# Sky-high electrical bills. Can't figure out what's wrong.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 10, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334 "2015-04-10T15:14:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/1 "2015-04-10T15:14:03Z")
I’ve gotten utility bills telling me I’m using vast quantities of electricity. Sometimes these bills run into hundreds of dollars per month. One bill claimed I used over 2,300 KwH in one month alone.
I live by myself in a small one-bedroom apartment and have gotten utility bills for $100-$300 per _month_.
I don’t think I am using much, if any, more electricity than the average household. A/C, washer and dryer, etc. The figures seem outlandish. What to do?
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### Author:  [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/2 "2015-04-10T15:16:13Z")
My local energy company will perform a free audit of the property if you have concerns like yours.
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### Author:  [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/3 "2015-04-10T15:25:39Z")
A/C can be a killer if it’s running all day. If your thermometer has a “day/night” function you might want to check that it’s working correctly.
I’ve had times when I was messing with the thermostat before work and accidentally set it to 58 for the entire time I was at work while it was mid 70s outside. Definitely noticed that on the power bill.
The other thing to do is check your meter - you’ll probably never get it to stop completely, but go around turning things off and checking the meter - when it slows down dramatically you’ve got your culprit
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/4 "2015-04-10T15:26:20Z")
You definitely need someone to check things out. We didn’t use that much electricity when we were running a large saltwater aquarium system 24/7! Right now, in a household of 2 where everything is electric except for the oil furnace (which has an electric fan) we use around 800 KWH per month, more or less.
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### Author:  [@Fallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallen)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/5 "2015-04-10T15:29:56Z")
We can’t know what your unit historically runs; you don’t say (we also don’t know whether your heating system runs of gas or electric). Can’t take a meaningful stab at what might be outrageous without more info. Seems obvious “to do” would be to contact the utility company.
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### Author:  [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/6 "2015-04-10T15:32:37Z")
You might ask your neighbors how much they pay per month.
Get to know your appliances. How many KW do they consume?
Know how much per KW the utility charges. Do the math. Find the biggest consumers. And discover where you can save. Maybe you could hang clothes to dry, instead of using the clothes drier, etc.
Enjoy your savings.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/7 "2015-04-10T15:38:07Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#):
>
> The other thing to do is check your meter - you’ll probably never get it to stop completely, but go around turning things off and checking the meter - when it slows down dramatically you’ve got your culprit
A very good idea. You might start by turning off circuit breakers one by one.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/8 "2015-04-10T15:44:30Z")
It’s possible that one of your neighbors is illegally tapping into your circuits to steal your electricity. I’ve heard that this is common for, shall we say, indoor agriculture.
It’s also possible that your meter was accidentally miswired, and that your meter is thus responsible for some or all of your neighbors’ circuits.
Have you been getting these high bills for as long as you’ve lived in this apartment (and how long is that), or did they only start recently?
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### Author:  [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/9 "2015-04-10T15:45:33Z")
You mention living in a one-bedroom apartment. Are the other apartments in the same building? And has your electricity use (as reflected on your bill) gone up drastically at some identifiable point (say, 3 or 4 months ago)? One thing that occurred to me was a (new?) neighbor hooking himself into your electric line, but not sure if that’s really possible.
Still and all, even if that’s the case, having your electricity provider come and check things out (as others have already pointed out) is a very good first step. That’s what I’d do, then go from there based on what they find.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/10 "2015-04-10T15:48:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Have you been getting these high bills for as long as you’ve lived in this apartment (and how long is that), or did they only start recently?
It’s been this way since I moved in. I thought it might just be high prices, but the power usage itself seems unrealistic, too.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/11 "2015-04-10T15:53:43Z")
at that amount you should see your electric meter spinning. do you have electric heating, full or supplemental?
if you turn off all your breakers (or your main breaker) then you should see it stop (or be very little).
if it still spin then call your utility to have your meter checked. the meter could be bad or you might be supplying others with electricity.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/12 "2015-04-10T16:04:17Z")
Out of interest, where do you live Velocity?
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/13 "2015-04-10T16:05:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Out of interest, where do you live Velocity?
Central Texas.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/14 "2015-04-10T16:06:42Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> at that amount you should see your electric meter spinning. do you have electric heating, full or supplemental?
Full electric heating. But it shouldn’t use that much.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/15 "2015-04-10T16:52:47Z")
[QUOTE=Velocity]
Full electric heating. But it shouldn’t use that much.
[/QUOTE]
Electric heat can be ruinously expensive to run, but 2,300 kWh in one month is absurd for an apartment. Last month, we used 588 kWh for two people in a full-sized house, and you’re running five times that, all alone in an apartment?
Like others, my suspicions are running to a bootleg connection, either to power someone’s ahh, gardening, or something that should be on a “house” circuit like parking lot lights or a pool heater got connected to your account.
Check with your power company to see if you’re on a smart meter and if you can access hour-by-hour usage. Also let them know your concerns about what seems to be improbably high power use. If you can do that, you’ll be able to see how much your baseline usage is (all of your clocks, battery chargers, sleeping computers, etc) and with a bit of practice, you can spot the days when you forgot to unplug the coffee maker, normal weekdays vs weekends, etc. If you see big power use when you’re at work or sleeping, then you can start looking at whether or not the heat was on, or anything else that may be consuming power.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/16 "2015-04-10T17:01:59Z")
Forgot to add that we had the local “PoCo” test our meter last year, and part of the service was usage analysis.
People talk about the “Internet of Things” and there is certainly a grain of truth to some concerns. The nice analyst at the utility was able to tell me within half an hour of when we normally wake up, go to bed and that one or more of us are often at home on weekdays. All this just from our electricity usage, and all completely accurate. :eek:
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### Author:  [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/17 "2015-04-10T17:03:39Z")
We noticed a jump with a new TV.
Go with the energy audit, and check with your landlord to see if something is wired into your meter. I found out one place I lived that the hall lights were on my circuit, and the outside hose on my water bill. Turns out my apartment was an original super’s. After that, I got a rent kickback.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/18 "2015-04-10T17:03:43Z")
I used 3,900 KWH in February to heat and operate an entire house in Ottawa where the average temperature was the lowest it’s ever been. The average temperature for the month was -16 C (3 F). So, yeah the middle of Texas for an apartment should be substantially lower than 2,300 KWH.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/19 "2015-04-10T17:25:16Z")
On the flip side, when we replaced our AC unit to a more efficient one a couple of years ago, our electricity bill more than halved. Made for a very happy Ivylad.
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### Author:  [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sky-high-electrical-bills-cant-figure-out-whats-wrong/717334/20 "2015-04-10T17:36:17Z")
The electric dryer is our biggest current draw. When weather cooperates, I like to hang things out. Obviously not an option for an apartment dweller.
I think the issue is that current trickle, plus actually watching TV now, because we can SEE things.
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