# I Have The Lowest Power Bill In All The Land **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2007, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667 "2007-12-20T03:40:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/21 "2007-12-20T16:35:33Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] I hereby do declare myself to be _the_ single most low-power-bill-paying person evar. My power bill this month? $45.30. Beat _THAT_! [/QUOTE] My last electric bill was $21.16 (payment sent 11-28-2007). My lowest electric bill this year was in May: $16.64; the largest was $66.04 in August, when we had a heat wave. I’m retired and I’m at the house 24x7, so I don’t set back the thermostat during the day. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/22 "2007-12-20T17:08:17Z")
Just so it’s apples to apples, what’s everyone’s price for a kWh? California (PG&E) pricing is tiered, so I pay an average of $0.235 / kWh (if I’m reading [this](http://www.pge.com/tariffs/pdf/E-1.pdf) (PDF!) right). ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/23 "2007-12-20T17:23:45Z")
We have seasonal, tiered rates, along with a monthly customer charge ($7.25) and taxes. I think we also have some of the cheapest electricity in the country. My rates this year have been between $0.0562 and $0.0725 per kWh. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/24 "2007-12-20T17:38:56Z")
Yeah, I remember paying a nickel for a kWh not that long ago. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/25 "2007-12-21T00:47:07Z")
I hope this isn’t too derailing, but how much power should I be using? I live alone, and my bill seems to be much higher than other people I know, and I’m sure they are paying a higher rate. I used 355 kwh last month, at around 11 cents plus all the flat fees they tack on. Still not huge, but I used the same amount shared when living with a roommate, and we paid for heating. Appliances are electric; heating and AC is not paid by me, so perhaps only the fan operation is paid by me. Could a washer/dryer make that large of a difference? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/26 "2007-12-21T01:01:46Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] \It doesn’t count if you’re a single college student/ **employed person who is never home**. \ [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Alice The Goon] Just that I live in a ground floor apartment, facing south, in Tucson, Arizona. I use very little heat in the winter, and \*\*I’m gone all day long at work \*\*during the week. [/QUOTE] :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/27 "2007-12-21T01:19:37Z")
Yeah, but I’m not never home. I’m home after 6 every night, and almost all weekend. Plus I have kids, so it’s not just me here. I think a washer and dryer does make a big difference… I have neither, but that’s getting ready to change. I’m not sure how much power the average family uses, but I used 3300 something last month. There’s some multiply by 10 thing… I’m not sure how that works. And **3acresandatruck** , you beat me! Damn you! ::shakes fist:: ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/28 "2007-12-21T04:58:09Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] I hereby do declare myself to be _the_ single most low-power-bill-paying person evar. My power bill this month? $45.30. It doesn’t count if you’re a single college student/employed person who is never home. I am a mom, with kids, and Christmas lights on nightly since Thanksgiving. My computer’s always on, I run the dishwasher almost every day, and I like it cold in here, so the AC is often on, even in the winter. Boo-yah! Beat _THAT_! [/QUOTE] Why doesn’t it count? I didn’t tell you to be a mom, put lights on the tree, etc. That stuff’s your own damn fault. I submit that my $42.35 PG&E bill for last month (gas and electric) was legitimately earned, despite my being a single person living alone (though unemployed and at home for most of that bill’s period). And that was a high month; the previous month was $35.27. It’s a rare bill I get that’s more than $45. I’m not at home–visiting Mom for Christmas–so I can’t report my price per kwh, nor the price for gas. Since it’s PG&E, probably the same as **squeegee’s** paying. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/29 "2007-12-21T05:46:41Z")
I don’t get the competition. Wouldn’t it depend on where you live? When I lived in Silicon Valley, my electric bill was never higher than $20/mo. But that was because the weather is very moderate there and housing is very tiny unless you’re VERY rich. And that was a while ago, but even if it doubled since then, it’s still lower than the OP’s. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/30 "2007-12-21T05:58:27Z")
Ok so you busted me, it’s not really a competition- lighten up, people! But I am just amazed at how much power I seem to use and yet my power bill has been getting cheaper every month for a while now. The cable bill never goes down, the phone bill never goes down, and god knows food and gasoline never seem to get much cheaper, so I will do my happy dance when my power bill is forty-five dollars. Summer looms. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/31 "2007-12-21T06:07:48Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] Ok so you busted me, it’s not really a competition- lighten up, people! [/QUOTE] 😃 Oops, sorry. . . didn’t mean to pop your bubble there. But everyone else seemed to be playing along with you, so I thought people really were trying to top you. How odd that no one from a very warm climate spoke up earlier. Sorry for the disruption. . . .celebrate on! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/32 "2007-12-21T06:12:33Z")
It’s all good. Can’t get much more mundane and pointless than this thread, but such is my life, and I have to work with what I have. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/33 "2007-12-21T07:27:38Z")
I usually have power bills here that range from $45-$52 per month, depending on the season – but last month, it was down to $35, after I’d bought a new fridge. Great seeing things start to pay for themselves immediately. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/34 "2007-12-21T20:14:58Z")
I think the good thing to take from this thread is that there are some of us out here who actually pay attention to how much energy we’re using, and will make efforts to keep the usage low as a result. I’m staying with my mom for Christmas right now, and the contrast between me at home and her here is amazing: she leaves lights on all over the place, leaves the computer on all the time, etc. She’ll even leave the TV on in the bedroom, while she’s watching in the living room, just to “keep the cat company.” :rolleyes: Being here drives me nuts. But trying to get her to make the most minimal effort is nigh hopeless. Al Gore can make all the movies he wants; changing the way people live in this country is going to be _very_ difficult. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/35 "2007-12-21T22:50:12Z")
[QUOTE=mikemo] $15/cord? Holy cow…can I get the name of the guy he bought THAT from? I could ship it here from CO and _still_ sell it at a hefty profit. AFAIK, you need add a zero to that number to get the going rate around these parts. [/QUOTE] That was my thought too! I’m glad SmC clarified that! My electric bill is about $60 a month, but that doesn’t include heat (#2 fuel oil). When I lived in DC, my electric bill was about $10 a month and my gas bill about that too, for the stove. Of course the landlord covered heat and hot water so I was only paying for lights. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/36 "2007-12-22T07:13:02Z")
I have mentioned this story before, but in Germany I knew a woman who had a older man as a neighbor in her apartment building for years…he moved (or died, I forget) but the new neighbor came over after a few months and said, “I have never received an electric bill - is it included here?” Come to find out, the wiring was screwed up and this woman had been paying the electricity for BOTH apartments for years and years and years! The old guy who had lived there before had never once paid for electricity the entire time he lived there. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/37 "2007-12-22T11:53:54Z")
Last month the girlfriend and I squeeked by with a nice $32.47. But our heat is free, so that is probably a contributing factor. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/38 "2007-12-22T13:39:05Z")
Two rooms with kitchen and bath, single person , put in a lot of time at work the past three months. And those months my bill was around $18-$19 each month. I don’t pay heat or hot water, but I do pay cooking gas. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/39 "2007-12-22T14:45:21Z")
Ive had bills to rival that, though I’m not going through them to find out if I got you beet. This includes running of a electric pump to lift water about 500 ft from underground, huge electric draw. I think a better measure would be kw-h usage per month as electric prices vary widely. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667/40 "2007-12-22T23:00:43Z")
We moved to New Jersey several months ago and I was floored when I received my gas bill yesterday: 516.00 for a month! EGADS. Furnace is now turned down to 55 and we have our electric radiators plugged in and sweaters on. Good Lord!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-the-lowest-power-bill-in-all-the-land/430667.md?page=3)