assessment of your home and tell you specifically how to improve efficiency and save on costs.
Some of them aid in doing those updates and help defray the cost, but you can often claim on taxes some updates or work toward energy efficiency