# What might cause an unusually high spike in an electric bill

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-an-unusually-high-spike-in-an-electric-bill/1016429>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 31, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-an-unusually-high-spike-in-an-electric-bill/1016429 "2025-03-31T23:13:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-an-unusually-high-spike-in-an-electric-bill/1016429/21 "2025-04-01T14:32:11Z")

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Wait you guys are all paying $10 for base charges? Where I’m at it’s over $40 now and about to go up again. Ohio’s energy is so fucked ☹

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**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-an-unusually-high-spike-in-an-electric-bill/1016429/22 "2025-04-01T15:46:00Z")

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> [@DemonTree](#):
>
> Wow, those bills are insanely low. Literally less than the standing charge we pay each month if we use no electricity at all.

There are 7 units over there. I reached out to the other tenants to see if they reported a spike. Half of the respondents said yes.The others said no. Here is what one of the other tenants said:

_Hi {Lucas}, I don’t think there’s been a spike, the bill says I owe $23.16 this month. I think that’s about average._

So apparently the bills over there are pretty low.

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**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-an-unusually-high-spike-in-an-electric-bill/1016429/23 "2025-04-01T16:32:23Z")

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This.  
Not electric but gas - when they replaced my meter a couple of years ago they reset it off by 100 CCF. The 13 month graph showed I used as much gas in Sept (no heating, only gas stoven) as I had used the prior Feb. 🤔 A quick call to the utility & they agreed - don’t pay that bill, we’ll send you a new one & have someone come out & adjust your meter (which they didn’t do so it was lather, rinse & repeat for a couple of months)  
You state they were recently renovated; does that mean any work from the utility company? Is it possible two employees replaced all of the meters but one was an idjit & set his meters wrong?

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